Maxxis / Elka’s Joel Hetrick Wins Ironman MX
Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda AMA ATV MX Team Report

Crawfordsville, IN (5/10/2016) - Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda’s Joel Hetrick took his second consecutive Pro overall win of the 2016 season at round four of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship. Racing was held at Ironman MX in Crawfordsville, IN. David Haagsma salvaged tenth and Grayson Eller clinched an overall win in College 16-24.

Maxxis / Elka / Liquid Wrench / Honda’s Joel Hetrick earned his second consecutive win of the season at Ironman MX

Hetrick started out the day strong by taking the ATVriders.com fastest qualifier award. “I pulled the fastest laps and felt really good out there. I liked the track and it just all came together this weekend,” explained Hetrick.

Joel Hetrick clinched the ATVriders.com Fastest Qualifier Award in the Pro Class

The first moto was a mud race but Hetrick came in to it prepared. “One thing I have been practicing in was mud riding and mud starts. That is my weakness, so I have been trying to brush up on it to come out strong, and I think I did. I am getting better at it that is for sure.”

Thanks to his hard work and preparation, Hetrick was able to finish second place despite the mud and battled with the leader of Wienen all throughout the race.

Joel Hetrick launches his Maxxis backed Honda 450R

The second moto, Hetrick claimed the holeshot and never looked back, taking the moto win and the overall win. “Its pretty crazy coming off the knee injury and pulling off two overall wins. I expected myself to be a podium finisher but not an overall winner.”

Hetrick credits his sponsors for his successful weekend at Ironman. “The Maxxis tires hooked up great off the start with the DASA moto pulling me to the second moto holeshot. Even in the mud I ran the small Maxxis tires and did not have any issues, and the Elka suspension was working great. We have been doing a lot of testing with Jay Gobel and Impact Solutions, so for me to be able to go out there and pull another win off was definitely another step in the right direction. We will be making even more adjustments to get the bike working even better here shortly.”

Hetrick looks forward to the next round at High Point MX, which will be his home track. “I have a lot of friends and family going out. I have had a couple 1-1 victories there. Hopefully the weather stays nice and we can have a good race for the fans and all the people coming out to support me.

In the championship points, Hetrick sits in second place. “There are seven races left, so there are a lot of motos to go and anything can happen. I am just going to keep chipping away and doing what I have been doing. I just have to keep riding and keep on it to gain some points. It is definitely tough though with Chad Wienen being so consistent, it is hard to beat him that is for sure,” stated Hetrick.

Another Maxxis/Elka team rider in the Pro class was David Haagsma who took tenth overall. “First moto I got a decent start but it was raining and I made a couple mistakes. I moved back from issues with my vision and ended up ninth in the first moto,” explained Haagsma.

David Haagsma finished went 9-12 to round out the top 10 overall in the Pro Class

The second moto Haagsma suffered a major crash, but fortunately is still healthy and uninjured. “I did not get the best start but had a couple good battles. I got around Upperman and a couple corners later I made a mistake and went over the bars. I ended up getting ran over and my bike was on top of me. I knocked myself silly and got a little concussion, but got back on the bike and finished the last couple laps so I got twelfth in the moto and tenth overall. I am not really happy about it, but I did not break anything or injure myself so I got pretty lucky.”

Maxxis/Elka’s amateur rider of Grayson Eller also took home an overall win. Eller went 2-2 for first overall in College for his first ever win on big bikes. Eller has been improving every weekend and things finally came together for him at Ironman. However, the win did not come easy, Eller had to battle through difficult track conditions.

Grayson Eller finished 2-2 in the College Class and earned the overall win

“I could not get to my tear offs so I went ahead and took my goggles off in the first corner. I had to distance myself from second and first place because I could not get close without taking roost to the eyes. On the third lap Brogan Guyer got stuck on a berm and I went by him. I told myself don’t do anything stupid and I took it easy to make sure I did not make any mistakes, so I held on for the overall,” said Eller.

Eller also competed in Open B where he took second overall. Due to the rain, the second moto was cancelled so the first moto counted for everything. “It was an eye opener for me because I got right behind Noah Mickelson and ran with him the whole race. It really helped me to get a confidence boost knowing I can run up there with him. It was what I needed to keep me going.”

Despite the muddy, challenging track, Eller’s Maxxis Honda performed flawlessly. “Even though it was muddy I did not have a problem hooking up. The Elka shocks were great. The track was really rough all weekend and we had great support from Elka.

The Maxxis/Elka/Liquid Wrench/Honda team will compete at round five of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, PA May 21-22.

2016 Race Team Sponsors
Maxxis, Liquid Wrench, Elka, Fly, Scott, SSi Decals, DWT, Hinson, Bel Ray, Sunstar, Works Connection, Sandridge Foods, Impact Solutions, Fourwerx, Alpinestar, DC Designs, Precision Racing Products