ATVA ITP Moose Racing National Motocross Series Round #6 - Birch Creek April 29-30, 2006

ATVA Motocross Nationals Round #6 - Links Race Results Practice Photo Gallery Live Forum Coverage

Pro Race Overview:
John Natalie Jr and Joe Byrd were tied for the points lead heading into round six, and the weekend didn’t start off on a good note for Natalie Jr as him along with Kory Ellis and Joe Haavisto were all penalized with the last gate picks for the first moto for having cars in the pits, which was a rule the Pros agreed on earlier in the season. For Natalie Jr and Haavisto, it was a major infarction since they were guaranteed top five gate picks, and their gate picks went to Harold Goodman and Travis Spader by luck of the draw.

Moto One

Joe Byrd pulls the Holeshot followed by Tim Farr and Jason Luburgh

With the number one gate pick, Joe Byrd grabbed the Holeshot in Moto One with Tim Farr catapulting his way from the far inside gate into second place followed Jason Luburgh and Travis Spader. John Natalie Jr was midpack on the start along with Jeremiah Jones, and Doug Gust was near the back of the pack. Before the end of the first lap, Matt White and Chad Wienen would collide into each other, which result in White dislocating his shoulder and dropping him out of the race with Wienen resumed the race in last place.

Joe Byrd’s lead was short lived as Jason Luburgh charged his way past Farr and Byrd to take over the lead on his sister’s Yamaha YFZ450. Jason’s YFZ450 wasn’t ready for the race, and with him switching to Suzuki LT-R450 machines for the next round at Red Bud, he decided to just race Jami Lurbugh’s machine since she wouldn’t be attending this weekend because of college finals.

Halfway through the race, Jeremiah Jones charged his way through the pack and into second place right behind Jason Lubrugh, and he was seriously applying the pressure along Dustin Wimmer. The three battled all the way to the checkered flag, but Luburgh was able to maintain the lead and the win for his first ever Pro Moto win, which wasn’t even done on his own race quad. Jason was smiling ear to ear and so was the Suzuki crew as they knew that they had picked the right rider to add to their list. They also had plenty to smile about with the dramatic charge of Jeremiah Jones finishing in the runners up spot ahead of Dustin Wimmer. Doug Gust also was on the move as he worked himself up to a 5th place finish in the first moto behind Joe Byrd. John Natalie Jr surprisingly only finished two spots behind Byrd, which meant the second moto was going to be critical for Natalie Jr.

Jason Luburgh holding off the hard charging Jeremiah Jones for the win	Jason Luburgh was smiling ear to ear after his first Pro Moto Win

Tim Farr’s back problems plagued him once again as he dropped from his early 2nd spot all the way back to 19th by race end, and he was finished for the day. Kory Ellis also had a horrible first moto with the last gate pick, and he pulled off the track before the end of the race and waited for the checkered flag and finished in 18th.

Moto Two

Josh Creamer making a run on John Natalie Jr for the Holeshot

For the start of the second Moto, Joe Byrd and John Natalie Jr lined up side by side on the starting gate, and Josh Creamer with his 12th gate pick, chose the same far inside line as Tim Farr the first Moto in hopes of the same results. When the starting gate dropped, John Natalie Jr’s Rage ATV Racing engine powered him out of the gate and into the lead, and Creamer was able to mimic Farr’s first Moto start and pulled into the second spot behind Natalie Jr. followed by Joe Haavisto and Pat Brown.

Natalie Jr maintained the lead for several laps, but all of a sudden he began to slow down, which appeared at first to be arm pump, but infact, he was forced to slow down because his engine was beginning to seize due to leaning it out too much for a great jump off the line. He was going to quit the race, but instead, he pulled the choke on his Honda and prayed it would make it to the finish line.

Natalie Jr was replaced out front by the hard charging Jeremiah Jones as he was once again on a mission with his Suzuki LT-R450, and he quickly developed a huge lead over the rest of the pack with Natalie Jr maintaining the runners-up spot with Josh Creamer dropping back to third place, before his engine would let go, which ruined a great Moto for this up and coming Pro Rookie. The next rider out of the race was Jeremy Lawson when he experienced engine problems with his Honda shortly after the big uphill triple. This is when all havoc broke out as the top pro riders besides Jeremiah Jones were accused of jumping on the yellow flag, which meant a plenty would be applied at the end of the race.

Jeremiah Jones coasted to his second overall win in a row followed by Natalie Jr and Gust, Haavisto, and Wimmer. Joe Byrd started midpack and was able to charge his way up to a 7th place finish behind Dustin Wimmer, which meant John Natalie Jr was going to take over the points leads.

Jeremiah Jones is back and on a mission, so Byrd and Natalie Jr may have some company out front in the points race for the championship within a few races	Dustin Wimmer earned his first podium finish of the season before the penalty, and the way he was riding this probably won't be his only appearance this season

It was initially determined that the top three overall was Jeremiah Jones, Doug Gust, and Dustin Wimmer. Then it was ruled 2nd through 5th place riders would be docked two positions each, which moved Joe Byrd into the 2nd place followed by Chad Wienen for the second Moto, which resulted in the Overall being adjusted to have Jeremiah Jones, Joe Byrd, and Doug Gust as the top three overall, which created plenty of tension. The decision was appealed by four of the riders, which means the results will not be finalized until the appeal hearing later in the week.

Regardless of all the controversy at the end of the day, the racing action was some of the most exciting this year with plenty of position changes and some new faces out front, which provided for some real excitement.

Women Racing Overview:

Angela Butler wins her second race in a row while missing Budds Creek for her Honeymoon with Scott Butler

Angela Butler picked up were she left off at before her Honeymoon at Echeconnee with a dramatic two moto win this weekend over Heather Byrd. Michelle Reiser was hanging with the ladies out front as she is looking great despite still dealing with her knee injury and finished out the weekend in third place.

In the Women’s sport class, Candace Lee walked away with the first Moto win, and Adrinne Cooper and Briann Stout was running neck and neck at the end of the race when Cooper was pushed off the track into a berm, which resulted in her dismounting her ATV and dropping back to 4th place behind Jessica Doherty. In the second Moto, Candace Lee chances of another win would end when her wheel became filled with Mud, which forced her to stop temporarily, which allowed Briann Stout to run away with the win followed by Adrinne Cooper with Jessica Doherty finishing right behind her, which was exactly how the final overall results were recorded. Candace Lee charged her way from almost dead last to finish sixth and fourth overall.

Conclusion
The best news of the weekend was that even with over 500 entries and two days of racing, there was only one person transported to a local hospital with a broken ankle, which says a lot for the Birch Creek facility and all those that participated.

A full Pro and Amateur race report with videos and photos along with the final race results will be posted later this week. Also be sure to check out the forum for an Amateur Race Coverage and some Pro Race Coverage.