2009 New England ATV Motocross - Rd 4 - MX338 Southwick - ATV Race Coverage

[Pappy]

Round 4!!! Good lord these things tend to just scoot along! We were back this round at the world famouse MX338 facility, affectionally known as Southwick. This was my first time to this track and I was warned ahead of time that it gets brutal!

I hadn't walked 10 feet from the car and 2 or 3 people quickly told me that the sandy soil whoops out and makes for some seriously rough MX action. They also filled me in that there wasn't any spectaular air to be had either which let a little wind out of my sails but hey, you can't have it all:p

For those who haven't ever been here either, if you do go, bring some walkin shoes! The track is located a small downhill walk from the pit area and you will be taking the shoe leather express as pit bikes are a no-no.

The Amatuer action was well underway on sunday morning as this was a 1 day event with no open practice on saturday like many other rounds.

Race Results (http://www.atvriders.com/atvresults/neatv-mx-2009-04-atv-race-results.html)

[Pappy]

One of the first shots I took was of a rider hung up in a corner on a sand filled rut. I was kind of excited to be at a new to me track, but knew that the day would be long for many riders who would have to deal with the brutal conditions!

[Pappy]

Site member and all around good guy Justin Alger was busy in moto one as he jumped out to the early lead in College B

[Pappy]

I would have to say that atleast in moto 1, Alger had eaten a healthy dose of Wheaties as he ran out front and virtually unchallenged to claim the moto win.

Luke Marois #44 and Ryan Coleman #42 would battle for the runner up spot and Marios would take the second spot when the moto ended.

[Pappy]

Alger would cruise in to take the checkered flag and made it all look to easy. Justin was amess at the last round as he battled a stomach virus so it had to make him feel pretty good to come out swinging here at the Wick!

[Pappy]

Youth racing is pretty robust in the NEATV series, which I am grateful for! Keeping our young riders on the gate will garuntee us future competitors as they grow with the sport.

[Pappy]

The mini riders would have thier work cut out for them here as well, as the very limited ground clearence and tire swallowing ruts would have to be dealt with

[Pappy]

Justin may have been down with the sickness at the last round, but it would be yours truly who was under the weather at this round. I had been battling stomach cramps and dehydration all week and wasn't feeling very sporty:p

Paige Whipple sure seemed to be feeling great as she ripped out the holeshot in Open C Novice!

Paige would also suffer a dislocated shoulder in a wreck that occurred. We wish her a speedy recovery!

[Pappy]

Paige would fend off several attempts by Kevin Turner in thier first moto as he challenged for the lead

[Pappy]

Paige would eventually put some breathing room between herself and Turner and claim the moto 1 win!

[Pappy]

The talent in this series is pretty sharp, and good racing is found in most classes. I urge anyone in this region that wants to give MX racing a try to do thier best to attend one of thier events.


Don't let the carnage fool you, you can do it!

[Pappy]

Danny Shae would run to the lead in Vet 30+ in moto 1

[Pappy]

Trip Devault #37 would get the holeshot but would be passed by Shae. Devault would have a solid moto and would finish 4th

[Pappy]

The action was non stop as the moto's were run. The turn out looked to be pretty strong and the crew's were busy trying to keep everything running on schedule

[Pappy]

Dylan Murcott would run out front early in Open Expert A but would find pressure in a hurry

[Pappy]

That pressure would come from a hard charging Brian Daigle who would claim the moto 1 win

[Pappy]

Without any big jumps, we would be watching the pounding given out by the track. The video we have will show it alot better then pictures can!

I hateto show my age, but sans the whooped out sand, this is exactly the type of tracks I started racing on back in the late 80's:p

[Pappy]

The lines would change moto after moto as one line or the other would take a beating from the moto before.

[Pappy]

Several racers told me it was a war to be won by those that could hang on the longest!

[Pappy]

Staging stayed pretty full as the day wore on. The weather was cooperating but the passing rain clouds would give us a spit here or there and a break from the hot sun!

