2005 GNC MX Round 3 - Gatorback MX Park

[GNC_Reporter]

Well you've already seen the warm-up and live coverage, here we go with the seeing for yourself portion of the story.

;)

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Keith Little #12 winner of round 2 looks relaxed as he talks with others prior to the start of the first moto.

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Kory Ellis #53 looks for an improvement over his last two races.

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They sit quietly waiting to get unleashed.

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So does Joe Havvisto!

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And these guys!

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In case you were wondering what Jeremiah Jones’ 100 db Yoshimura exhaust looks like.

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Matt White and Donald Lysinger may be true privateers but their consistent performances by easily qualifying for the Pro class prove they are some of the best.

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Rookie Josh Creamer #270 gets some insight from the MIA Mike Walsh. Owner of Walsh Race Craft, Mike and crew are making the big move from the northeast to just under and hour north of Gatorback MX Park in Florida. They are about 75% done so look for WRC to have a new address soon.

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Gilbert Attix #309 has one of the loveliest umbrella girls in the pits with fiance Tracy Soloman....former racer but after a bad elbow injury she ended her racing career and does a great job helping to further Gilbert's.

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Pat Brown #199 contemplates his potential starting position.

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Jason Dunkelberger #19 gets his shop together.

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The most intense, exciting action packed portion of every race...the start. John Natalie edges out everyone as he clinches the holeshot.

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In a hit and run accident, Dustin Wimmer has his own pile-up after being bumped sending him over. Josh Creamer had no place to go but straight into him as he was going down. Wimmer suffered a shoulder injury and in a valiant attempt to salvage points he tried to keep riding but would eventually succumb to the pain, ending his day.

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East Coast ATV mounted John Natalie switched up his plastics and remained bright Honda red the entire moto rocking it from start to finish.

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To give you and idea of that lead, at the bottom of the quarry riders crest the hill to a sharp U-turn back down then up to the start/finish jump. Here Kory Ellis #53 makes that turn followed by Travis Spader #30 while Natalie is all but gone.

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As the rest of the class tails them.

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Almost as soon as the race started, Josh Creamer (270) of North Stonington, Connecticut would suffer a broken axle sending his tire in the opposite direction of where it should be.

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Alba Racing Yamaha rider Kory Ellis (53) has no room for error as Steele City Yamaha’s Travis Spader (30) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Doug Gust (55) hold tight to his every move. They would end the moto in that order…2, 3 and 4.

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Having a stellar start, Lost Creek Cycle rider Jason Dunkelberger (19) on his Yamaha holds his own finishing 8th for the moto behind a very strong field of riders.

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Getting a middle of the pack start, Tavis Cain (6) of McKinleyville, California finishes just behind Dunk in 9th.

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Donald Lysinger of Atco, New Jersey finishes 15th for the moto.

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While John Natalie has first all but wrapped up, there were several parties going on further back in the racing action. Here Kory Ellis is still tailed by Spader (30), Gust (55) and Lonestar Racing Yamaha mounted Keith Little (12) while the unpictured Baldwin Honda Tim Farr (4) would be cresting the jump just behind them.

[GNC_Reporter]

Another group fighting for position, East Coast ATV’s Gilbert Attix (309) leads briefly K&K Yamaha rider Pat Brown (199) over Joe Haavisto (75) and Hetrick Racing rider Matt White on his Yamaha.

Attix would finish 13th, while Brown would finish 12th and White 14th with Havvy finishing 16th.

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Donald Lamborn of West Chester, PA makes this his first ATV MX National for the year finishing 17th for the first moto.

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Suzuki mounted Harold Goodman (708) of Romulus, Michigan takes an 11th in this first moto.

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Coming from a bad start, Jeremiah Jones of Bowling Green, Kentucky scraps his way up to the front eventually getting parked behind Farr for much of the moto. He makes the pass on the second to last lap ending the moto in sixth.

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Tim Farr settles for 7th.

