| 2007
Yamaha / ITP QuadCross
Championship
Series
Round #2 - Valley Verde Moto Plex
Cottonwood, Arizona
February 25, 2007
By:
Brittany Bloodworth |
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| Yamaha
/ ITP Quadcross - Links |
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The second round of the 2007 Yamaha / ITP Quad Cross
headed to Cottonwood Arizona, to compete at the Valley
Verde Moto Plex, which is a brand new stop on the schedule,
and it was unlike any track every on the Quadcross schedule.
There was just one straight-away the did not contain
a jump, besides that there was a jump around every corner
with a wide variety of different kind of jumps from
table tops, step-ups to doubles and triples, you really
had to learn the track like the back of your hand, or
you may hit what you believe is a table and ends up
to being a double.
Once again the pro class had the large turn out with
23 pros signing up, which required qualifying for gate
position for the main. The starting line had enough
gates for 21 riders, so that meant that only two riders
would be starting in the second row, and hair-pin first
corner made for some interesting starts with a full
gate of riders funneling through the turn.
Neither top two finishers at round one, Dustin Wimmer
or Keith Little, where in attendance for round two,
which opened the door for Kory Ellis or Dustin Nelson
to take over the points lead. Kory Ellis has a new ride
with Yoshimura Suzuki for 2007, and he is focusing on
the Quadcross Series for the first time ever, which
means for some stiff competition for reigning champion
Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson. Also, joining into the
mix is multi-time Quadcross Champion, Jeremy Schell,
and he is being joined by current WORCS Series points
leader, Josh Frederick. The Epic Racing is sponsoring
this dynamic pair to compete in both series.
First Pro Qualifier
The gate slammed to the ground, and the first qualifier
was underway with Dustin Nelson and Cyle Chislock battling
for the Holeshot heading into the first turn side by
side with Nelson coming out in front ahead of Chislock
and Shafe. Jason Fife who is a rookie to the Pro class,
was running in the fifth place position right behind
Frederick, and he is definitely a guy to keep a close
eye on for the rest of the season. Dustin Terry was
just out of the top five, running right behind Fife
in the sixth place position.
Dustin Nelson started to put distance between him and
the rest of the riders by the end of the first lap, and
already had a few second lead over Chislock, but the real
battle was for third between Shafe and Frederick with
Frederick apply the pressure. After several attempts,
Frederick was finally able to make the pass and take over
third as Shafe began to slip back with both Jason Fife
and Dustin Terry also passing Shafe to gain a position.
The white flag was out for Nelson, and the battle began
for the second as Frederick closed the gap on Chislock
and began apply the pressure. Frederick was able to
make his move when Chislock bobbled in a corner, but
several turns later, Chislock regained the second spot
and held it to the checkered flag closely followed by
Frederick.
Second Pro Qualifier
In the second qualifier, it was Kory Ellis grabbing
the Holeshot followed by Jeremy Schell and Chris Riley.
Ellis quickly distanced himself from the pack with Schell
also pulling away from Riley in third. Justin Noss pushed
his way into fourth by passing Bubba Hustead who was
later involved in a crash, and suffered a broken hand.
With the track extremely tight, there were numerous
crashes throughout the weekend, and Ladon Hurst was
another crash victim, which left him riding around the
track in the main just to salvage some points.
Ellis cruised his way to the qualifying win followed
by Jeremy Schell and Chris Riley, which set the stage
for the Pro Main.
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