Glen Helen GNC, Devore, CA 2007
- Updated: March 25, 2007
GNC MX Round 2
Glen Helen Raceway
Devore, CA
March 25, 2007
story and photos by Ray Larez
GNC opener winner, Jeremy Lawson, is seen here scouting his gate position.
Once again the ATVA Nationals headed way out west to Southern California for the only West Coast race on the GNC schedule. In year’s past this venue has been plagued with gusting winds and rain, making the track either too dry or too muddy. That wasn’t the case this year. The track was just as good as the weather.
Rookies and Vets
2006 Glen Helen winner and series champ, Joe Byrd, was looking to repeat with another West Coast victory. Team Suzuki’s Doug Gust (06’ WPSA Champ) was also looking to take home a win for his team’s newest sponsor Rockstar Energy Drink.
Suzuki’s newly added sponsor Rock Star Energy Drink was just added to the team. The freshly painted big rig looked as sharp as Doug Gust’s quad.
Gust’s new Yoshimura/Suzuki teammate and local favorite Kory Ellis has been looking really strong the past few weeks out at the ITP QuadCross races. Kory has been training really hard for this upcoming season and would definitely be a force to be reckoned with on his home turf. Ironman John Natalie impressed many before engine trouble in Texas and is always a threat in every race he enters.
As for the rookies… With incredible performances at round one by young guns Jeremy Lawson, who won the overall, and Chad Wienen the table was set for a rookie vs. veteran duel.
Friday
Early Friday morning the pro race haulers were pulling in to take their place in the pits. The newest addition to the pit side eye candy is the sharp-looking Kawasaki rig, which was equipped with several of their new KFX450Rs. Kawasaki’s go to guys Jason Luburgh and Josh Creamer were psyched to show off the killer looking green KFXs. Big Bad Blue also had some hot-looking stuff in Pat Brown and Dustin Nelson’s YFZ rides. The blue machines had some trick new parts not seen before. Pat Brown’s machine had a new trick GYTR exhaust that had some sort of large chamber mounted to the head pipe. Top secret stuff we suspect. Out in practice Pat’s machine seemed to not be lacking in the power department by any means and surprisingly was the quietest exhaust system come tech inspection time. His machine also featured some really cool Custom Axis shocks utilizing one shared reservoir for both shocks. Dustin Nelson’s machine had some new Ohlins featuring some new adjustments as well.
Speaking of a sharp quad… Kory Ellis is known for having some of the sharpest looking rides in ATV history. His ride wasn’t all that was sharp however. Ellis looked strong all weekend and logged the fastest qualifying lap time on his new Suzuki/Yosh ride.
Chad Wienen was ROLLIN’!
Saturday
Saturday’s practice would help determine gate position for the pros this year, instead of year’s past tradition of drawing spoons. Suzuki’s Kory Ellis cranked out the fastest lap times of the day and looked really strong on his sharply dressed all-yellow LTR450.
All lap times are now displayed by the tower and all racers are required to use the new AMA ATV Pro transponder system. As each rider passed the finish line their lap time is recorded officially. Each rider rents or buys their own transponder, which is worn around the rider’s ankle over the boot.
Both motos were full of fierce battles, here Wimmer leads Lawson as Wienen takes inventory from behind.
Here Natalie’s Pit Crew, led by Dee Manshack, franticly works on the 13 machine just before the second moto.
Sunday
The first moto got started without tangles or problems. Joe Byrd and his Dasa powered Honda nabbed the holeshot and led the pack into the first turn. Keith Little and Harold Goodman followed close behind the champ. Walsh Racecraft’s Jeremy Lawson held it on and made it stick down low and almost stole Byrd’s holeshot but settled into the four spot respectfully. By the end of the first lap Kory Ellis had worked his way up to second with Jeremy Lawson in third. Kory had been looking strong all weekend and was now starting to shine at his home track. Lawson was being chased down my the Ironman John Natalie. He was eventually passed by the aggressive Ironman and put back into third. Later on by the fourth lap Ellis suffered the same fate as #13 was on a terror. John really looked like he was back to his incredible self before he injured his wrist last year. Kory ended up falling back to third and was being tracked by fellow teammate Dustin Wimmer.
Keith Little got good starts both motos, but ran into a bit of bad luck when he had some transmission troubles.
