All week the weather reports forecasted a weekend filled with wind and rain, but as the weekend rolled around the sun was shining on Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA for the opening round of the ITP Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship series presented by Parts Unlimited. Some teams arrived on Thursday to take advantage of the regular open practice but the space was being filling quickly by Friday night as many of the country's top professional riders made their way across the country for the first race of the season.
Even with a struggling economy, there was no shortage of support from various manufactures as their semis filled the pro pit area. Can-Am was well represented, as were Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki with their huge rigs and support crews that flooded the area with professional appearances you would find at the big money SX races in Anaheim only a month ago. Even some of the top privateer racers are showing up in some awesome looking rigs that would have never been seen in years past. It's easy to see that our sport continues to slowly receive recognition and support from big companies.
When freshly groomed, the track looked like a work of art but was very deceiving. I spoke with track designer and motocross legend Gary Jones on Friday night about the layout and how demanding he thought it would be on the riders. Jones stated, "the riders wanted a tougher track than what they had in the past and I gave it to them." The layout was filled with numerous off camber turns, fast straight-aways and elevation changes, including the climb up Mt. Saint Helen. The sandy soil also would result in deep ruts and endless whoops that would test the endurance of many riders.
As the first moto of Sunday rolled around, crowds started filling the stands and those who could not get seats stood atop mounds of unused dirt to get the best view of the track possible. As I heard the roar of 20 engines near the rev limiter, I knew the gate was getting ready to drop. As the pack rounded the infamous Talladega Turn, Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Josh Creamer was out in front of the group followed by a hungry pack of Honda mounted riders, which included past series champion Joe Byrd. The 2008 champion, Dustin Wimmer, came out of the turn in fifth place and was ready to do battle. Talladega would not let all riders go unscathed as Doug Gust and Richard Pelchat locked wheels sending them both to the back of the pack.
As the race went on, Joe Byrd moved into the number 2 spot and Wimmer worked his way up from fifth to third by the half-way point in the race. It was easy to see that Wimmer was on a mission and didn't want anyone in his way. Once he passed Byrd's thundering Honda, Wimmer set his sights on the bright green Kawasaki of Creamer. With 4 laps to go in the moto Wimmer was hot on Creamers heels waiting for him to make a mistake and take the lead, but it never happened. With just about a second separating the two, Creamer came across the finish line first. The top 5 went Creamer, Wimmer, Byrd, Wienen and Natalie.
When it came time for the second moto, the action was still fierce but taking place more in the mid-pack since Wimmer came out of the first turn leading the pack and never looking back. By the 4th lap, Wimmer had separated himself from the pack and already had a six second lead over Joe Byrd who sat in second place followed closely by Josh Creamer and John "The Ironman" Natalie. Natalie was right on the grab bar of Creamer on one of the big downhills and while taking an outside line at the bottom turn, blew the berm which gave creamer some breathing room. Natalie would eventually get a flat tire causing him to fall back and finish the moto in 10th place.
Up in front Wimmer extended his lead and set the cruise control on his way to a 2-1 finish, which gave him the overall win for the day. Byrd finished 2nd for a third overall and Creamer finished 3rd to give team Monster Energy Kawasaki a second place finish for the day. In the 4th position was Yamaha's rookie pilot Thomas Brown who took 4th overall and in the 5th spot of the second moto was Clay Holmes who was another rookie who also took home 5th for the day. Keep an eye on these two young up-and-comers as they showed great determination to run with the fastest guys in the sport.
So the top 5 overall went Wimmer, Creamer, Byrd, T.Brown and Holmes leaving Can-AM as the only manufacture that did not have front running riders in the top 5. Respectively Natalie went 5-10 for 6th overall and Jeremy Lawson went 10-7 for 7th overall. Wimmer's teammate Doug Gust finished the day 8th overall with finishes of 13-6. Chad Wienen had a great 4th place finish in moto one, but a 19th place finish in moto two gave him 12th overall for the day. As long as his bike holds together, look for him to be a threat to the front-runners in the future.
Rookie Privateer Nick DeNoble had a great start to the first moto as he narrowly missed getting the holeshot, but got too excited and eventually faded to 16th and had a better second moto finishing 12th for a 17th overall. The series now heads to Pell City, Al for the FMF Spring Nationals at Mill Creek Raceway on March 21 and 22. Look for some exciting race action to come from there as well.