Buchanan, Mich. (July 30, 2011) - As the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series presented by DWT winds down, the action only seems to heighten. Ballance Racing's Thomas Brown captured his first moto win of the season Saturday at Red Bud MX in Buchanan, Mich., becoming the seventh unique rider to win a moto in this year's Pro ATV class. Motoworks Can-Am's John Natalie answered back with a moto two win, claiming the overall and extending his lead in the championship point standings.
Walsh Race Craft Suzuki's Jeremy Lawson took home the ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier Award, with a 01:48.384. Lawson has put in several of the fastest race lap times this season but claimed his first-ever fastest qualifier award at RedBud.
As the gate dropped for moto one, it was the Honda of Josh Upperman that grabbed the SSiDecals.com Holeshot Award. "A huge thanks to Mark [Baldwin] for giving me such a good motor to pull holeshots out there," said Upperman. Walsh Race Craft Suzuki's Jeremy Lawson and Hetrick Motorsports Honda rider Joel Hetrick got tangled up early in the moto, causing both riders to go down pretty hard. Tough luck for Lawson, who posted the fastest lap times in the qualifying sessions and for Hetrick who swept both motos at Unadilla just two weeks ago.
Motoworks Can-Am's John Natalie put in the fastest lap of the race on the second lap, making his way past Baldwin Motorsports PEP Honda's Josh Upperman for second place and quickly finding his way around the leader Brown soon after.
"Natalie ran me down - he had a few better lines than me and passed me, but I found his lines and tracked him for a few laps and I was able to make the pass," Brown said. Brown got back around Natalie through the whoops and laid down a smooth race to the checkers.
Upperman settled into a comfortable pace behind Natalie, keeping an almost thirty-second distance over Can-Am's Chase Snapp by the end of the moto. "I definitely want to be on the podium every week, but I know staying consistent will keep me in the championship contention," Upperman said. "The track was pretty brutal and with the big amount of sand, it got really whooped out. I got pretty beat up through the whoops, but I think everyone else did too," Upperman added.
Mushin Racing/KG Clutch Factory/GBC Bomb Squad's Travis Moore battled with Snapp at the beginning of the race, eventually settling into the fifth spot behind the rookie. "I've been working really hard this year and I think it's finally starting to pay off," Moore said. "I'm finally starting to feel comfortable out there and I'm excited for an even better year next year," Moore added.
Josh Upperman grabbed the SSiDecals.com Holeshot Award in the second moto, leading the race for the first few laps until Natalie made his move to the lead. Brown got a top five start and diced with Upperman and Hetrick before finally passing Upperman to take over the second place spot. As soon as Brown got around Upperman, he set his sights on the leader Natalie, who was doing everything in his power to hold Brown off for the lead.
"I tried to cruise and save my energy for the end of the race but I think I slowed down a little too much and let Thomas catch up," said Natalie. "He kind of got beside me going through the whoops a little bit and I held him off and then I pulled a little bit of a gap the last lap."
Natalie took the overall win with a (2-1) finish, while Brown went (1-2) for the second overall. Upperman cruised on to take the third overall with a consistent (3-3) on the day.
"I want to go to Loretta's, do well in both motos and get the overall. I wish John and Jeremy the best of luck, there's still a lot a that could happen in two motos," Upperman said.
After qualifying first in practice, only to go down hard in moto one, Jeremy Lawson now sits a whopping fifty-three points back from the leader. Brown and Wienen wrap up the top five in points, while Chase Snapp is looking to break into the top five after Loretta's. Can-Am now leads the Manufacturer's Cup by forty-nine points over Honda and Suzuki.
The AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series heads to Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., August 13 and 14, with Pro class racing starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, supported by 37 amateur classes throughout Saturday and Sunday. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
1. John Natalie (CAN)
2. Thomas Brown (YAM)
3. Josh Upperman (HON)
4. Travis Moore (HON)
5. Chase Snapp (CAN)
6. Joe Byrd (HON)
7. Devin Heimes (SUZ)
8. Joel Hetrick (HON)
9. Jeremy Lawson (SUZ)
10.Adam Clark (HON)
AMA ATV Motocross Championship Pro Point Standings
1. John Natalie (392)
2. Josh Upperman (382)
3. Jeremy Lawson (339)
4. Thomas Brown (308)
5. Chad Wienen (297)
6. Chase Snapp (288)
7. Joel Hetrick (269)
8. Nick DeNoble (255)
9. Travis Moore (240)
10. Joe Byrd (239)
Manufacturer's Cup Points
1. Team Can-Am (469)
2. Team Honda (420)
3. Team Suzuki (345)
4. Team Yamaha (308)
5. Team Kawasaki (62)
About the AMA ATV Motocross Championship
The AMA ATV Motocross Championship is the nation's premier amateur and professional ATV motocross series, hosted at top motocross facilities nationwide. The 11-round series features the Nation's best racers, teams and sponsors, and is America's largest and longest-running ATV national motocross program. Since 1985, the series continues to expand and produce top talent from the amateur ranks, while premiering the professional class. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.