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Interview:
John Natalie Jr - Honda Factory ATV Motocross
Racer
John (Ironman) Natalie, Jr. was crowned the
WPSA PowerSports SuperQuad Pro 450 champion
this weekend after wrapping up the season with
yet another Podium finish. Despite crashing
in Round 2, he was able to overcome his injuries,
which would have sidelined many other competitors.
John put his “never give up” philosophy
into practice and made an impressive comeback,
and charged his way back to the top with four
wins and seven podium finishes, and regained
control of the points lead at Round 8 and never
looked back.
Natalie’s
2006 season was plagued with problems. A broken
thumb sidelined Natalie for several rounds,
which ended his run for the Championship. However,
John’s determination and competitive nature
got him back on track for 2007, which gave him
the drive to take on factory Suzuki and Kawasaki.
Just
after wrapping up the championship, ATVriders.com
got the opportunity to speak with John about
how this season went, his plans for next year
and how it feels to be back on top again, since
his 2005 Pro Championship.
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| #13
John Natalie Jr.- Ten Quick Facts |
| Birth
Date: |
7/7/1975 |
| Weight: |
180lbs |
| Hometown: |
Houtzdale, PA |
| ATV: |
Honda TRX450R |
| Occupation: |
Factory Pro Racer |
| 1st ATC/ATV: |
Honda ATC70 |
| Started
Racing: |
15 Years Old |
| Thumb/Twist: |
Thumb |
| Hobbies: |
Boating / Sking |
| Website: |
ironmannatalie.com |
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ATVriders.com:
Today you wrapped up the championship, your first
one since 2005. How does it feel?
It feels great! We were on a roll last year and
on our way to a championship, but I ended up with
a broken thumb that sidelined me for the rest
of the season. I got hurt at the second round
this year, and it was looking like it was going
to be another year like 2006, but we stuck it
out and the team worked hard and we pulled together.
We came back and took out the powerhouse team
of Suzuki and pulled it off this year and won
the championship.
Looking
back to when you got injured at South Fork,
did you think it would come around for you?
I definitely wasn’t giving up. I never
wrote it off. Even while I was lying in the
hospital, I was saying I was still going to
win this championship. It was one of those things
where I had to get through the pain of that
weekend. I told myself no matter what it took
I was going to try and stay consistent and stay
up front and come away with this championship.
I have a lot of great people behind me, not
the big powerhouse teams like Suzuki and Kawasaki,
but we had the family team that all worked together
and stuck together and we pulled it off.
How
long did it take you to be back to 100% after
your accident?
I’m still not really back to 100%. My
knee still gives me some problems with it popping
in and out, and my legs aren’t nearly
as strong as they were at the beginning of the
season because I had to sit on the sidelines
and really not do anything for a while. The
big thing is that I’m not back to 100%
yet, but when I am back to 100% these guys are
going to be in trouble because I am coming back
strong next year.
You
had a couple of points lead over Wimmer coming
into this round after taking control of the
points lead at the Round 8
Wimmer and Gust got stuck together and I ended
up getting second at that race and that gave
me the points lead. From there on I said that
I wasn’t going to give it back and we
worked hard and never gave it back.
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Rage
ATV's John Natalie jr pulled the Holeshot
for Super Quad Pro450 Main |
You
pulled Holeshot, and it was your race at that
point, you were out in front until the very
last lap when Chad Wienen got around you…
Yeah, I got messed up going into a corner. I
went to grab the clutch with my left hand and
my finger slipped off the clutch and I stalled
the bike. Luckily, going through the corner
I started the bike back up and was able to pull
in behind Chad and settle in second and that’s
all I needed to win the championship.
You
mainly just had to finish ahead of Dustin Wimmer
correct?
Right, I could have finished ahead of him or
probably 5 or 6 places behind him and still
won the championship.
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