2005 GNC MX Round 3 - Gatorback Live Coverage

[Admin]

Finally a picture perfect weekend for GNC Motocross after two rain filled rounds to kick off the season. Beautiful blue skies with temps in the 70’s made for a great day of racing especially with the cool breeze out of the north that made it feel like it was in the 60’s. With over 711 Riders signed which was over two hundred more entries than last and the e 2nd largest signup in history to Loretta Lynn’s 730 last August. Because of the huge attendance only two LCQ races were held at the end of the day and the rest will be run first thing tomorrow morning.

Over 27 Pro Riders signed up, but only 20 would qualify to advance to Sunday’s Main Event.

Pro Qualifier Advancements:
1. #270 Josh Creamer
2. #199 Pat Brown
3. #309 Gilbert Attix
4. #19 Jason Dunkelberger
5. #6 Tavis Cain
6. #708 Harold Goodman
7. #75 Joe Haavisto
8. #80

Pro LCQ Advancements
1. #32 Matt White
2. #411 Donald Lysinger

Notable riders not advancing to the Main Event Giovanni Colon and Greg Meeks.


Women’s A Class
1. Angela Moore
2. Heather Byrd
3. Michelle Reiser
4. Jamie Rentz
5. Paula Shank

Women’s B Class
1. Leslie Ragon
2. Cheslie M.
3. Christi Hughes
4. Amanda Hoback
5. Cindi Hart

Pro Am Producion Division Results
Division One
1. Patton Thomas

Division Two
1. Chad W.

Division Three
1. Jeremy Lawson
2. Josh Williams
3. Sage Baker – Won Race but docked two postions for Flag Violation

Division Four
1.Josh Upperman


Pro Unlimited
Division One
1. Sage Baker
2.Brian S.

Division Two
1. Chad W.
2. John Ragon
3. Johnny Hale
4. Mark Kendall – Lead race until his subframe snapped and he dropped back to 4th

Division Three
1.Skyler Stewart
2.Rocco Arno Jr


Production A
Division One
1. Rich Stambach

Division two
1. Rob Arnold

Division Three
1. Justin Hanusoky
2. Derek Feser

Division Four
1. Cody Miller
2. Denton Boyer


Youth Production 13-15
Division One
1. Ricky Stair – Makes return to racing after skipping 1st two rounds
2. Eddie Edmondson

Division Two
1. Garrett Helmic
2. Shawn Wiedelt

[Admin]

Pro Moto 1

#13 John Natalie Jr grabs the Holeshot with #53 Kory Ellis and #8 Jason Luburgh right behind him. In the 4th spot is #30 Travis Spader followed by #55 Doug Gust, #19 Jason Dunkelberger, #12 Keith Little. Keith Little and and Jason Dunkelberger are battling for the position with Jeremiah Jones back to 10th. Unfortunately, #191 Dustin Wimmer wrecked on the start and was out of the race.

A few laps into the race.
Travis Spader passes Jason Luburgh and moves into the third position with DougGust and Tim Farr moving into the Top 5 when Jason Luburgh hits key switch with his knee and stalled the quad, it took him some time to figure out what the problem was before his could get going again which set him back several positions. Keith Little makes the pass Dunkleberger and takes over the 6th spot. Also, #7 Joe Byrd was out of the race after blowing his engine.


By the half way point.
Kory Ellis remains in 2nd with Travis Spader applying the pressue as John Natalie Jr begins pulling away from everyone with a 15 second lead. Keith Little begins to pressure Doug Gust for the 4th spot with #4 Tim Farr a few seconds behind the two battling as Jeremiah Jones passes Dunkelberger and pulls within a few seconds behind Farr in the 7th spot as Jason Dunkelberger trys to keep pace with the pack. Also, #270 Josh Creamer was out of the race with a snapped axle

13 Minutes into the race:
Natalie continues to pull away from Ellis in 2nd as a freight train of riders forms behind Ellis with Spader, Gust, Little, and now Farr all moving to within a few seconds of each other.

15 Minute Point
John Natalie Jr continues to increase his lead and put 20 second gap between him and Ellis, but now Ellis begins to pull away from Travis Spader with Doug Gust looking to make his moves with Little, Farr ,and now Jones are all running together in a tight group.

1. John Natalie Jr
2. Kory Ellis
3. Travis Spader
4. Doug Gust
5. Keith Little
6. Tim Farr
7. Jeremiah Jones

17 Minute Point
Kory Ellis remains in 2nd Place behind Natalie with Ellis continuing to put distance between him and Travis Spader. Either Ellis is getting a second wind or Spader is beginning to fade with Doug Gust trying to make his mover and getting a little out of control after over jumping the landing, but he keeps it together maintaining the 4th spot with Little and Farr is chase, and now Jeremiah Jones is trying to make his move a move on Tim Farr.

One lap to Go:
John Natalie Jr is riding incredible as he continues to run at an incredible pace with Kory Ellis continuing to pull away from Spader with Doug Gust holding tight in 4th with Keith Little close behind. Jermiah Jones makes the pass on Tim Farr and takes over 6th Place


Results
1. John Natalie Jr
2. Kory Ellis
3. Travis Spader
4. Doug Gust
5. Keith Little
6. Jermiah Jones
7. Tim Farr
8. Jason Dunkelberger
9. Tavis Cain
10.Jason Luburgh
11 Harold Goodman
12. Pat Brown
13 Gilbert Attix
14. Matt White
15 Donald Lysinger
16. Joe Havisto
17. Donald Lamborn
DNF Joe Byrd
DNF. Josh Creamer
DNF Dustin Wimmer

[Admin]

Pro Moto 2

Start
John Natalie Jr grabbed the Holeshot once again with Travis Spader, Jason Luburgh, Tavis Cain, Kory Ellis, Tim Farr, Jeremiah Jones, and Doug Gust in hot pursuit.

