Gatorback MX, Gainesville, FL 2004
- Updated: March 6, 2004
GNC MX Round 2
Gatorback MX Park
Gainesville , FL
March 6-7, 2004
The sunshine state played host to the first annual GNC at Gatorback in Gainesville, FL. 532 sign ups later and the race was on. Pro ATV racing hasn’t been this exciting in many years and the 2004 GNC series demonstrated this perfectly again. This time under picture perfect Florida weather. In mote one Wisconsin’s “Digger” Doug Gust made American Suzuki proud by passing his way into the lead of moto one. Then, in a sea of blue Yamahas he left the pack in moto two and won easily.
Moto 1
Duncan/Roll/IMS backed Tavis Cain pulled the trigger the fastest. Lone Star’s Keith Little (LSR/Sparks/Maxxis/Ronnies) battled for the lead until he rolled to a stop after he threw a rod through the lower cases of his Sparks Racing YFZ. Meanwhile, Gust (Suzuki/Yosh/Hinson) made his way to the front with ease. Yamaha’s Jeremiah Jones’ (Yam/Sparks/ITP) ride was not so easy. Jones came from almost dead last after a poor start to an incredible third place finish! In fact, Jones pressured Cain’s two spot on the last half of the final lap. So much so, that Cain felt it necessary to hit the finish line jump without letting off the gas at all. “I thought Jones was right there ready to make a pass on me and I wasn’t about to give up second place spot in the last few feet of the moto. Needless to say, I landed really hard and crashed. My Elka suspension soaked up most of the hit but the landing hurt my wrist and neck pretty bad”, said an injured Cain after his respectable second place finish. Cain launched off of the finish line jump farther than most bikes and will probably owned the ATV distance record on that jump forever. Unfortunately for Cain and his Duncan Racing team, he was hurt bad enough to seriously alter his ride in the second moto.
Tavis Cain pulled off his best pro moto finish (2nd place) after he pulled the holeshot in moto one.
“Ironman” John Natalie rode through some pain in his hand after a Friday crash in practice. He finished third overall.
Gust hammers through the Weekend Warrior corner.
Moto 2
Gust Gone! End of story for the lead spot. Let’s move on to the rest of the race. Round one winner, ATV Scene’s own, Kory Ellis (Alba Action/Kenda/Hinson) took note of Jones’ first moto blitz and charged just as well from his 14th spot in early moto two action. While Jones comfortably took over the two spot (which would later put him on the runner up spot for the day), Ellis picked off riders one after another. In order to earn a Gattorback GNC podium position, Ellis would need to get through “Ironman” John Natalie. This is not an easy task as Natalie has proved to be a serious contender for this year’s title. “I knew he was coming up hard. I crashed on Friday and hurt my hand yesterday and had some problems with that”, said Natalie. “In fact, my hand came off the grip for a second and I slammed my head into the bars and cut my face up a little. There’s no excuse though, it all comes down to training. These guys are ready this year I need to get back home and train my butt off. Consistency is what is going to get it this year and you’ll need to be in excellent shape for that”, he added. Natalie held his ground and refused to be the final victim to Ellis’ charge.
Ellis was on the move after two poor starts.
Digger Doug dropped the hammer in moto two and left the field.
Shane “Dog” Hitt rode another smooth and steady race to finish up fifth place overall (4-6).
From the podium and through GNC announcer Mark Straubinger’s microphone – “I plan on being on the podium a lot this year and I want to win a few too. If I can do that I think we can win this thing”, said Jones after thanking his new fiance Jamie Renz, for being a part of his team.
“I was surprised. This is a hard, fast track, and it’s really not my style. I like a sandy rough track more. I thought I would have my work cut out for me today. It really went better than I would have thought. Really it’s my whole Yoshimura Suzuki crew out here making this possible. “I’ve got a lot of people behind me in our Suzuki pits that have really put a lot into this and it shows on the track. I can’t thank them all enough”, said Gust.
Parting words from “Ironman” John Natalie: “My prayers are with my mechanic Craig Martin who had a brain aneurysm in California”.
Left to right is GNC announcer Mark Straubinger, Kazbor’s general manager Jeff Cyman, GNC ref Robert Smith “Smitty” and the man of the hour – Suzuki’s Doug Gust.
Here “Digger” Doug Gust makes a kid happy. Gust was the only pro rider that showed up at Kazbor’s to sign autographs.
