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Team Yoshimura Suzuki Doug Gust
Rolls a Strike at Bowling Green
Bowling Green, KY (9/6/06)
- The skies were threatening and stormy both Friday and
Saturday with the remains of Hurricane Ernesto thrashing
the northeast. Even more ominous was the impending clash
between the two contenders for the GNC hampionship Pro
title. For 13 rounds, Doug Gust and Joe Byrd had traded
off enough wins that it came down to Sunday's outcome.
It was Team Yoshimura Suzuki's last chance to grab the
GNC Championship Pro title for 2006.
Going into the weekend, Doug Gust was only 15 points
down from leader Joe Byrd. He was coming on strong having
just cinched the WPSA SuperQuad Pro 450 title two weeks
earlier. With some luck, Doug Gust could walk away from
2006 with two titles. It was doable. For Doug to have
a chance at the GNC Championship, he would have to take
the overall and Joe come in no better than 7th.
The track was well designed, wide, and very fast. Not
too technical, but with a lot of whoops, jumps, lines
and ample room to pass. Riders felt the track was a
bit of a "freeway" but overall liked the venue.
The event was very well run and most agreed, was one
of the best tracks of the year. By early afternoon,
the skies had
cleared and the sun shown down on the verdant Kentucky
hills. It was time to race.
The first moto started with Doug grabbing the holeshot
and Joe Byrd rounding the first turn around 10th place.
Doug was blazing fast and only had Dustin Wimmer as
any kind of threat during most of the race. As the laps
went down, Gust moved to a comfortable lead, however
Byrd started to move through the pack and finished two
places behind Doug as the checkers flew.
The second moto found Doug trailing Harold Goodman
at the first turn with Byrd in 6th place. Gust dropped
back to third as Natalie passed him and then drifted
to fourth behind Lawson. Byrd was now on Doug's tail.
At the halfway point Goodman and Natalie had dropped
off and Doug was trailing Lawson. Lawson continued his
lead till the end, with Doug and Byrd sparring for second
place. Doug held on to the slot pulling a 1-2 that gave
him the overall win for the day, but the championship
fell to Joe Byrd.
"Joe has worked hard for this title," Doug
graciously conceded. "It's been a fun and exciting
year but certainly had a lot of problems surrounding
it. It was especially nice to have Jeremiah here today,
back at the races where he belongs. The Suzuki LT-R450
was just fantastic all year. It's an awesome machine
but I couldn't have done any of this without the support
and help of the whole team and the sponsors."
Team Suzuki/Yoshimura Programs
Partners:
American Suzuki - Yoshimura R&D of America
- Hinson Clutch Components - Dunlop Tires - Motul -
Fox Racing Shox - Galfer - AC Racing - BMC Filters -
Tag - Regina - RPM - Walsh Racecraft - Quad Tech - Douglas
Wheel - Motion Pro - Precision Steering Stabilizer -
VP Fuels - Mechanix Wear - Pro Design
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