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The Rookie Pro Rider, Dustin Wimmer, finished the year in 6th Place after having an extremely impressive first Pro Season. Dustin is young and full of talent, and I expect to see big things out of him next season.
Congratulations Dustin, and I wish you continued success in the Future:macho
Last Years Champion, Jeremiah Jones, finished 4th in the Pro Class this seaon aboard his Yamaha, but he was very optimistic about riding for Suzuki/Yoshimura on the LTZ400.
Jeremiah is 100% dedicated and he definitely has the speed which he proved to everyone at Southwick with laptimes similar to those of Pro Motorcycle Rider, Ricky Carmichael, who also recently signed with Suzuki during the off season.
3rd Place went to Tim Farr after having a very successful 1st season aboard the Honda TRX450R. With the late release of the machine, Tim & Mark struggled in the beginning getting the quad to setup to their liking, but as the season went on, Tim Farr begin settling into the 450R and found himself on Podium Several times.
I don't expect to waste any time over this winner to insure that he returns to the Podium Next Year.
Congratulation Tim on a great season in both the MX & TT Series.
2nd Place Finisher, John "The Ironman" Natalie Jr, did the unthinkable by finishing in front of two factory backed riders aboard his East Coast ATV Yamaha. John depended soley on sponsors like Maxxis, Gibson, Custom Axxis, Shift, Rausch Creek, and many others to get him to the top.
He spent all last winter traveling south training for this season, and it paid off ten fold. John Natalie Jr. lives and breathes atv racing, and it was great to see him accomplish so much this season after years of coming so close to greatness.
The speech that John gave at the GNC Banquet was one of the best of the evening, and I was not surprised one bit. John is all about the fans and helping the sport grow, which is shown in his posting on EXriders.com.
John currently hasn't been signed by any major manufacturers for next season, but I am sure that someone will snatch him up before the start of next season :macho
Finally, the MX National Champion, Doug Gust, was awarded his #1 Trophy and Plaque. It is difficult to put into words what Doug Gust has done for the growth and attention of ATV Racing, and once again, I am so thankful that he has spent the past 20 years of his life racing ATVs and represting the entire ATV community in a positivie light!!!
Thanks for Everything Doug, and I wish you continued success next season.
Also throughout the evening, the winners were drawn for the various products donated. Sherri kept busy handing out the winning prizes to the lucky winners
Jamie Luburgh was the lucky winner of a Sparks Exhaust System and Air Filter Setup:D
Also, 50/50 drawing was done a little different at the banquet with 10 number drawn, and the lucky 10 lined up on the stage and where offered to split the money or draw number and sent one of them packing with nothing similar to the Pepsi Challenge.
After several people found themselves leaving with nothing, the remaining 6 or 7 decided they would split the money, which left Sherri and Julie with plenty of counting to do to split it up equally.
Finally, before the after party began, Weekend Warrior presented it Appreciation awards to Debi Bartosek, Doc Ragon, and Jorge Cuartas for all their work this year for the Series.
When you see these three special people next season, be sure to thank them for all their hardwork behind the scenes to better ATV Racing for everyone.