2008 AMA PRO ATV Motocross Nationals #6 - High Point -ATV Race Coverage

[Pappy]

Round #6 headed to high ground as the series hit the Highpoint Raceway in Mt. Morris PA. Over 700 entries once again showed that despite high fuel costs, people still kept the attendence high!

[Pappy]

The natural terrain layout at this facility offers several challenges for the riders, as elevation changes rob horsepower and off cambers force even mor energy to be exerted to keep the quad on the track

[Pappy]

The racing was intense, as the weather finally offered the riders hardpack track to run on.

[Pappy]

The region had seen alot of rain, but it did not take long for the track to dry out and soime dust to be kicked up. along with some nice chunks of roost

[Pappy]

Mitch Reynolds gets low as he holds off a hard charge by Bowen

[Pappy]

Bowen and Reynolds had a good battle going for most of their moto, with Bowen taking the lead

[Pappy]

The racing was non stop saturday as classes raced for their chance to be in the main in many classes.

[Pappy]

A few of the jumps at Highpoint will give you all teh air you could ever want, a great thrill for the riders and fans!

[Pappy]

Austin Moser on his way to a moto 1 victory!

[Pappy]

Riders crest a rise in the track, and prepare to pour on the power as they approach the large uphill jump

[Pappy]

Adam Blackburn competeing in 450B, rode to a 5-6 on the weekend

[Pappy]

Chris Everhart also had a solid weekend, going 2-3 in 450B

[Pappy]

Ant Burke sets sail over the uphill double, on his way to a 3rd place finish in moto 1

[Pappy]

Krista Marie heds up the rythm section in the Womens class. Krista went 3-3 on the weekend

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Kristy Laurine is easy to keep track of on the track as her color scheme sets her apart from all others!

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The ladies know how to battle, and in this section it was wheel to wheel

[Pappy]

Kelly Winters did not have the weekend she had trained for, going 9-13

On sunday, Kelly was forced to run a borrowed quad as she to was victim to the theives that struck the pit area saturday night:mad:

[Pappy]

Jeff Thompson and Chad Lohr battle in Vet A

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Lohr won the battle in moto 1

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Brian Jenkins came out swinging in Vet B/C and took both moto wins!

[Pappy]

This shot shows how hard and rough sections were. The soil baked into a concrete liek state in many areas

[Pappy]

Track workers did what they could throughout the day to get the track in better shape

[Pappy]

Saturday afternoon shaped up to be some beautiful racing weather

[Pappy]

The first turn is always full of energy, excitement and a little bit of fear!

[Pappy]

Dustin Hendershot competing in 4 Stroke A!

Was cool to meet you Dustin!

[Pappy]

Shawn Welsh going for the moto 1 win in College 16-24

[Pappy]

Andrew Pruzinsky works his Suzuki through a turn as the rest of College 16-24 works on hunting him down

[Pappy]

Brandon Jones works his way around the Highpoint track

[Pappy]

Riding with no seat can ....hurt:p

[Pappy]

The back section offered a nasty off camber and a wide open uphill run to a rythm section.

[Pappy]

The corner was an excellent place to make a pass, but making it stick would be work as the uphill was hard to nail down

[Pappy]

Traction and power were what was required. They had watered this area and it remained slick

[Pappy]

The inside line offered a quick pass oppertunity, however holding it for the uphill section would prove difficult

[Pappy]

Those who could dive to the outside and keep on the gas would have a much better run

[Pappy]

Coming into the off camber in the middle meant alot more effort and lowered speeds

[Pappy]

Saturday was filled with action and as it drew to a close, crowds were still gathering as the last few moto's of the day were run

[Pappy]

I was beat, but the light was there and I couldnt resist snapping just a few more

[Pappy]

I was killing time before the Womans Pro AM main, and was enjoying the action just like any fan:p

[Pappy]

Clay Holmes is always fun to watch ride, his speed and fluid riding style make him a pleasure to shoot

[Pappy]

The 1st moto in Womens Pro AM was run saturday morning, and the racing would be awesome as they launched off the gate

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Heather Byrd has secured th holeshot, but it was a hard charging Susan parker who came in to score lap 1 with the lead!

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Byrd was trying to reel in Parker as she is shown here in 2nd

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By lap 3, Byrd had pulled up on the now tiring Parker

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Adrienne Cooper had moved into 4th behind Michelle Natalie

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Jamie Jones eyes the upcoming triple

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Byrd and Natalie over took Parker and started pulling away, and would end the moto with Byrd taking teh victory, Natalie 2nd and Parker rounding out the top 3 positions.

[Pappy]

Moto 2 would again provide the fans with action as the best women riders in the world take the gate and get the signal to go!

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Heather Byrd once again put her Honda out front as they head to the first turn

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Lap 1 was going to be all Byrd, however natalie was keeping pace. If Byrd had the slightest issue, the lead could be challenged

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Adrienne Cooper was riding extremely well and holding the 3rd spot

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Michelle Suciu riding in the 4th spot. Suciu would fall back and finish in the 6th position after a good effort

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Heather Gaul was getting the job done and would work her way to 4th in moto 2, giving her 4th overall on the weekend!

[Pappy]

Byrd continued to lead, however Natalie was closing the gap.

