Warnert Racing’s
John Natalie & Cody Miller Both Place in Top
AMA ATV Motocross Nationals - Sunset Ridge - Round
5
|
John Natalie
Celebrating his win with his mother Nancy
on the podium
|
Walnut, IL (5/15/2008) - Can-Am/Warnert
Racing’s John Natalie and Cody Miller braved
the elements this weekend at round 5 of the AMA
ATV Motocross Nationals and took two of the top
5 positions on their Can-Am DS 450’s.
During Saturday’s events and qualifiers,
the weather was nearly perfect for racing. Cody
Miller went out for the LCQ round and came off
the line in 2nd. Cody was doing a fantastic job
of holding his position, but lost his seat in
the last lap, which slowed him down and put him
n 4th place at the finish line which was enough
to secure him a place in Sunday’s Pro Main
Event.
Unfortunately, Sunday’s events would be
severely impacted by heavy rain that began to
fall overnight. 3-4 inches of precipitation fell,
turning the track into a soupy mess. Amateur classes
were cancelled and the Pro races were cut to only
one moto. In addition, more than half of the track
would be cut out making for a short race.
The Warnert team scrambled to weather proof
the quads for Natalie and Miller and came up with
a unique set up for John’s #13 DS450. It
appeared the crew took the rear fenders from another
DS450, cut them in half and attached them to Natalie’s
front fenders in order to keep as much mud off
of him as possible. Both Natalie and Miller were
using more of a cross-country style tire set up
in order to get maximum traction and more ground
clearance in the mud.
As the gate dropped, Natalie was off the line
and looked as if he was going to take the holeshot,
but he was pinched out just before the first corner.
Natalie who still does not have 100% of his vision
back was in about 3rd place, where he stayed for
most of the race. With the treacherous conditions,
the track had been reduced to pretty much a single
line with limited opportunities to pass, but Natalie
played it smart and made his move for second in
the last lap and held that position until the
finish line.
 |
 |
John Natalie
made a smart pass on the last lap for
2nd place where he finished.
|
Cody Miller
made it up to 4th place until Doug Gust
passed him putting him in 5th
|
Cody Miller came off the line in 15th place,
but Miller was able to avoid a huge pile up in
the 2nd corner and soon found himself p in 8th
place. “When I came into the 2nd corner,
there was a huge mud hole and a bunch of guys
were caught in it, so I took an inside line and
got around it,” said Miller. The slick conditions
made it difficult, but the #22 Can-Am began picking
off riders. Miller soon worked himself up to 4th
but was passed by Doug Gust on the last lap so
Cody had to settle for a respectable 5th place.
Round number 6 will be held on May 24th-25th
at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, PA, where
Natalie will try to take the win for the Can-Am/Warnert
team, while Miller has his sights set on joining
his teammate in one of the top 3 spots.
www.warnertracing.com
1203 33rd Street South
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301
(320) 251-9100 - Fax (320) 251-4764
info@warnertracing.com
| 