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Having a killer start completing the first lap in third an unfortunate side affect of racing would catapult him to the back of the pack forcing him to fight for his 10th place finish.

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Keith Little may have been able to hold off Gust in round two of the series, but would remain staring at the back of number 55 finishing the moto just behind Gust in fifth.

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After an awesome ride, Kory Ellis does his after action review….

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…while Suzuki has lunch. (Good food by the way, they let this photog join them :D)

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Fans line up for not Pro autographs but the famous Cuban sandwiches.

*they did eventually line up for the Pro autographs at 1:45 :p

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Not Doug Gust

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Coming out of hiding, Shane Hitt (white shirt, second from the right and national No. 5) of Buckannon, West Virginia makes his way through the pits talking with fans wondering about his plans as he has yet to attend a MX National. With his severe ankle injury nearly a year ago, he is still healing and decided to hold off on motocross to gear up for his attack on the TT series which starts in June. It’s going to be interesting as Suzuki goes TT racing, with Shane Hitt as their main man.

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While the No. 2 bike gets a make-over, fans line up to take home the riders’ John Hancock’s.

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View from above.

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This is Kyle Bartolini. If you ask him he’s John Natalie’s biggest fan…well also Tim Farr and Doug Gust’s too. He’s knows them all.

See about a year and a half ago, he almost died because of a gun shot wound. He survived but lives life in a wheel chair where doctors said he would never move his arms again let alone ever walk. A huge fan of ATV racing, all he wants is to ride an ATV someday. He met his hero Tim Farr at Red Bud last year and with the pictures of that experience as his motivation, he works everyday to continue to prove his doctors wrong, just like he did with his arms. In Gainesville for nearly a month prior to this national, he has been working with an adult spinal research facility where he only recently was able to pull himself up with the help of a harness making his first small steps instilling the hope he and his family was looking for. You couldn’t wipe the smile off of this kids face as he was wheeled around the pits meeting again his favorite riders that give him the motivation to make a dream a reality. Look for something special at Red Bud a year later after the first time he met his hero’s.

[GNC_Reporter]

In every action packed event their has to be a touching moment before you get to the climax of the story. Here is the beginning of that as the hundreds of fans lined the hilltop and stands to catch a glimpse of John Natalie edge out everyone again to take the second moto holeshot.

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Railing down mechanic lane, Natalie holds his lead this time followed by Travis Spader (30) and Jason Luburgh (8).

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Boards up.

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Jason Luburgh of Zanesville, Ohio had one of those amazing rides that you read about for the entire moto until the last lap where he made a simple mistake costing him big sending him back to 15th and finishing the day with a 13th overall. He remains in the top ten going into round four with 35 points.

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Never loosing his spot over Doug Gust, the No. 2 Suzuki Yoshimura rider Jeremiah Jones and Gust worked their way up together through the pack from seventh and eight in the first lap to second and third by the final.

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After following Kory Ellis (55) for over half the moto, Tim Farr would get around him in lap seven only to connect with Joe Byrd (7) in an unexpected occurance on the last lap sending him to 13th for a 10th overall. He may have lost his points lead but he still remains in third for points with 59.

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Jason Dunkelberger moved up on position over the first moto to finish in ninth giving him the same for overall. For the first time this year, he finds himself seeded for round four as he sits tenth in points.

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Gilbert Attix (309) and Josh Creamer (270) ride close much of the race. Attix would finish over Creamer in 16th with the same for overall while Creamer resided in 18th going 19th for overall.

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Donald Lysinger the 411 finished just behind Attix for the moto and in the overall with 17th.

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Donald Lamborn may have finished in the last position for the moto but just getting to the pro mains is a feat in itself. He finished the day with 18th overall.

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Matt White takes 14th for and overall of 15th. He remains in 12th for points tied with Joe Havvisto.

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Making an improvement over moto one, Harold Goodman (708) goes from 11th on the first lap to 7th by the last. He rides his Suzuki to an overall of 8th and sits just shy of 10th by five points in 11th with 26.

