| 2008
Yamaha / ITP QuadCross
Championship
Series
Round #9 - Glen Helen
San Bernardino, CA
Novemeber 30, 2008
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Yamaha / ITP Quadcross
Pro ATV Race Report
Brandon Smith Wins Again
& Doug Eichner Wins Championship
| Yamaha
/ ITP Quadcross
"Glen Helen" - Round 9
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Although the Pro championship was already decided
at the previous round of the Yamaha ITP Quadcross,
the final round of the season was full of action.
Can-Am/Motoworks’ Brandon Smith took his fifth
overall win of the season in the Pro class while
Polaris/Yoshimura’s Doug Eichner secured his
sixth win and the championship, in the Open Pro
Class. Adding to the excitement was the racing debut
of the new Yamaha YFZ450R, piloted by Pro ATV class
champion, Dustin Nelson.
It was a rather windy day at Glen Helen as racers
began lining up for their first moto, which saw
a couple of new, but familiar faces in the line
up. French rider Jeremie Warnia and Can-Am/Motoworks’
Jeremy Lawson were both in attendance. Lawson,
who had been racing under the Can-Am/Epic team
at nationals this past season, will now be racing
for the Can-Am/Motoworks team as they have expanded
their racing program to include the AMA ATV Motocross
Nationals and Warnia may possibly be racing the
ITP Quadcross full time in 2009 under Can-Am/Motoworks
as well.
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| #16
Jeremy Lawson made the trip to the west
coast in preparation for the 2009 AMA Pro
ATV Motocross National season set to begin
at Glen Helen in March |
France's Jeremie Warnia was back
for his 2nd Quadcross race of the year ,
but this time he would be on the Motoworks
Can-Am DS450 |
The spectators lining the track were eager for
the race to start so they could get a good look
at the new YFZ450R in action, and Dustin Nelson
did not disappoint. He flew off the line, grabbing
the holeshot and taking an early lead. Nelson
was followed off the gate by Josh Frederick, Jeremy
Lawson, Jeremie Warnia and Justin Noss. Meanwhile,
Brandon Smith, who has come on strong all year,
stalled at the gate and didn’t leave until
the rest of the Pro class had rounded the first
turn.
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#94 Dustin Nelson made his racing debut
on the Yamaha YFZ450R and claimed the Moto
One Win |
As Nelson began to distance himself, Smith began
working his way quickly through the pack. “All
I wanted to do was get to the front,” recalled
Smith, who made is charge appear almost effortless.
Smith soon got around Warnia to challenge teammate
Frederick for third. After a brief battle, smith
succeeded and began to pursue Lawson, who was
about 10 seconds behind Nelson. Brandon began
to gain some ground, but was unable to close the
gap. Nelson was first to cross the finish line
about 5 seconds ahead of second place Jeremy Lawson.
Smith held on strong to take third while Josh
Frederick claimed fourth and Justin Noss rounded
out the top five for moto one.
In moto two, Brandon Smith was determined to
make up for his bad start earlier and had his
sights set on taking home another win before bidding
farewell to the ITP Quadcross series and making
the jump to the AMA ATV Motocross Nationals with
Jeremy Lawson for the 2009 season. As the Pro
class left the gate, Josh Frederick took an early
lead, followed by Justin Noss, Jeremy Lawson and
Brandon Smith while Dustin Nelson spun off the
gate and was in mid pack going into the first
corner. There were several battles that began
to brew as the second moto progressed. Nelson
battled his way through traffic and then fought
even harder to get past Lawson. Once around Lawson,
Nelson soon found himself right on Justin Noss’s
grab bar, but then Noss missed a gear, which caused
him and Nelson to fall back and allow Brandon
Smith and Jeremy Lawson to get by. With most of
the traffic out of the way, Lawson was free to
make a pass on Smith in the second lap and began
gunning for Frederick, but Smith was determined
to get back in front of Lawson.
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| #70
Brandon Smith secured his 5th Win of the
season |
#30
Jesse Goss finished out the season in 5th
place in points |
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