John Natalie gives trackside support to Michelle

[Pappy]

The lead pair was locked in a stalemate as the gap remainded constant. Every corner could be the next lead change and that makes for excellent racing!

[Pappy]

When the dust settled, it was Byrd, Natalie and Cooper standing tall on the podium! Natalie and Byrd intend on doing some practicing with each other in the coming weeks, and this should really give us some intense racing at Unadilla!

[Pappy]

Thanks for some great racing ladies, its always a pleasure to capture you all racing! And I know you have alot of fans, big and small:p

[Pappy]

I arrived sunday morning to phenominal weather conditions, and I could tell the bright sun was going to raise temperatures as they day wore on.


Clay Walkers machine was being cleaned and prepped for the days racing

[Pappy]

The days racing was well underway as i used the high points of the facility for a new perspective

[Pappy]

Row after row of classes pounded the facilty in the usual hurried pace that sunday brings

[Pappy]

Youth racing is still growing, and the competition level is immense in every class

[Pappy]

Taking a win at the nationals is a special moment.

[Pappy]

Staying away from the start area allowed me to get a heck of alot of racing in as the majority of the track was easily seen.

[Pappy]

Nick Moser was on fire, securing wins in both moto's!

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Nick gives the fans a good show as he clears the large uphill double!

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The familiar red dotted gear of Cody Gibson is easily seen as he grabs the holeshot!

[Pappy]

Gibson's name is always on the top of the list of up and coming riders, and his wide open style of riding has him recieving cheers and jeers from fans and fellow competitors.

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No matter what class, the friendship of the sport always shines through

[Pappy]

Landon Herbst did not have a good weekend, finishing 15th in moto 1. The weekend got worse when he awoke sunday morning and realized that thieves had cut all his control cables and stolen his handle bars.

[Pappy]

The dust cloud formed when Randy Lehr and another rider wrecked at the finish line jump. Lehr's weekend was filled with problems on the track that usually left him tangled with someone. keep your chin up Randy, your in one piece and there is always next round!

[Pappy]

Matt White gets carted to an awaiting ambulance after a horrific crash. Whites condition is fine, although he was pretty beat up. Get well soon Matt!

Update: Info recieved from Matt's family states:

" He is very badly bruised and has lots of swelling in his lower back, hips, and thighs. Sporatic road rash and a puncture wound on his inner thigh that required about 10 stitches."

[Pappy]

The steep face of this small double was an exciting place to shoot

[Pappy]

Cody Anderson gets out of shape but managed to save it and ride on!

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The youth riders are amazing to watch, as some of these kids push it as hard if not harder then their adult counterparts!

[Pappy]

The level of competition is higher then most adult classes and it can reach a fevered pitch when things get wheel to wheel.

[Pappy]

Taylor Seale grabbed 2nd in moto 1, and finished 8th in moto 2.

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Cody Tittle finished 1-2 in Super Mini 13-15 taking the overall!

[Pappy]

The family involvement in the youth ranks is insprational, as they all pull together for a friendly enviroment. I havent been able to do what I wanted with the youth the past 2 rounds, but will be doing my best for them at Unadilla.

[Pappy]

I sure wish we had quads like this when I was young!!!

[Pappy]

I wasnt fast enough to catch the entire wreck, but he went over the bars, the quad ran him over, he rolled a few times landing on his feet runninga nd ran down his machine, hopped on and was back to racing!

[Pappy]

I wish I could say shooting the kids is easier because they are slower, but thats not the case, they rip!

[Pappy]

That is about it for the Amateur coverage, and I hope to see everyone agaion at Unadilla. I should have my #1 assistant back in action at that round so be ready for me to be doing interviews and photoshoots as we intend on staying at the track and getting back into the groove (its been tough without my help...haha)

See everyone soon, and be sure to check out all the galleries and reports from the series here!
http://www.atvriders.com/atvracing/atva-mx-racing-2008.html#5

[FoxRacing81]

Great Coverage as usual Pappy..

I'd love to get some of the video I got on Saturday uploaded if the damn thing would all cooperate.
First time really shooting with my DVX and it came out better then I ever expected for my first time. I love this video camera haha.

[hendershot106]

NICE TO MEET U TOO PAPPY!!!!! Thanks for the great pictures and coverage- thanks for the update on matt white's condition- See ya around!!

[USAMoto00]

Awesome coverage Pappy! Hope to see you at the next round in NY! I just hope that we have more of that sunshine waiting for us there.

[Codys 2004 MX_YFZ450]

man, someday I'd like to race nationals and do this quadracing for my job, but that is not looking so good for my future cause i have to sit at home and go to work constantly everyday so I can pay off all my bills, and i will be paying bills for the next 3-4 years or more, which really sucks cause i have dreams of becoming a pro nationals quadracer, and getting sponsors, but it looks like my dream is never going to happen. sometimes i don't know why I keep doing this sport, I can never do anything I want to do like just to go and ride, i have to wait a long time till i can go out and ride cause all my money i get I have to send to paying off bills, but I don't know what to do anymore. I'm still looking to racing, but i can't do it right now. I'd like to know how I can get more involoved with this to becoming a pro racer, racing at nationals