[Pappy]

One thing I found at fast here at Southwick, if your not going up, your going down! The entire track, with the exception of a small portion located on the very top, is placed in a valley.

[Pappy]

Greg Bolduc and Brad Burbine would find themselves pitted in battle in Open Amateur B.

[Pappy]

Now I am not the best or fastest racer ever, even though my mom tells me I was:p but I have no idea how some of you guys go as fast as you do over such rough track and have time to scope out a honey hangin' on the fence:eek2: :D

[Pappy]

Everyone else ignored the eye candy and did thier best to run down Bolduc and Burbine who were checkin out!

[Pappy]

Bolduc and Burbine would finish in order and had quite the battle!

[Pappy]

Production Stock B ripped off the gate and it was Justin Locke putting his Can Am out front!

Locke would win both moto's!

[Pappy]

Production Stock C followed and it was Jesse Dumont grabbing the holeshot!

[Pappy]

Dumont would catch a kicker right after the 1st turn and that was all the room needed for Brian Hanks to take the lead!

Hanks would power to the win in moto 1

[Pappy]

Curtis Gillilan would have a great start to his moto in Sport (15+) by grabbing the holeshot and riding the moto win. That would be the highlight of his day as he suffered some issues and wouldnt start the 2nd moto or be in the Youth 200/300 B class. I hope it was an equipment failure, usually this means an injury.

[Pappy]

Herb Phillips would go 2-1 in the Sport class to claim the win!

[Pappy]

Abram Hakala would find a class win in the Youth 200/300 B class!

[Pappy]

Hakala would get a win, but it would be the 2-1 performance of Joshua Mondo taking the class overall!

[Pappy]

Chris Dipietro would grab the holeshot in Youth 200/300 C but would soon find himself doing battle with someone else who wanted the lead!

[Pappy]

By turn 2, Jacob Chamberlain had scooted by for the lead, and thats where he stayed! Chamberlain would ride to a 1-1 win!

[Pappy]

The racing continued non stop as I was starting to feel pretty bad again. I will say this, there has never been a more thought out placement of Porto-jons anywhere:p

[Pappy]

Justin Alger would be back at the front of College B as he battled for the holeshot

[Pappy]

I met Justin and his family quite a few years ago when he was just starting out on a 300ex. It's quite an honor to now get to see him battling for wins !

[Pappy]

Hammer down son!:D

[Pappy]

Justin was in the lead but pressure was not far off as Luke Marois wasn't to keen of finishing 2nd in the first moto and was looking for the win!

[Pappy]

Lap after lap these boys were going at it......some of the best racing of the day!!

[Pappy]

The class doesn't matter, give me some bar to bar racing and you will be cheering them on!

[Pappy]

I was pretty stoked to see Justing in such a great race, that I hustled across to catch the pair at the finish line.

Justin would give up the lead and Marois would claim the win!

[Pappy]

Justin would finish 2nd but man what a great battle!

[Pappy]

The 1st Pro moto was on the line as we all waited to see how this would run out.

Josh Creamer, hot off his AMA National win, was on hand to get some seat time and hopefully another win for himself.

Creamer wasted no time making his presence felt as he rocketed to the holeshot!

[Pappy]

Nate Morrello wasn't going to hand it to him and worked his KTM to the inside

[Pappy]

Creamer, Morello and Joe Haavisto run 1-2-3 as moto one was underway!

[Pappy]

Working in order, these guys were rippin!

[Pappy]

Haavisto wasted no time and worked past Morrello. I have a feeling he wanted to keep Creamer in check and not let him get off to an early lead without atleast letting Creamer know he was there

[Pappy]

Rocco Arno and Myles Santaniello were having a good battle just behind the leaders

[Pappy]

Jason Connell was hammering the Southwick sand as he battled for position

[Pappy]

Michael Pilotte was not off to a good start and was mid pack. Pilotte headed into this race in a very tight points race with Haavisto

[Pappy]

Creamer was treating this place like it owed him money and it sure looked like he was going to set his KFX on hyper speed and roll out!

