| Matt
Bartosek Celebration Race
4th Annual Event - September 24, 2006
Maple Shade MX - Sugar Grove, PA
By: Shane Hartman
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| Matt
Bartosek Celebration
4th Annual - Links |
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Matt
Bartosek (1983 - 2003) |
Suger Grove, PA - The Matt Bartosek memorial
race falls just after the motocross seasons come to a
close. This race is a perfect opportunity for pros to
come out and compete for a generous purse with no pressure
or concern about points.
To many, this is just another race. For most of the
ATV riders that came out to compete, this race meant
so much more. This is a race to remember and pay respect
to those close friends we all meet up on the weekends
at various locations around the country. Matt Bartosek
was an idol and more importantly a great friend to many.
His departure will never be forgotten. Debi Bartosek
and Jody Bateman volunteer their time nearly every weekend
of the racing season to haul the ATV Mobile Medical
Unit to races across the country. Debi Bartosek is also
the one usually found in charge of collecting donations
and heading benefit auctions for hurt or fallen riders.
Currently on www.88ridetolive.com Debi offers everyone
the chance to win Jeremiah Jones factory race quad,
with all proceeds going to Jeremiah and his family.
Jeremiah’s bike was on display this weekend for
all riders to get an up close glimpse of a factory race
machine.
The weather forecast for the weekend showed a 60% chance
of rain for each day. After flooding out the Extreme
Dirt Track race in Paducah, KY, the rain moved eastward
towards the Maple Shade raceway. Due to the high percentage
chance of rain on Sunday, practice that was scheduled
for Saturday was canceled. The track’s owner explained
that the track would be much more exceptive of a rain
on Sunday it remained untouched till then.
Despite Saturday’s practice being canceled, rider
turnout Sunday morning was enough to give spectators
a show in each class. Although many classes lacked the
ability to fill the starting gate, the expert class
was over filled with some of the fastest riders in the
world.
Located on the side of a hill, the Maple Shade raceway
offered something different for many traveling riders.
After launching off the starting gate, riders faced
their first challenge, a 180 degree hairpin turn. Several
series of table tops challenged the timing and smoothness
of the riders before dropping them down the hill. The
quad riders then took an optional route that took them
back up the hill into a hairpin which sent them right
back down via a step down double. A set of whoops slowed
riders down before their plunge into the cavity. After
leaping out of the cavity, a high speed straightaway
connected to yet another high speed straight away. Following
a 90 degree right hand turn, riders reached the most
bottom portion of the track. A fast sweeping corner
followed one of the larger table tops. Climbing back
up the hill, riders leapt over several table tops and
railed many tight turns. A last table top gave a visual
of the finish, which was reached by one last 90 degree
left hand turn.
With 26 riders signed up, the expert class was the
largest and only one requiring riders to qualify to
earn a spot in the final moto. During practice, the
track remained slightly muddy, but was quickly evolving
into better conditions. When the expert riders lined
up for the first of the two qualifiers, the track had
soaked up a lot of the moisture, leaving a tacky compound.
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#32
Matt White |
When the gate dropped, it was Andy Travis, a local
resident, grabbing the holeshot with Matt White, another
local resident, and Jason Dunkelberger hot on his heels.
As they made their way through the combination of tabletops
and proceeded to head down the hill, Dunkelberger snagged
a berm causing a quick dismount. Now sitting in last
place, “Dunk” began his charge. The race
for the lead remained out front as White was still working
on Travis. As the local front runners pulled away, the
focus was on Dunkelberger as he gave pushed the limits
trying to sneak into a qualifying position. When the
checkers flew, it was Matt White followed by Andy Travis.
Ricky Stair rounded out the top three. Meanwhile, Dukelberger
had positioned himself in 7th place when he cross the
finish line, his hard work earned him a sure spot on
the gate.