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Pat Brown although unpleased with his performance, made it a far cry from the last round by finishing the moto in 10th and placing him in 17th for points with 20.

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Keith Little didn't have as much fortune in the second moto as he did the first. Not that fifth from the first is what winner of the second round was hoping to walk away with either but altogether he obtained a ninth in this moto giving him a sixth overall. He is still in plenty of striking distance for the championship as we have a long series to go. He currently sits in fifth for points with 53. 13 points behind the leader.

[GNC_Reporter]

Tavis Cain moved up one position over the first moto to finish in eighth. He made a drastic improvement over the overalls of his first two rounds by adding 14 more points to his total by finishing in 7th overall. He currently sits in 14th for points.

[GNC_Reporter]

After a bummer of a first moto, Joe Byrd came back strong finishing in the top five, but because of a DNF he would overall the day with 12th. He remains in the top 10 for points with 36.

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Kory Ellis would've prefered a positioning that mirrored that of the first moto, but instead he had to settle with sixth giving him a fifth overall. He adds 16 points to total 43 where he sits in seventh for points.

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Although he held off Doug Gust all moto, it still wasn't enough to put him on the podium even after all the confusion as they sorted out the tally on the overall points. Jeremiah Jones (2) would end the moto in second shy of the podium by one point. None-the-less, he sits in second for points just six behind his teammate with 60.

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After gaining nearly a 30 lead over the entire class, John Natalie showed he's ready for an awesome season. As he makes a relaxed last lap waving at the crowd....

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...fans like this were making noise for the rider who showed them all up.

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Fans yell up to Travis Spader in congratulations of placing his Steele City Yamaha on the box for the first time this season, proving that he really is back and intends to be a regular up there.

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This belongs to John Natalie. Moto to moto winner of the 2005 Gatorback National.

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After the podium, a few protests plagued the celebration. While Suzuki protested fuel, Natalie struck back with a displacement and fuel protest. While fuel won't be decided for over a week, the displacements of both Doug Gust and Jeremiah Jones' bikes were deemed legal by Rich Hetrick who measured them.

We will keep you posted on the outcome of the fuel.

[GNC_Reporter]

Looking back, it was so great to finally attend a national that wasn't part mudbog. Florida lived up to it's name of the Sunshine state by giving us some of the best conditions for both rider and photographer. :D

A few side thoughts as we head into the exciting round that is often times what is deemed as the National the separated the men from the boys. Or Women from the girls, so I can be politically correct on all accounts. ;) While it doesn't lead as the series opener anymore, Echeconne MX Park will definitely not be the one you want to miss and if the 711 entries from this round can tell you anything, Georgia is going to have a pretty big influx of ATV traffic come April 2nd.

With regards to the Pro class, think about this. Each winner of the three rounds so far have only been on the podium that one time. The riders who are first and second for points have yet to take a win, and both of them have been on the podium twice. Less than ten points separate first through fouth. Less than 20 points separate the top six.

There have been championships won on sheer consitency without ever earning a win. It's shaping up to be a really good year for ATV MX racing.

See you Georgia.

For official results log onto www.atvaonline.com

[Cron]

Nice pictures and thank you for the coverage. Loved reading it.

Wish I was independently rich and did not have to worry about money/school so I could run the series.

[RemNS]

You Go !!!!!! Pics looked awesome and the style is great!

You said that you are an understudy to who???????????????????

You might match him right now by the way the pics look!

Great Job and thoughts!

See you in Georgia!!

Rick Frisco
RemNS Productions
ATV INC

[MXBlaster23]

Ya really nice pictures! You should start taking pictures of more classes too!

[mxmike17]

Thanks for the coverage.:cool:

[Quad Racer 55]

Anyone notice the LTZ 450 sticker on the Suzuki bikes?

[robman]

I was just thinking about that,very interesting:rolleyes: ????