I saw this puff of smoke as he gagged it coming out of a corner, and combined with the smell of oil and antifreeze that was now filling the track from many machines, I wondered who would be the first to shut one down:p

[Pappy]

Haavisto and Morello ran 2nd and 3rd as they passed my position, and I took notice that Aaron Meyer's was having a pretty sweet start to this first moto as well

[Pappy]

Creamer had pulled a lead over a hard charging Haavisto as he rocketed out of sight

[Pappy]

Morello held 3rd as all 3 riders can be seen heading into the back section fo the track

[Pappy]

Rich Stambach stays hard on the throttle as he works his LTR through the soft sand

[Pappy]

Pomeroy's Can Am would be the first victim of the race as the heat generated by running in this soil was taking it's toll

[Pappy]

Creamer rolled by with the lead and he was still puffing smoke

[Pappy]

Haavisto and Morello remained unchanged and Santaniello had moved up a position

[Pappy]

Pilotte's Honda would fail victim as well

[Pappy]

I spotted smoke from across the track....and Creamers ride left him sitting.

[Pappy]

With Creamer sending smoke signals for a tow, Haavisto stepped into the lead and was gone!

[Pappy]

Morello suddenly found himself in the number 2 spot!

[Pappy]

Santaniello would slide into the 3rd spot as the white flag was out!

[Pappy]

Haavisto had to be feeling good about the win, but I know he would have rather taken it from Creamer by beating him on the track. Hey a win is a win! Give Joe one more in the win column!

[Pappy]

Open Pro -AM would be the next chance for everyone to catch some fast guys doing what they do as the field was graced by some of the countries best ATV racers!

Creamer had a new clutch installed and was ready to give it another go!

Morello would put his KTM out front as he grabbed the holeshot!

[Pappy]

Nate's KTM has power for sure! And combined with the sandy soil, someone was going to eat some serious roost!

[Pappy]

Haavisto was in second by turn two and Creamer was going to get in some passing practice as he was at the back of the pack!

[Pappy]

Joe put the whammy on Nate and now had clear track ahead as he takes command!

[Pappy]

Creamer was already moving up!

[Pappy]

With less then a 1/4 of a lap cleared, Creamer was now mid pack and making things look way easy as he clawed his way towards the front!

[Pappy]

Haavisto knew he had to keep charging as Nate wouldn't cut him any slack and Creamer would not show any mercy if he could catch him!

[Pappy]

Creamer was up to 4th as he follows fellow Kawi mounted Jason Connell over the finish line table

[Pappy]

Aaron Meyer's rides ahead of Rocco Arno as the pair heads out of sight. Meyer finished 4th in the 1st pro moto and was doing well here in Pro Am!

[Pappy]

Creamer worked past Connell and now held the 3rd spot

[Pappy]

Good racing was just about everywhere you looked!

[Pappy]

Joe was on rails! (Ok, they might have been whooped out rails but he was rollin!)

[Pappy]

Time was fast running out as Creamer was showing why he is a Pro...he put his head down and rode to the front!

[Pappy]

Haavisto was holding the lead with just a few more laps to go.

[Pappy]

Creamer needed to catch and work on Morello before he could go after the leader

[Pappy]

As Nate flew by the mechanics area, he was being told the gap was shrinking!

[Pappy]

Vincent Mofford #26 would make the pass on Max Anderson in the next corner

[Pappy]

In a "Thats Racin" moment, Morello would hook a rut that would hang him up allowing many riders to get past him...including Creamer who gladly took the second spot!

Morello had 2nd and it would have come down to the wire as Creamer was closing in. Nate would drop from 2nd and battle his way back to finish 7th after a great race!

[Pappy]

Haavisto would claim the moto win, and back it up by winning the 2nd Pro Am moto as well!