Third lap
John Natalie Jr remained hard on the gas with Travis Spader and Jason Luburgh trying hang tight with Natalie Jr as they started to pull away from Kory Ellis. Tavis Cain slipped back four positions with Kory Ellis taking over the 4th spot with Farr, Jones, Gust all moving up positions. Jeremiah Jones makes the pass on Tim Farr and moves into the 5th position.

Fifth Lap
Natalie Jr continues to lead with Jason Luburgh making the pass on Spader to take over the 2nd spot. Kory Ellis bobbled somewhere along the course and lost several positions with Jones and Gust moving into the top five past Ellis. Kory Ellis was receiving pressure from Tim Farr. Also, Joe Byrd was moving through the pack after a rough start and closed the gap on Farr after passing Tavis Cain.

Seventh Lap
John Natalie Jr remained out front with Luburgh holding tight in 2nd Place ahead of a fatigued Spader from trying to keep pace with Natalie Jr earlier in the race. Jones and Gust began pressuring Spader for the third spot.

Ninth Lap (One lap to Go)
Natalie continues to dominate the race with Luburgh in pursuit with both Jones and Gust passing Spader and move the Team Suzuki riders into the 3rd and 4th positions. Tim Farr remains in 6th with Byrd passing Ellis and moving in behind Farr.

Last Lap
John Natalie Jr went on to win the 2nd Moto, but Jason Luburgh wrecks on the step up jumps which knocks him out of the top 10 after running a great race. Jeremiah Jones crossing the finish line in 2nd Place with Doug Gust rounding out the top three. Tim Farr ran into the problems on the last lap and dropped from 6th back to 13th, but I don't have any details.


Overview
Doug Gust was able to get around Travis Spader in the 2nd moto and finish out the weekend 4-3 and take 2nd Overall with Spader finishing 3-4 to get the final podium spot, which was an awesome accomplishment for the out of retirement Travis Spader to reach the podium once again after only three races into the season. Jeremiah Jones finshed 4th overall with a 6-2 finish and missed the podium and 2nd overall by one position in the 1st moto.

Unfortunately, the 2nd Moto race was far from uneventful when it was brought up that the race only last 18 minutes instead of a 20 minutes, which meant the race should have went two more laps according to some spectators time clocks and the official outcome or reason for the questionable race time is yet to be determined.

Also, Team Suzuki protested John Natalie Jr for his race fuel, and John countered and protested Team Suzuki riders Doug Gust and Jeremiah Jones engine displacement, which were checked and found in the legal limit. The fuel from John Natalie Jr machine will need to be tested for the oxygenation level to determine if it is legal which will take several days.

Moto Two Results:
1. John Natalie Jr
2. Jeremiah Jones
3. Doug Gust
4. Travis Spader
5. Joe Byrd
6. Kory Ellis
7. Harold Goodman
8. Tavis Cain
9. Keith Little
10. Pat Brown
11. Jason Dunkelberger
12. Joe Havisto
13. Tim Farr
14. Matt White
15. Jason Luburgh
16. Gilbert Attix
17. Donald Lysinger
18.Josh Creamer
19. Donald Lamborn
DNS Dustin Wimmer

[Admin]

Side Note
After three rounds of racing, three different riders have won the overall (Tim Farr, Keith Little, and John Natalie Jr) and they all lead from start to finish both Motos at each round, which is extremely odd start to the season, which proves how important a good start is in racing.

[Admin]

Jeremiah Jones thoughts about the race

I kept getting bad starts and had to beat and bang my way through the pack both motos. I got a better start in the 2nd moto, and was able to work my way up behind Natalie Jr and started catching him at the end of the race, but I ran out of time because I came from too far behind and just missed the podium and 2nd overall by one position.

Thanks for your time Jeremiah Jones

[Admin]

Keith Little's Race Overview

"I Finished 6th overall after getting bad starts both Motos and it was tough to make up positions during the race. In the 1st Moto, I my better start of the day, but ended up running in a train with the several riders and we weren’t able to pass each other. In the 2nd Moto, I had a terrible start and was back to around 16th, but I was able to pass my way up to finish 9th."

Thanks Keith Little


Overall Results
1. John Natalie Jr
2. Doug Gust
3. Travis Spader
4. Jeremiah Jones
5. Kory Ellis
6. Keith Little
7. Tavis Cain
8. Harold Goodman
9. Jason Dunkelberger
10. Tim Farr
11. Pat Brown
12. Joe Byrd
13. Jason Luburgh
14. Joe Havisto
15. Matt White
16. Gilbert Attix
17. Donald Lysinger
18. Donald Lamborn
19. Josh Creamer
20. Dustin Wimmer

[BlueZ440]

Does this mean that Doug takes the lead in points or Jones??

Good coverage

[mxdad]

have any other results? 70 prod? 90 prod? thanks

[BlueZ440]

Nevermind I think I got it..

Doug=41+25=66

Jones=42+18=60

Farr=48+11=59

Natalie=27+30=57

little=38+15=53

Spader=29+21=50

Ellis=27+16=43



that's my totals..

[Cron]

Team Suzuki sure is keeping the riders honest! I didn't know you could protest the oxygenation in fuel. I am surprised Suzuki wants to protest this so much, makes them look like poor sports. That sucks the race was cut short. Sounds like Jones just needed a couple more minutes.

This is turning out to be a great season.

I can not believe that at the pro level, all races one guy has been able to dominate both motos.


THanks for the Race Coverage. Can not wait to see the pictures.