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AMA ATV Motocross Nationals
Round #3 - Budds Creek
Mechanicsville, MD
May 5 , 2012
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AMA Pro ATV Motocross
- Round 3 - Budds Creek - Race Report
::Continued::
Yamaha’s Chad Wienen got a good start in
the first moto, coming off the line in second
place. It only took a short time before Wienen
took over the lead, but he was followed closely
by Joel Hetrick. Despite Hetrick’s best
efforts, Wienen kept a solid lead and held it
all the way to the checkered flag for five out
of five moto wins.
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Yamaha's
#44 Chad Wienen charged his way to the
front early in Moto One after making the
pass on Baldwin's #20 Josh Upperman, but
he wasn't alone out front with #88 Joel
Hetrick in chase
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“I got a great start in moto one. My FOX
Shox soaked up all bumps; and it was definitely
rough out there. My hat’s off to Joel Hetrick
for a great ride and great race. He rode well
and it was a lot of fun. The track was awesome
and the jumps were good,” said Wienen after
the first moto.
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Yamaha's
#44 Chad Wienen was able to hold-off Hetrick
to secure the Moto One win, which was
Wienen's 5th straight moto win of the
season
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In moto two, Wienen was second off the start
again behind Josh Upperman, but got by for the
lead quickly, but he was not alone. Surprisingly,
Joe Byrd was right on Wienen’s grab bar
and was challenging him for the lead. Byrd pressured
Wienen for several laps and the battled became
very heated with both riders connecting at the
mid-way points and stalling out briefly.
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| FMF's
#44 Chad Wienen once again charged into
the early lead in Moto 2, but he had #7
Joe Byrd on his rear bumper, which eventually
lead to Byrd running into the rear of Wienen
as he attempted to pass Wienen on a downhill
turn, which all but ended the battle for
the lead for them both as the pair dropped
back several spots over the next few laps |
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SSi's
Chad Wienen may not have won, but he still
extended his points lead to 15 points over
#1 John Natalie Jr. |
Luckily, they had a big gap on the competition
and did not lose a position, but the encounter
did allow the competition to close in. Byrd continued
to pressure Wienen after the incident, but Byrd
encountered a mechanical issue and fell back.
Wienen continued to lead, but it would be short
lived as he encountered mechanical issues of his
own and fell back for a fourth place finish.
“I had to take a couple of looks back and
see who it was back there because I knew it wasn’t
John or Joel,” said Wienen of his battle
with Byrd. “Joe rode a good race and it
was pretty intense for a while. I pushed as hard
as I could out there and I still have a smile
on my face because I finished on the podium,”
Wienen added.
Can-Am/Motoworks’ John Natalie, Jr., who
had complained about having a real MX track to
ride at the last round, got what he wished for,
but it seemed to be a little more than he was
ready for in moto one. Natalie got a decent start
in fifth and worked into fourth place by lap two,
but in the third lap, Natalie blew a berm and
went off the track, dropping him back to thirteenth
place. Natalie charged hard and was able to make
his way back into the number six spot before crossing
the finish line.
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| Can-Am's
#1 John Natalie Jr. had his work cut out
for him in Moto One after he dropped back
to 13th place in lap three, but the "Ironman"
wasn't about to give up as he charged on
to salvage a 6th place finish |
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