[Pappy]

Creamer would coast across the finishline taking 2nd

[Pappy]

I had planned on cruising the pits after trudging up the hill. Yes trudging, I was feeling like crap and it was a task:p

Once I refilled my H2O supply and armed myself with some frsh batteries, my jaunt was cut short by a passing shower. Thanks to the Haavisto crew who allowed me and Cody to duck in and dodge a few rain drops:p

[Pappy]

Shaun from K&K Atv has officially gone to the dogs!

[Pappy]

With the Pro and 1st Pro Am run, everything got back to it's hurried schedule.

Cameron Dufault had a great day and went 1-1 for the 0-50cc Limited (4-8) win!

[Pappy]

Ryan Dupont was riding the wheels off his Apex as he went 2-1 for the class win in 0-90cc Auto Jr. (8-11)

[Pappy]

Ryan Dupont would not only claim the previous win, but secured his second win on the day in 0-90cc Mod. (8-15)

[Pappy]

The second Pro moto was about to hit the gate as the threat of storms hit us. I know one good lightening strike sent me looking for cover , but thankfully that was all we had to deal with

Everyone was waiting out the last few minutes for them to be called to the line

[Pappy]

Getting the place in order:p

[Pappy]

Creamer chats with another racer as the moments ticked away

[Pappy]

Rich Stambach has long been a proud supporter of ATVriders.com, and we are happy to have guys like him supporting us! I usually have stickers at the track so dont be afraid to ask for them!

[Pappy]

The time was at hand and the gate dropped!

One last chance to make things right!

[Pappy]

Nate Morrello looked to have taken a bad bounce and it sent him right into the path of others!

[Pappy]

Nate would run smack dab into Jon Hansen and then the pair of them would take Creamer out

[Pappy]

Pomeroy came to an abrubt stop as he was headed over the bars!

[Pappy]

Creamer was lucky he wasn't making this a duet as he comes to a stop. He did get front row seats to a pretty good dismount!

[Pappy]

With the action happening at a blurring pace, who would I be if I couldn't catch it all:D

Santaniello grabs the holeshot!

[Pappy]

From the leaders...back to check on Pomeroy who was now getting up and looked to be ok

[Pappy]

Santaniello was off and running...with Haavisto hammer down behind him!

[Pappy]

Creamer was back up and rolling, and would be looking at running through this pack one more time!

[Pappy]

Santaniello and Haavisto were going at it pretty good!

[Pappy]

Another rider was soon to get a taste of how soft or hard....the Wick can be as Ralle Rookey plants himself!

[Pappy]

Stambaugh did a heck of a job steering clear of him!

[Pappy]

Luckily he wasn't injured and would remount and continue the race

[Pappy]

Creamer arrived to late to catch his second wreck of the day:p

[Pappy]

Joe would find himself right where wanted to be, out front!!!

[Pappy]

Myles Santaniello is one fast cat.....

At the 1st round, all he did is wreck in front of me, but not today! He looked great out there as he chased down Haavisto!

[Pappy]

Morello had been charging his way towards the front and now Creamer had found some evening traffic that he needed to clear!

[Pappy]

Aaron Meyers was off to another great moto as he ran in the top 5

[Pappy]

At every turn, Creamer was looking for every inch!

[Pappy]

Pomeroy was back in action after his first turn get off

[Pappy]

Haavisto was dialed in.....and running out front with a stock engine!

[Pappy]

Morello had moved into 4th, and Creamer was now in 5th!

[Pappy]

If there was a day when things couldnt go any better, Haavisto was on a mission and was heading to the victory if he could stay smooth for just another lap or two!

[Pappy]

Creamer wasn't finish just yet...he was about to put Morello a position down as he took 3rd away!

[Pappy]

Santaniello still held second and any glimpse he could get behind him wasnt going to make him happy....Creamer was coming!

[Pappy]

Haavisto was only 1 lap from securing this days victory!

