Can-Am/ Motoworks's John Natalie place third overall and grabbed the SSi Decals AMA ATV MX Pro Holeshot Award

Vista, CA (8/1/2012) – Can-Am / Motoworks’ John Natalie, Jr. charged his way to the podium at round number nine of the 2012 AMA ATV Motocross Championships at Red Bud, while Joel Hetrick, aka: “Kid Dynamite”, finished in the top five overall.

The scorching temperatures that have been plaguing the midwest and east coast subsided a bit for this round, much to everyone’s relief and made for excellent conditions at Red Bud. The track was good with long laps that were over two minutes. The track did become a bit rough, which is typical, but that didn’t stop John Natalie, Jr. from taking a spot on the pro podium.

The first moto was exceptional for Natalie as he charged off the start and grabbed the holeshot. Natalie was looking strong and despite going over a berm early in the race, he was able to reclaim the lead quickly and take it all the way to the checkered flag for the moto one win. “I made a mistake out there and fell back, but I was able to pass back and take back the lead and get the win,” said Natalie after the first moto.

#1 John Natalie sits second in the 2012 AMA ATV MX Pro Points

For moto two, Natalie was hoping for a repeat performance, but that did not happen as he was closed out on the start and went down hard when his wheel connected with another rider. Luckily Natalie was not injured and he was able to continue racing. Natalie was not about to let his crash slow him down and he charged his way through traffic and before crossing the finish line, he recovered to the number six spot, which, combined with his moto one win, put him in third place on the pro podium.

“I was going for one line and got shut out and ended up going down. I was pretty fired up after that and tried to charge as hard as I could and I was able to get up to sixth. I really want to thank Can-Am, Motoworks and my mechanic for putting together such an awesome machine. It held up to the crash and got me to the podium,” said Natalie.

Can-Am/ Motoworks's Joel Hetrick placed fifth overall at RedBud

Joel Hetrick, who has been a regular on the podium this season was having a bit of trouble in the first moto, when a stator issue slowed him down a bit. Hetrick did not let that stop him however and he was able to take a sixth place finish in the first moto.

Hetrick rebounded for moto two and after a fifth place start, he worked his way into third place and held it all the way to the checkered flag, allowing him to round out the top five overall. “Moto two went good for me. I felt good and my quad was running great and I had a good finish,” said Hetrick.

The final round of the 2012 AMA ATV Motocros Championships will head to Loretta Lynn’s in Hurricane Mills, TN on August 11th where the Motoworks team will be going for the win.