Twenty hand-picked invitations went out for this one-off event, adding fuel to fire for Round 10 of the AMA/Toyota Motocross Championships. The level of commitment for the Pro ATV racers astounded even the Pro dirt bike racers, and once the four-wheelers started nailing the uphill triples, the stage was set for this jaw-dropping event.
“This is a good thing for the sport,” said Baldwin Mortorsports Mark Baldwin while going over the number 20 Kawasaki of Josh Upperman. “I think Harv [Whipple] did a great job running the show, everyone was very receptive, we got prime parking, — all in all it was excellent. Carrie Coombs popped in on the riders meeting and said that this will probably be the start of some bigger things to come. I’m not sure what she meant by that, but I think they’ve got some plans in the works for something. If it’s half as good as this event, count us in.”
The track at Steel City offered a little something for everyone. “[The triples are] a little separator for everybody to do,” Pat Brown said. “It’s not just the same old everybody jumps everything kind of track.”
Kawasaki’s Josh Creamer turned the fastest qualifying lap time with around 2.29, with riders like Gust, Wimmer, Pelchat and Ellis inside the top 5. Wienen held sixth fastest lap time, though some riders relaxed the pace in practice. Not trying for fast laps, “I had to make sure I got the track in my head ready to go,” one rider said.
Factory Cernic’s Honda Pro ATV Team Michael James Brown pulled the first gate pick. “That’s the first time I’ve ever done that,” he said.
Second pick went to Patrick Brown. “The gate pick was good,” Brown said after winning the race. “The gate was pretty equal, so it wasn’t a huge, huge advantage, but it definitely worked out in my favor,” Brown said.
Last-minute entry Cale Downen caught 10th gate pick, along with his first glimpse of the track behind the rider’s seat. “I’ve never ridden here before,” Downen said. “I wrenched here last year for Sage Baker.”
Lone Star Racing’s Keith Little drew gate pick number 18, and planned on using his days of flat track racing to help get him out front. “The track was kind of mushy [in practice,]” Little said. “[We are] so excited, and willing to go out there and push the limit to get our name out there as much as we can.” Little added, “Just to be here with the top pro bike riders is really cool. The track was pretty good considering all the rain we got, the program ran really smooth. My only complaint is that I wish I could have done better. I won here last year at the GNC event and thought I might be able to do pull off another win. I came out fifth worked my way into fourth, but landed off a double into some soft loamy material and flipped it. Again, I can’t complain, I’m just happy to have been invited.”
Main Event
Pat Brown picked the closest gate to the starting box, which he ended up using to his advantage. When the gate dropped, Yamaha took over with Brown and Travis Spader leading the way.
From this point on Brown rode a picture perfect race and checked out unchallenged. Travis Spader held second over the sea of yellow Suzuki’s of Doug Gust and Chad Wienen. Brown built his lead to a whopping eight-seconds after the first lap! Meanwhile, Gust and Wienen slipped past Spader, ahead of Keith Little and the three-way battle between Russell Shumaker, Josh Creamer and Dustin Wimmer made up the top ten along with Richard Pelchat. As the race progressed Spader held his ground in the top five spot but high centered his Yamaha on a berm and fell back.
Wienen caught Gust in second, and the two battled for the runner up spot while the Suzuki mechanics cheered them both on. Eventually Wienen made the pass and a quick getaway. “Downtown” Patrick Brown stayed smooth, gauging his lead over Wienen, and turning the fastest lap of the race with a 2:18.123 on lap two, followed by the hard-charging Wienen who put down a 2.19.911 on lap three. Brown boasted a ten-second lead by the white flag, completely out of sight from the pack. Brown crossed the finish line with the checkers; his flawless style flattening the field at the first-ever AMA Pro ATV Open Invitational.
“It’s amazing,” Pat Brown said on the podium. “I came out here and wanted it real bad. I put my heart to it and got it done.”
“I got my bad luck out of the way at the last couple of rounds. Hopefully I can carry this momentum into next season. I’m just stoked. My Yamaha worked so good out there.”
The Suzuki rides of Chad Wienen and Doug Gust rounded out the podium, and Wienen took to the microphone. “I came out of the gate six or seven,” Wienen said. “I had a bad gate choice. The track was nice out there; [it was] kind of tacky and one-lined, but we made it happen.”
Wienen was full of thanks after the special event, especially for the first time event and Wienen’s first-ever dirtbike national. “It’s great being the first generation for this, and special tanks to the AMA for inviting us,” Wienen said. “It’s a great opportunity. I can’t think them enough for letting us come here. It was a good time you know, considering the weather they had. I feel we put on a pretty good show and hopefully we can do it again next year.”
After two decades of ATV racing, Gust grinned for all time well-spent. “Yeah, I’ve been in it for 20 years. I started in ’86 or ’87,” he said. “I was there when the sport went through its lull, and now it’s big again, and I’m really excited about that.”
“The track was great,” Gust continued. “I got a decent start; I think I came out third or something. The second lap, I cased about every jump out there. I got my wits together and started riding smooth. I’m happy with third.”
Summing it up…
Perhaps newcomer to the Pro class, Hunter Miller, summed up the first ever US Open Invitational best, “We know that many bike riders dont like quads, so we weren’t sure how we would be welcomed, but I have to say it was great! I loved the atmosphere, the people were awesome, everyone was really cool to us and I’m happy to have been included and even more happy to have finished in the top ten against these guys.” Hunter Miller has only appeared in three pro races to date. He went on to say, “I was thrilled to see Cody, [Hunter’s brother], doing so well a few spots ahead of me. I saw him in seventh or eighth. He was on it today for sure. I think he would have finished up in the pack, but pulled to a stop with two broken upper frame rails. O well, we’re both thrilled to have been included and we both had a blast.”
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