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#99
Justin Bres & #199 Pat Brown |
The second qualifier was underway with Justin Bres
taking the holeshot aboard his Yamaha YFZ. Justin Hanusosky
held onto second place with John Ragon looking to make
an early pass. Just behind the top three sat, Team Motorsports
rider, Josh Upperman and Yamaha’s Pat Brown. Brown
charged hard and had slipped into second place by the
end of lap one. Looking to make a pass on Bres, Pat
had snuck by before they began their third lap. Upperman
ran a steady pace and soon found himself in second place,
but was unable to catch Brown before the end of the
race. Bres was able to hold onto a third place finish
to round out the top three.
The LCQ win was commanded by Mark Kendall who was followed
by Justin Hanusosky, Billy Cottage, and with Thomas
Brown heading up the last transfer spot.
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#199
Pat Brown grabs the Holeshot over #20 Josh Upperman |
As the gate dropped, the riders sprinted for the hairpin
corner at the end of the straightaway. Reaching the
corner first and grabbing the holeshot was Pat Brown.
Josh Upperman was positioned on the outside, allowing
Matt White to sneak past him out of the hole. As they
completed their first lap, Pat Brown remained out front
with Matt White and Josh Upperman following closely.
Mark Kandell and Justin Bres rounded out the top five.
Still maintaining the lead, Brown rounded the corner
to climb the hill when he encountered an engine malfunction
and was forced to pull off to the side. Matt White was
the new leader, which would be short lived as Upperman
would find his way around on lap 4. At the midway mark,
it was Upperman cruising in the lead with Matt White
pursuing. Kandell slipped into the third spot with Jason
Dunkelberger sliding into the 4th spot after slipping
by John Ragon. The formation remained nearly the same
as the riders crossed the finish line, with the exception
of Dunkelberger’s bad luck continuing with loose
engine bolt allowing an oil leak, which was causing
his engine to begin to seize. Josh Upperman would bring
home the moto win and score the overall win with his
2-1 performance. Matt White’s 1-2 was good enough
to put him in 2nd overall with Justin Bres rounding
out the top 3 with his 3-5 finish. Ricky Stair and Andy
Travis would round out the top 5 aboard their Honda
machines.
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#20
Josh Upperman |
#19
Jason Dunkelberger |
Amateur Racing
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#87
Austin Moser |
In the amateur ranks, Austin Moser, who made the switch
from his 300ex to a Honda 450r half way throughout the
season, had a great day of racing. Austin would go on
to take home two moto wins and the overall in the Quad
B class. Moser would also snatch a win in the 16-29
age class, but was edged out for the overall by Brad
Carr. With Pat Brown not able to come back to defend
the moto 1 win, Jason Perterson was able to grab the
3rd place position to round out the top three. With
16 entries, the quad C class was filled with handle
bar to handle bar racing. Michael Miceli came out on
top with his two moto wins on his Suzuki LTR. Michael
Samick posted a 2-2 for a confident 2nd place overall.
Michelle L. Suciu brought home a 3rd place finish with
her 4-3 moto finishes. The beginners class, quad D,
win was taken by Brian Jozefczyk on his Yahmaha YFZ.
Michael L. Rizzo Jr. scored a 2nd overall with David
Schanzlin finishing in 3rd. Michael Pollard of Corry,
PA reeled in the youth quad win with his two moto wins.
Also posting a set of snake eyes was Leslie Ragon in
the Women’s open class. Kayla R. Davis was not
far behind with her 2-2 finishes. In the 90cc Mod class,
it was Ashton Laird of Delevan, NY edging out Joshua
Walker for the overall. The mini quad class win belonged
to Shawn Mc Iver. Devin Laird and Nick Moser rounded
out the top three. Maccoy Shine, a local racer, marked
up two moto wins to take the overall in the Pee Wee
quad class. Lastly, the Plus 30 class had 7 entries
with Mel Davis of Union City, PA taking home the win
followed by Tracy Howard and Brian Jenkins.
Despite the rain and poor early day conditions, all
the racers had a great time. The Maple Shade Raceway
provided riders with a challenging, yet safe race course.
All in all, this was a great weekend to put a foreclosure
on the 2006 motocross season.
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