| ATVA
ITP Moose Racing
National Motocross Series
Round #5 - Birch Creek
Danville,
Virginia
April 28 -29, 2007
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By:
Shane Hartman
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| ATVA
Motocross Nationals
Round #5 - Links |
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Danville,
VA (4/29/2007) –
Round five of the AMA Pro ATV Motocross Series was held
at Birch Creek Motorsports Recreational Park in Danville,
Virginia, which is nestled in the rolling hills of southern
Virginia. The over three hundred racers that flocked to
Birch Creek were greeted to a picture perfect weekend
for racing with clear skies and temps reaching up into
the 80’s, which was a dramatic change from the bone
chilling weather racers dealt with in Georgia just a few
weeks earlier.
The track crew went above and beyond this year in maintaining
the track through out the weekend, which provided pristine
conditions for ATV racing, which was appreciated by
all in attendance and even the spectators especially
because of the lack of dust, which had become an issue
in years past.
For a change of pace, the track was redesigned for
2007 and extended to nearly two miles long, which had
the Pros running approximately two minute lap times.
The new layout included a short whoop section followed
by a 50 foot section of sand, which led riders to the
jump deemed, “The Wall”. The large uphill
jump was no match for some of the best ATV riders in
the world. While the rest of the track remained the
same, Yamaha’s Pat Brown wasted no time putting
in the fastest lap times during practice. Putting in
laps just shy of two minutes, his lap times were over
a second faster than pro points leader Joe Byrd.
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| #7
Joe Byrd grabs the Holeshot in Moto One |
When the big hand caught up to the little hand, the pro
riders took the gate. As the national anthem neared end,
anxiety grew as many fans argued over who would take honors
in the first Moto. With a $100 on the line from ATVRiders.com
the Holeshot Award, the riders were hard on the gas climbing
the slight incline to the first corner. Joe Byrd would
claim the $100, but not without Jeremy Lawson and Pat
Brown breathing down his back. Byrd would hold the lead
through the first lap with Lawson just a quad length behind.
Brown would maintain third place with fellow Yamaha rider,
Chris Tait following up in fourth. On lap three, Tait
would drop off pace allowing Mike Brown and Justin Bres
to slip into fourth and fifth. Suzuki riders, Justin Bush
and Alex Trompen would round out the field. By lap four
the front three had already distanced themselves from
the rest of the pack.
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| The
Top Three, Joe byrd, Jeremy Lawson, and Pat Brown
swapped postions several times during the first
Moto as they freight trained around the track
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One of the best battles this year would ensue between
the top three racers(Byrd, Lawson, Brown). Swapping
positions several times in just one lap, it wouldn’t
be until lap six where Pat Brown would steal the lead.
Within a single lap, the order would be re-written when
Byrd and Lawson would take advantage of a faster line
on the track. Pat Brown didn’t back off the throttle
and over take Lawson on lap eight.
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| #36
Mike Brown handled the pressure from #99 Justin
Bres to secure a 3rd place finish in Moto One
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Lap nine would spell trouble for Brown as he would
risk a pass in the whoops to take over the lead from
Byrd. A dismount would send him to the rear of the pack.
With Pat’s misfortunes, Mike Brown would slip
into a podium spot. Justin Bres would knock on Mike’s
backdoor the entire Moto, but was unable to secure a
pass.
Back out front, Lawson was making Byrd work hard to
keep the lead. Lap twelve would conclude Moto one with
Byrd earning top honors and Lawson finishing less than
a half a second behind.
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