AMA ATV Motocross Nationals
Round # 9 - Pleasure Valley Raceway
Amargh,
PA
July 18-19, 2009
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Dustin Wimmer Back
into Points Lead After Dramatic Battle
AMA ATV Motocross Championship
Series - Round 9 - Pleasure Valley Raceway
AMA
ATV Motocross Nationals
Round #9 - Pleasure Valley |
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Armagh,
PA (7/21/2009) –
In what many described as the most exciting
AMA ATV Motocross race in years, Rockstar/Makita
Suzuki's Dustin Wimmer passed a battling Joe Byrd
and Josh Creamer in the last corner of the second
moto to steal the overall win at Pleasure Valley
Raceway, host of round nine of the 2009 ITP Tires/Moose
Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship. Honda's Byrd
appeard headed to the overall via 2-1 moto scores
until Monster Energy Kawasaki's Creamer attempted
an aggressive pass in the final corner of the race,
leaving the two riders tangled together and giving
Wimmer a path into victory lane.
"It all happened so quick," said Wimmer.
"I was just trying to get around Josh to
get some points back for second place and we came
over that tabletop side by side and I guess they
got tangled up and I went right around them. It
happened so quick I didn't really know what happened!"
Wimmer took the first moto win in front of Byrd,
but Byrd appeared ready to take moto two for his
second overall win this season. Instead, he ended
the moto in tenth, with Creamer in seventh. Wimmer's
teammate Doug Gust ended up second overall with
3-2 scores, and Baldwin Motorsports Honda's Josh
Upperman took third with 5-3 finishes.
"The competition, if you look at our lap
times, there are 15 guys within two seconds of
each other," said Gust. "We have ten
guys that could win on any given day."
Behind all this, AMA Pro ATVMX Championship Points
leader Chad Wienen had a miserable day and ended
up handing the points lead back to Wimmer. A first-turn
crash in moto one knocked the Monster Energy Kawasaki
rider out of the race with a bent machine, and
a terrible start in moto two-he was 12th on lap
one-resulted in a sixth-place finish in the moto.
Wimmer is now back in the series lead despite
losing significant ground at mid-season with a
dislocated shoulder.
Wimmer also scored the ATVSource.com Fast Qualifier
Award by a scant .026 seconds over Warnert Can-Am's
John Natalie-a Pennsylvania native.
In moto one, Gust grabbed the MotorcycleUSA.com
holeshot award, and the winner of last year's
Pleasure Valley race led for a few laps, while
Wimmer battled with Creamer and Byrd to get into
second. Wimmer eventually overtook his teammate
to take the lead and the moto win, with Byrd making
a late-race move to get around Gust for second,
and Creamer taking a close fourth ahead of Upperman.
Byrd, who also held the series' points lead
early in the year, was determined to get the win
in moto two, and he grabbed the MotorcycleUSA.com
holeshot there and took off. But Creamer was determined
as well. He passed Gust to get into third, and
then mounted a huge rally on the last lap, passing
Wimmer for second and then going after Byrd. In
the last corner of the race, both Byrd and Creamer
went to the outside and collided, and their machines
got locked together with the finish line in site.
Wimmer and Gust, who were right behind, went to
the inside and emerged with an incredible 1-2
finish.
"That has be the moto of the century, four
guys going for it," said Gust. "I was
kind of back and watching it all. I figured something
had to happen, so I put a charge for it, and then
something happened and I came in second."
"It was good racing," said Wimmer.
"I knew Joe was going to be strong. I tried
to get around him this race (in the second moto)
and it wasn't happening. This track, you have
to run it wide to have good lines, you can't do
it with someone right behind you."
In the Pro-Am Production Class, Cody Gibson dominated
the event with 1-1 finishes on his Kawasaki.
Race Notes:
The Pleasure Valley track, located just outside
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, took on a lot of rain
on Saturday night, which threatened to turn the
race into a mudder. Track owner Jeff Cernic and
his crew worked hard to shape he track up for
Sunday's racing, and mud indeed was not a factor
there. Most riders described the track as fast.
In the AMA Pro ATV Manufacturer Cup, Wimmer's
win helps Suzuki build a small lead, with 332
points over Kawasaki's 318.
Wimmer now holds a 29 point lead in the AMA
Pro ATV Standings with two races to go-a total
of 100 points are up for grabs in the final four
motos.
AMA ATV Pro Class
1. Dustin Wimmer 1-1 (Suz)
2. Doug Gust 3-2 (Suz)
3. Josh Upperman 5-4 (Hon)
4. John Natalie 7-3 (Can)
5. Josh Creamer 4-7 (Kaw)
6. Joe Byrd 2-10 (Hon)
7. Thomas Brown 9-8 (Yam)
8. Cody Miller 6-11 (Can)
9. Jeremy Lawson 13-5 (Can)
10. Greg Gee 11-9 (Hon)
Series Standings (After nine of 11 rounds):
1. Dustin Wimmer (335/5 wins); 2. Chad Wienen
(306/2 wins); 3. Joe Byrd (304/1 win); 4. Doug
Gust (292); 5. Josh Upperman (276); 6. Josh Creamer
(256/1 win); 7. John Natalie (237); 8. Jeremy
Lawson (225); 9. Cody Miller (194); 10. Thomas
Brown (184).
About the ITP Tires/Moose
Racing AMA ATV National Motocross Championship
Presented by Parts Unlimited
The ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV National Motocross
Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited is the
nation's premier amateur and professional ATV
motocross series, and competes at top motocross
facilities nationwide. The 11-round series features
the Nation's best racers, teams and sponsors,
and is America's largest and longest-running ATV
National Motocross series with more than 20 years
of competition. The series continues to expand
and produce top talent from the amateur ranks,
while keeping close to the grassroots fun that
makes people love to go to the races. For more
information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
About MX Sports Pro
Racing, Inc.
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. manages the Lucas Oil
AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the professional
racing side of the AMA Pro ATV Motocross Championship.
MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. is a second-generation
family owned business that has been in operation
for well over 26 years and is an industry leader
in the segment of off road/action sports race
promotion in the United States. Through its various
racing properties, partnerships and affiliates,
MX Sports fields more than 60,000 action sports
athletes each year and attracts millions of active
fans, spectators and enthusiasts. For more information
on MX Sports, please visit www.mxsports.com.
About the ATV Promoters
Group (ATVPG)
The ATVPG is composed of the individual promoters
that host the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV National
Motocross Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited.
The goal of the ATVPG is to raise awareness of
ATV motocross through the production of professional
and amateur championship racing events. For more
information on the ATVPG and the ATV National
events they produce, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.

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