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2008
Yamaha / ITP QuadCross
Championship
Series
Round #1 - Glen Helen
San Bernardino, CA
March 9, 2008
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Yamaha / ITP Quadcross
Pro & Amateur ATV Race Report
| Yamaha
/ ITP Quadcross
"Glen Helen" - Round One
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The ITP Quadcross series kicked off its season with
a double-points round on Sunday in conjunction with
the AMA ATV Motocross Nationals. The season opener
had a very large turnout and saw big wins from Yamaha’s
Dustin Nelson, and Polaris’s Doug Eichner
and Angela Butler, while 2007 Open Pro champ Darrell
Patton debuted on his new KTM 525.
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| Can-Am
/ Motoworks is fielding three racers with
Josh Frederick & Brandon Smith in the
Pro ATV Class & Dillon Zimmerman in
the Expert Class on the Can-Am DS450 |
2007
Yamaha / ITP Quadcross Champion Dustin Nelson
is back for 2008 to defend his title, and
Yamaha had their new ATV race support rig
on site for the opening round of the series |
Weather conditions for Sunday’s events
were typical for southern California this time
of year, with clear skies and quite a bit of wind.
The sandy track was fairly dry, which contributed
to ruts and rough areas as the day progressed;
however the track conditions didn’t seem
to phase most racers one bit. Can-Am/Motoworks’
Josh Frederick took the holeshot in heat one of
the 265-450 Pro class. Unfortunately, Frederick
got tangled up in the third corner, which put
him back several places and only allowed him to
finish in 3rd place.
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#94 Dustin Nelson kicks off the 2008 season
with a double points win |
When the gate dropped for the main moto, it was
Justin Noss who pulled the holeshot, but wasn’t
able to hold the position. Hot on Noss’s heels
were Dustin Nelson, Mike Machado and Josh Frederick.
Nelson, who had missed most of last season, due
to a broken femur, showed that he means business
this year. When Noss encountered some mud in one
of the corners and went off track, Nelson was right
there to take advantage. Before Noss could get back
on the track, Machado, Frederick and several others
also slipped by. “I got the holeshot in the
main, but I hit some mud in one of the corners and
I got off track a little and that sent me back to
7th place,” said Noss who managed to work
his way back up and finish in 4th place.
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| #97
Justin Noss battled with #202 Chris Tait
for several laps before making the pass
and working his way up to an impressive
4th place finish |
Can-Am
Motoworks Brandon Smith charged his way
past teammate Josh Frederick, but a last
lap failur sent him to the back while Josh
finished 3rd |
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#61 Mike Machado returned to Quadcross racing
with authority as he secured the 2nd spot
behind Nelson |
After taking the lead, Nelson once again checked
out and ended his day in 1st place with an impressive
10-second lead over Holz Racing’s Mike Machado.
“I’m pretty confident about this season.
I feel prepared and I have a real good program,”
said Nelson. Mike Machado, who has been absent from
the ITP Quadcross since June of 2006 made an impressive
comeback, taking 2nd place. “I was injured
in 2006 and have been slowly recovering from that.
I’ve done a couple of WORCS races to get back
into it and now I’m feeling pretty good,”
stated Mike in regards to his strong showing this
weekend.
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