Can-Am DS 450 Pro John Natalie Takes Third At Red Bud AMA ATV MX National
Can-Am® DS 450™
ATV Pro class racer John Natalie finished third overall at round nine of the
AMA ATV Motocross Championship series held Red Bud in Buchanan, Mich. Natalie,
the defending AMA ATV MX champion, easily won the first moto, but had to come
from behind in moto two after crashing in the second turn. He ended the day
third overall and kept his title hopes alive with one round remaining in 2012.
“It was a challenging
weekend at the Red Bud MX facility in southern Michigan this past weekend.
Defending national champion John Natalie came out strong, taking the moto one holeshot
and earning a convincing victory. However, he crashed at the start of the
second moto and had to come from dead last. He truly earned this trip to the
Pro class podium,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager,
Can-Am. “We’re
not out of this championship race yet, so we’re going to give it everything we
have at the series finale at Loretta’s.”
In moto one action, Natalie grabbed the
holeshot aboard his DS 450 and held the lead until a rare mistake on lap two
put him in second. Two short laps later, Natalie regained the lead and then
cruised to the moto one victory. In turn two of the Pro class moto, Natalie
crashed after his ATV connected with another racers’ vehicle. Natalie was not
hurt and immediately got back aboard his DS 450, but was more than 15 seconds
behind the leaders. Natalie put his head down and sliced through the field on
his way to a sixth-place finish. His gallant second-moto efforts put him in
third place on the Pro podium. Natalie is 36 points behind the points leader
for the Pro class title heading into the finale on August 11 at Loretta Lynn’s
in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
“I was going for one line and got shut out
and ended up going down. I was pretty fired up after that and tried to charge
as hard as I could and I was able to get up to sixth place,” said John Natalie. “I felt good out there and I felt
like I had another moto win in me, but that just didn’t happen. There’s still
one more round left and anything can happen. I am going to go out there and
give it everything I have and hopefully take the final win of the season.”
Joel Hetrick's ATV experienced an intermittent
electrical issue in
moto one, but the Motoworks / Can-Am racer soldiered his way to a sixth-place
finish. In moto two, Hetrick came out of the gate in fifth. He then posted the
fastest lap of the entire race on lap four and soon after passed his way into
third place. His 6-3 finishes were good for fifth place and also helped him
maintain control of the third-place position in the Pro class points standings.
Team BCS Performance / Can-Am DS 450 Pro racer
Josh Creamer, the current NEATV-MX series Pro and Pro-Am class points leader, also
competed at Red Bud and came away with two fifth-place moto finishes which were
good for sixth overall.
In the amateur ranks, Can-Am DS 450 racers
earned several class victories in Michigan. Leading the way was former GNC
champion Travis Spader, who won two classes (Vet 30+ A, Open A). Can-Am X-Team
racer Chase Henry
won the Production A class with an impressive 1-1 sweep. WORCS racer and Can-Am
X-Team member Collins Webster entered four classes at Red Bud and earned one
podium. He finished second to Spader in the Open A class and was fourth in his
other three classes. Open B class racer Ries Parvin increased his class points
lead with another overall victory on his DS 450.
For more information on Can-Am racing, the entire 2012 schedule, the ’12
contingency program and DS 450 amateur racer support program, please visit
www.can-amxteam.com.
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Racing scenes photographed during an organized race involving highly
skilled operators under controlled conditions. Do not attempt.