Another Natalie Run-Away

If you want to ride with John "Ironman" Natalie, you'll need to get used to the taste of roost.

After 16 inches of rain and a sloppy mess, Round four of the ITP/Moose ATV National Series kicked off in Macon, Georgia at Echeconee Motocross Track. With over 760 riders signing up for the event, it was like a logjam just getting into the place. Tractors were pulling the big rigs into their respective pit areas while trucks and race trailers sat buried to their frames waiting for a tow. On the upside, the sun did manage to peek through the clouds for both Saturday and Sunday's racing. Round four also hosted the largest rider participation in the 2005 season. Donny Banks, former professional quad racer and three-time GNC promoter of the year promoter definitely knows how to put a race on and deliver with a passable yet safe race track. If you missed this one, you missed a great weekend.

Moto 1

As the gate dropped on moto one, John Natalie grabbed one of the sweetest holeshots of the season. He was followed by Lone Star Racing's Keith Little and Yamaha’s Kory Ellis around the first few turns. “Digger” Doug Gust fell in the middle of the pack rounding the first few corners but put on his race face and charged hard through the pack throughout the race. As the race went on, Team Yamaha/Alba's Kory Ellis started to fade and finally gave up his third place position to Honda's Tim Farr. In the meantime, Honda's newest factory supported rider, John Natalie, started to pull a huge gap between himself and Keith Little. Near the back of the pack was Suzuki’s Jeremiah Jones. Jones' start was not the greatest. Add to the fact that he was riding with a sprained wrist from a bad get off in practice the day before - and you can see he sure had his work cut out for him. Gust continued to charge and ended up passing Ellis and then put a nice pas on Farr. As John Natalie coasted through the checkered flag, there was a great battle going on behind him between Keith Little and Doug Gust, who seemed to put it to the stops during the second half of the moto. Keith Little managed to hold onto second place but not without great pressure from Gust. Little coasted over the finish line jump a little too slow, and Gust nearly landed on him as sprinted to the finish. In the end Little held on for second but just barely.

"T-Doc" continues to prove he's still got it. Even without proper seat time, Travis Spader finished with 6-11 moto scores for a respectable 8th place overall. We're looking forward to seeing him duke it out up fron when he's in full riding shape.		Who dat? ATV racing legend Barry McCarty started the second pro moto. McCarty seemed to have the itch to ride again. Maybe we'll see him and the rest of our sport's heroes at "Legend's 2005" in Ashtabula this year, (if the event is indeed a go).

Moto 2

One the most devoted and committed persons in our sport is Joe Byrd. A strong second moto top five finish gave Byrd-man a top five overall. We predict this finish will boost his confidence enough to make Byrd a legitimate contender for a few overalls this year.

Once again, Natalie pulled another phenomenal holeshot on his factory backed Sparks Racing tuned Honda 450R. This time Doug Gust was right on his tail as Tim Farr charged close behind. Jeremiah Jones had another bad start just like he did in the first, but seemed to have more drive than he did in the previous moto. He was able to press on taking over the fourth place position. Up in the lead, Doug Gust was riding hard trying to get past Natalie. As he was getting close, he made a mistake on the finish line jump and ended up going over the side where he lost a lot of momentum and valuable ground on Natalie. Behind the leaders Tim Farr and Jeremiah Jones were going at it through the now whooped out sandy track. Farr was riding with a herniated disk in his back, but never showed any sign of weakness as he slammed through the rough stuff. Farr later made a decision to let Jones by since he would still be third overall for the day even if he finished behind Jones in fourth. By the end of the Moto, Natalie once again crossed the finish line with ease followed by Doug Gust and Jeremiah Jones.

Who was fast at Macon? Rookie K&K Racing pro, Pat Brown passed almost ten riders in route to his 7-6 sixth place overall.		Who says ATV racers aren't tough? Ohio's Tim Farr ignored pain in his back from a recent herniated disk problem and earned himself a podium finish nonetheless.
The Alabama Slama, Keith Little shined in the rough Echeconnee sand. Little went 2-7 for fourth overall and has more than demonstrated that he's wanting to add a GNC MX title to his '04 TT championship.		Text is so eighties! Here ATV Scene's Joe "Magoo" Tolle and Amy Tripp interview GNC ref, Robert Smith (aka "Smitty"). Have you been checking out our premier video race coverage? If not we highly recommend you click the video icon below - if not, you're only getting some of what goes down at the races.

 

Alba Yamaha's Kory Ellis finished with a 5-8 score. Good enough for seventh place overall.

As John Natalie, Doug Gust and Tim Farr lined up on the podium to receive their trophies, the crowd was very animated. “I didn't put too much of a fight up with Jeremiah because I new that 4th place would earn me a third overall for the day anyway”, said Farr speaking of getting passed during the second moto. As the microphone was passed to Doug Gust, he mentioned that John Natalie was riding extremely well. “I was riding hard trying to catch John but made a costly mistake when I ran off of the side of this jump” said Gust. John has ridden to two back to back wins (four straight impressive moto victories) and is emerging as a possible champion candidate for 2005. “I feel that I am in the best shape of my life. Suzuki protested me in Florida. They probably shouldn't have done that - it just motivated me all the more to step it up even further”, said Natalie.

Possibly the most personable pro rider today is John Natalie. Here he celebrates with the many spectators along this fence.		Echeconnee scoring girls make for great trophy girls. Ashley and Jessica demonstrate. FYI Jessica (right) is Miss ATV Scene April '05