2006 ATVA MX Nationals Round #1 – Glen Helen - Race Coverage

Devore, CA – The ATVA MX Nationals are set to begin with practice starting today at Glen Helen for over 400 entries and possibly reaching the 500 mark by tomorrow morning.

The LT-R450 was released to the public just in time to be an eligible machine to compete on in the opening round of the motocross nationals, and Doug Gust & Jeremiah Jones were busy making their final adjustments. Also, several media publications were signing up their test riders to compete in this weekend’s event. Unfortunately, I scratched myself from this list, which allowed a local ATV racer to be able to acquire the Blingstar Nerf Bars from my Quadracer, which are required to race along with a kill-cord. These two add-ons are all that is required to prepare a Suzuki LT-R450 to race in the Nationals.

Team Suzuki/Yoshimura Sponsor, Blingstar, produced the aluminum products from race team including the mandatory nerfbars. Blingstar’s own Freddie Sheppard was on hand to make sure everything was running smoothly for the Suzuki Team and their lineup of ATVs prepared for the media to race this weekend.

The Suzuki crew of mechanics was kept busy prepping the QuadRacers for the Media.

Doug Morris, ATVA President, even took a spin on the new Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer on the Back Track at Glen Helen, and I must say that I was surprised how well he rode, and he even wasted no time doubling a few of the jumps on the track

The opening round attracted racers from all over the USA and even some racers from other countries including Canadian Pro Champion Richard Pelchat and even Luke Beechey from the down under. Also, in attendance was Richard Cole and some of his riders from the United Kingdom.

Richard Pelchat with a Thumbs Up after a 50 hour drive to California

Some ATV Racers may not have traveled as far, but they sure had to improvise to make it to the event, which is what I call determination!

The Pits around the track were filling up and many relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful weather with temps in the 80's and it is expected to remain this way for the entire weekend, which is a welcome change from last year.

The Pro Class has 28 Entries and the Pro Am Production has a huge 37 entries.

Many riders switched to different machines from last year, and Tavis Cain was yet another as he showed up with a Honda 450R

John Natalie Jr was busy dialing in his Honda as well, and with HMF's Hans making the trip out from Ohio to install John Natalie's Signature Series Exhaust.

Tire Balls, Wade Summers, was also in attendance showing off his new MX Tire Balls, which John Natalie Jr will be racing this weekend. Also, Tire Balls is offering arider contigency program to all ATVA MX Racers, so be sure to visit their website for more details because riders that haven't even purchased Tire Balls yet are eligible to receive Tire Ball Bucks just for signing up for the program.

visit www.tireballs.com for more details