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PAMX Suzuki Regional ATV
Motocross Championship Series
Round #5 - Pleasure Valley MX
Amargh, PA
July 5-6, 2008
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American Suzuki ATV
Regional Series Round #5 Race Report
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Armagh, PA - Pleasure Valley MX
was the hosting track for round five of the PAMX
series, which for some was a warm up event for the
upcoming round nine of the AMA ATV Motocross Nationals
that will be taking place there on July 13th. Pro
ATV racers Can-Am’s Sage Baker and John Natalie,
and East Coast ATV’s Jason Dunkelberger were
in attendance to do a little racing and get a feel
for the track before the upcoming National, which
seemed to suit Baker quite well as he took the overall
Pro class win for the day.
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The PVR track has
a great mixture of obstacles including
a uphill table top rhythm section, which
is fairly tehnical and wide enough for
some passing action
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Track
Owner, Jeff Cernic, believes in level parking,
so he has created several huge level parking
lots over the past several months to accommodate
the racers |
Located just north of Johnstown, PA, the Pleasure
Valley track is a mix of clay, top soil and sawdust
and is approximately 1.5 miles in length. The concrete
starting pad can accommodate either 40 bikes or
20 quads, but funnels down after the first turn
and goes under a bridge, which could cause a few
pile ups with a full gate. The track is well over
thirty feet wide in many sections, but there are
still some narrow spots on the track in sections,
but the Cernics track staff will continue to make
changes to the track through out the week in preperation
for ATV Motocross National this coming weekend,
which will be the first time that Pleasure Valley
will play host to a National event.
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The start
is a quick uphill left turn sweeper under
a bridge, and the bridge proved to be
a favorite among spectators for a bird's
eye view of the racing action
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Yamaha's
Thomas Brown grabbed the Holeshot in Moto
One
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In Pro Moto One, it was Yamaha’s Thomas Brown
grabbing the Holeshot followed by Jason Dunkelberger
and Trent Kandel. By the 2nd lap, Dunk had taken
over the lead with a pass on the uphill tabletop
rhythm section. Within a few laps, Epic Racing’s
Sage Baker would work his way up from the rear of
the pack and begin to challenge Dunk for the lead
and eventually make the pass to take control of
the lead. Baker and Dunk raced wheel to
wheel for several laps and it would come down
to a near photo finish at the checkered flag to
determine the winner, which would be Jason Dunkelberger.
In a last ditch effort, Dunk railed the outside
line and was able to edge out Baker for the win
by a tire followed by Sage Baker. “I was
leading the first moto until my seat fell off,”
said Sage disappointedly. Baker still hung on
to claim 2nd, while Natalie claimed 3rd. Mitch
Reynolds took 4th in the first moto while Thomas
Brown rounded out the top 5.
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Epic Racing's Sage
Baker & Rage ATV's Jason Dunkelberger
battle for the lead came down to the checkered
flag with Dunk claiming the win
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Pennsylvania's
own John Natalie Jr was on the move with
his Warnert Racing Can-Am DS450 as he worked
his way up to a 3rd place finish in Moto
One |
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