[Pappy]

Creamer now held the 2nd spot and would have just 1 more lap to get the job done

[Pappy]

Santaniello had put in a valiant charge and was now positioned to claim the 3rd spot, just as he had done in moto 1

[Pappy]

Meyers was working hard on his Polaris to stay up front and with his first moto finish, he was in a good position to get on the podium!

[Pappy]

Joe was only a few hundred yards from victory!!!

(Hey Dunk...feel the love:D )

[Pappy]

He had done it! Haavisto had put in a perfect day! 4 moto wins would net him the points lead in the Open Pro class and put a capper on one damn fine day of racing!

Joe, I told you I would catch the arm pump:D I will make sure you get a full rez shot;)

[Pappy]

Creamer would snatch 2nd away and I know it would have been a different race if the start hadn't been a mess. I would have loved to have been witness to Creamer and Haavisto going at it, but thats racin!

[Pappy]

Santaniello would take 3rd, a great job on this day at one rough track!

For Pilotte , he will have his work cut out for him now that Haavisto has the points lead. I have no doubt that come the next round, the battle will be fierce!

[Pappy]

Thats all she wrote folks.

Haavisto, Santaniello and Meyer's walk proud as they claim the top spots!

I had alot fo fun even though I felt like i'd been run over by a truck (not really funny, we saw a lady get run over and killed on the way home....which just added to my tummy issues:p )

I hope to see everyone again soon and we hope you enjoyed the race coverage of round #4 of the NEATV Series!!!!

Pappy Out!

[hypersnyper6947]

awesome post as always, i felt like i was watching it first hand, that must have taken quite some time to post.....good stuff:)

[Pappy]

motohanks has been gracious enough to give us some video from his race! Great job on teh video and excellent race!!

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[CTmxyfz]

Great write up! I wasnt fully covered from the flu, but i hope to be back in full force next race. Pappy your write ups amaze me. Nice work.

Good job to all NEATV riders, i believe southwick is the toughest track period!

[ROBBSRACING]

Great work Pappy. I wish I had known you were there. It would have been nice to finally put a face to the name.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by ROBBSRACING
Great work Pappy. I wish I had known you were there. It would have been nice to finally put a face to the name.

I saw Robbie running and went to the gate to see if i could find you after the race but no dice:p

I will be at the next round I believe....please throw a rock at me if I pass by so i can meet ya!!!!

Justin...coverage is easy, I just apply my gift for BS'n to the keyboard:devil: ;)

[8686]

Good stuff.

[chawness]

I didn't see one quad with the right rear tire for that track. I guess only us old school guys know its the 20" stock Honda radial...

[ZSNOW]

Good job pappy! i saw you after practice. i was sitting in the stands when you walked by. i was doing everything possable to figure out how to ride in the freakin sand! lol.

and the 20" honda radials woulda bounced you off the front of the quad. i had my 18 inche razrs and i was def looking for less sidewall:D

[Pappy]

Cody didn't see what the big deal was.....


That place reminded him of our opening rounds in Florida...2 hours straight in sand filled whoops:p :blah:

[ZSNOW]

yeah, im a person that slams into berms and uses them as brakes..that doesn't work so good when the berms move;)

[PaigeWhipple67]

Hey I love the race coverage it is always so captivating! Thank you for the get well wishes and the picture on the home page. That was pretty neat to see! See you guys soon!

[Pappy]

Originally posted by PaigeWhipple67
Hey I love the race coverage it is always so captivating! Thank you for the get well wishes and the picture on the home page. That was pretty neat to see! See you guys soon!

Your quite welcome.

I have been getting alot of kudos on this series coverage from Europe, you fellers and gals best be lookin' sharp, your global:D

[KEVIN132]

awesome job!!
capeway is JUMP FILLED!!!

see ya there :D

[Pappy]

Pro Videos posted

http://www.atvriders.com/atvracing/neatv-mx-2009-04-mx338-pro-atv-race-report-videos.html