Washington, GA (3/23/2014) - The new 2014 YFZ450R made a winning debut in AMA Pro ATV Motocross as Wienen Motorsports’ Chad Wienen swept to the overall victory at the opening round in Washington, Ga. on Saturday, March 22. Securing the win with 1-2 moto finishes, Wienen retains the coveted No. 1 red plate that his YFZ450R has worn consistently for the last three seasons. The successful opening round also clearly positions Wienen as the rider to beat as the nine-round series moves forward. Also battling hard at Aonia Pass Motocross Park was Wienen’s teammate Thomas Brown, who raced to 5-5 moto finishes to claim fifth overall for the day on another new YFZ450R.
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Chad Wienen earned the first win of the season at Aonia Pass in Georgia
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Early springtime Georgia weather proved ideal for racing, and Wienen took full advantage of the conditions to take the top qualifier award. In moto one, he got away to a top-three start behind rivals Joe Hetrick and John Natalie, then kept the pressure on until the midpoint of the race, when he was able to pass Natalie for second place. Wienen then turned up the intensity, closing the gap to Hetrick and finally passing for the lead with three laps remaining. Meanwhile teammate Brown started fifth and held the position right through to the flag. “It’s always good to start the season off strong,” Wienen said.
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Chad Wienen went 1-2 to take the early Pro ATV Motocross Points lead
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Moto two proved just as challenging as Wienen got pushed wide in the second turn, dropping him into second place behind Natalie. But since he was already ahead of rival Hetrick on the track, Wienen knew that he needed only to maintain the position to take the overall win. And he wisely did just that, keeping the pressure on Natalie for the entire moto in hopes of forcing a mistake, while also keeping Hetrick at bay. The strategy worked perfectly, as a scrap between Hetrick and Josh Creamer helped give Wienen some breathing room in the final laps. For his part, Brown rode the entire race inside the top five. “I was really happy to be able to come out and get the overall and points lead,” Wienen added. “It’s motivating going into the second race in two weeks.”
2014
GNCC Racing Pro Points |
| Position |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Chad Wienen – Yamaha |
47 |
| 2 |
John Natalie |
43 |
| 3 |
Joel Hetrick |
42 |
| 4 |
Josh Creamer |
38 |
| 5 |
Thomas Brown – Yamaha |
32 |