[Cdaleracer]

i noticed it too

[lobomx250r]

it is kind of weird that gust has not gotten a win yet this year. He is going to be a force all year but im gonna go with john natalie to win it overall. Hes a good rider and has the drive. Another reason i like him is because he is all about the fans and bettering the sport. He seems very sociable. If he was the 05 champion, he would represent atv racing the best.

[400-416EX]

Good job Josh. Hope to see ya doin better in the upcoming races. Can't wait to watch ya the neat series.

[Freestylemxr]

If you think about it Team Suzuki could be running their prototype z450 engine and no one would know!

[WhiteBros400ex]

i like seeing a local ridder like donald lamborn on here he lives close to me i have acutally rode with him before.

Nice pics:cool:

[mike bartolini]

thanks to all pros for making this weekend a good motivation for kyle to work hard the next 6 weeks

[Sportrax10]

Originally posted by WhiteBros400ex
i like seeing a local ridder like donald lamborn on here he lives close to me i have acutally rode with him before.

Nice pics:cool:

Same here,

Keep up the good work with the coverage..

The pics are awesome... :macho

[FTR250Rnif]

real good coverage.. too bad for Creamer tho..hes real fast:)

[NTPracing22]

Way to go Josh. Looks like you caught onto the Wes luck for a little there. But hey, look at the bright side, at least you schooled in your qualifier!

[robman]

the rmz450 motor is half that size so don't even think thats the prototype engine.Lean and mean:devil:

[rollie]

sweet covrage

too bad for creamer tho:( he's still the man:cool:

[SECCRS]

Am I the only one to notice that it sayz LT-Z450 on the side of that factory Suzuki?


And if that is a factory produced ATV then dont so many have to be available to the public before they can run it?

[NTPracing22]

Originally posted by SECCRS
Am I the only one to notice that it sayz LT-Z450 on the side of that factory Suzuki?



Originally posted by Quad Racer 55
Anyone notice the LTZ 450 sticker on the Suzuki bikes?

[NTPracing22]

Originally posted by SECCRS
And if that is a factory produced ATV then dont so many have to be available to the public before they can run it?

My guess is no. If it was illigal then they wouldn't have stickers on the side of the quad promoting the new motor.

[jrdcrf419]

hey spader


good jog i ges i will see you at atco well c ya

[jones5790]

That's pretty sharp of you guys to notice the Z-450 sticker on Jones and Gust's bikes. They are still running the old Z-400 motors built up to a 450. The sticker is just a sticker and symbolizes nothing more than a built up Z-400 motor.

[GNC_Reporter]

Information from Doug Morris of the ATVA

The fuel protested by Team Suzuki was sent to a lab in Delaware. Two samples were taken and both came back with a gravity level of .71 and oxygen level of .49

Per the 2005 ATVA GNC MX Series supplemental rules found by CLICKING HERE (pdf) (http://www.amadirectlink.com/rulebooks/supps/2005/ATVA_GNC_MX_supps.pdf) number 6 on page two will show that gravity levels must be between .700 and .765 with maximum oxygen content at 2.8%.

The fuel John Natalie was using was well within the legal requirements.

[cdoofxr1]

what about the suzuki fuel? what did it measure???

[tdd6405]

i dont mean to push any buttons, but does it seem unsportsman-like to anyone else that suzuki keeps protesting the winners?

(with farr and natalie) it just makes me think differently about the suzuki team. is it Gust or Jones protesting, or team Suzuki itself?

[Kyle_Racer_31]

It Suzuki .......itself

[robman]

I hope suzuki gets there but kicked so they will be forced to release the new 450 earlier.:D

[EvilEwok]

Suzuki is just being a sore loser I guess, maybe they are seeing that everyone is taking steps to put more effort into their bikes this year so they won't let Gust walk them again like last year. The season will definetly get better in the coming months. But anyway, congrats to all the winners, especially Natalie! Both moto's, great job.