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Can-Am/
Motoworks Chad Wienen started Round
6 strong with a Moto 1 holeshot and
win. Unfortunately he would run into
mechanical issue giving him a DNS
for moto 2
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Vista, CA (5/24/2011) –
Motoworks’ Chad Wienen surprised everyone
by grabbing the moto one holeshot at round number
six of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championships
and holding it from start to finish to take
the moto one win.
It was a tough day for many at Steel City
as racers charged their way to the checkered
flag in hopes of furthering their points leads,
and the Can-Am / Motoworks team had their
work cut out for them.
It seemed like Chad Wienen would be unstoppable
after looking smooth and strong in practice
and taking the fastest qualifier award. Wienen,
who has been working on his starts, went on
to surprise everyone by grabbing the moto
one holeshot. “I felt great out front
and everything just clicked as soon as the
gate dropped,” he stated.
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Can-Am/
Motoworks teammates Chad Wienen &
John Natalie lead Moto 1 until Josh
Upperman made the pass when Natalie
crashed coming off a jump. Natalie
would finish ninth for the day
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Wienen led from start to finish, claiming
the fastest lap of the day in lap three with
a time of 01:35.623. Wienen’s impressive
speed allowed him to put over a thirteen second
lead over the competition and take the moto
one win. “I felt great when I came off
the finish. It didn’t even feel like
I had been racing, Said Wienen who was holding
high hopes for moto two.
Unfortunately, moto two did not go according
to plan for Wienen. “We got done with
the parade lap and were heading back to the
line and the quad started sputtering. We didn’t
know it at the time, but the EFI box went
bad. That’s the first time that’s
ever happened,” Wienen explained. Unfortunately,
despite their best efforts, the problem could
not be fixed in time and Wienen would miss
out on moto two. With his impressive first
moto win, however, Wienen was able to finish
in sixth overall and stay in the points lead.
“I’m disappointed, but I’m
going to be ready for Millville and I’m
hoping for the win there,” stated Wienen.
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John Natalie
recovered from his crash and was able
to race moto 2 to take fifth in the
AMA ATV Pro Class
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John Natalie was looking good in the first
moto as he flew off the line in second behind
Wienen. Natalie was close for the first couple
of laps, but came under fire from Josh Upperman.
Upperman eventually dropped off a bit giving
Natalie some breathing room, but shortly after
Natalie got crossed up on a downhill sweeper
and crashed. After the wreck, Natalie had
trouble getting his quad started again, but
once he got it to re-fire, he did continue
to race and would end moto one in 14th place.
Moto two went a little better for Natalie.
Although he did not get the best start, as
he came off the line in mid pack, Natalie
pressed forward and worked his way up to fifth,
giving him ninth overall and allowing him
to stay in second in the pro points chase.
“Things didn’t go exactly how
I had planned but I am going to keep working
hard and I’ll be going for a win at
Millville,” said Natalie.
Round number seven of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross
Championships will be heading to Spring Creek
Motocross in Millville, MN on June 4th –
5th where the Motoworks team plans to dominate
the podium.