Speaking of franticly working on a machine…. Chad Wienen pulled his own engine and assisted in the motor swap with a few fellow friends including Can Am’s Allen White and PEP’s Wayne Mooradian. Wienen worked just as franticly on the track moving from near last to pass Byrd for first before electrical problems stopped his heroic charge to victory.
The official’s announced over the PA that all pro riders need to report to staging for the final moto and as the pros began to start staging Natalie and mechanic Dee Manshack (of Rage ATV) were seen pushing Ironman’s ride back to the pits for some minor adjustments. As if Dee didn’t have enough last minute duties, Chad Wienen (also sponsored by Rage) needed an entire motor swap after moto one. Weinen, who Dee calls the hardest rider he’s ever seen on equipment, had cracked the head in the first moto. The team needed to put a fresh engine into the #44 frame on the pronto!
As the riders left the gate for the parade lap Natalie just barely made it to the line in time for his parade lap. Wienen however was a no show. It looked as though the guy who arguably trained the hardest in the off season would be the most in shape spectator during Sunday’s second pro moto. As the riders came over the last table top and began to line up for the start, still no sign of Chad. Official’s walked down the line one final time, and just as they were about to raise the 30 second board Chad slipped around the corner lined up at the gate with a mere few seconds to spare.
Joe Byrd ate his Wheeties over the Winter and looked strong with a perfect 1-1 score.
The board was raised, turned sideways, then the gate dropped with Joe Byrd blasting yet another holeshot! This time Natalie and Little were a close second. As they rounded the second turn Natalie made a pass on Byrd on the up hill section. Joe ended up passing Natalie back before the end of the first lap. The first lap really foreshadowed what this season will most likely be — exciting and very competitive. Keith Little aboard his Lonestar backed Honda looked the part as he did in round one and held down his third place position, but it wasn’t in the cards for Keith. With only a few laps left in the race Little pulled to a stop with a transmission failure.
The story of the day without a doubt was Chad Wienen. After getting to the line a few seconds before the gate dropped he started the race off in 11th place. With only 15 pros competing he was near dead last. That didn’t phase the young future factory star whatsoever. He was charging hard and showed he’ll be a major threat this season. By the end of the first lap Wienen had moved his way up to fourth just behind Little. By the third lap he had somehow made his way around Little and Natalie! Not settling for blitzing past two of the biggest names in today’s ATV scene, he zeroed in on the number seven on the back of Byrd. Wienen hammered through the terrain hard but even on the edge he looked flawless and strong.
WPSA Champion Doug Gust is seen here with The Rock Star Energy girls (and Miss Glen Helen). Gust really worked his butt off to get on the podium. Two strong come from behind motos prove legendary Gust still has what it takes despite the fact that he’s the oldest rider in the pro field.
While Wienen gritted his teeth and reeled Byrd in, Team Suzuki’s Doug Gust was making a charge of his own. With his sixth place start he had now bumped up to 5th and was now looking to get around Little. Back to the front of the pack, on lap four Wienen worked his way around Bryd and never backed off his incredible pace. Wienen was having the race of a lifetime with all the drama and suspense of a major motion picture.
Just when everyone in attendance was starting to feel privileged to witness his incredible action-packed-movie, Wienen pulled to a slow stop and sat helpless on top of a hill in the back of the track. Electrical problems ruined the ending to his incredible tale, but no doubt a Wienen sequel is just around the corner. This kid is for real!
Here Miss Glen Helen dresses up the pits and represents Southern California well.
On to the last portion of the final moto… Byrd regained the lead with some comfortable distance between him and Natalie. Still refusing to act his age, the oldest guy on the course, Digger Doug Gust continued to charge and found himself nipping on John Natalie’s heels. As laps neared their end, Gust showed no signs of fatigue and slipped past Natalie. By the eight and final long lap of the day, Gust actually closed the gap enough to be within striking distance of Byrd! It was another incredible charge through the pack by the legend that seems to always put a smile on everyone’s face.
As for Natalie, he and Wimmer ended up in a tangled mess in the final turn for the three spot. Natalie came out on top and finished the moto in third respectfully. Byrd took home a perfect 1-1 score to repeat his 2006 Glen Helen victory. Natalie finished in second overall and Gust took home a hard-earned third overall. Oddly enough this is the exact same podium at last year’s Glen Helen GNC.
