Wienen Wins Unadilla ATVMX National
- Updated: July 22, 2012
By Jen Kenyon
The 2012 AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series headed north to Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, New York for Round 8 of the 10-race series. Chad Wienen extended his points lead over defending champ John Natalie, despite heavy pressure from 2010 ATVMX champ Josh Creamer.
Wienen began the morning on fire by grabbing the ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier Award with a 1:52.8 time. When the gate dropped for Moto 1, it was BCS Performance/Can-Am’s Josh Creamer with the SSiDecals Holeshot Award as he put himself into the front of the pack right away. Wienen put his Wienen Motorsports/SSi Decals/Walsh Race Craft/Yamaha right behind Creamer and the duo put on an exciting race for the lead.
Motoworks/Can-Am teammates John Natalie and Joel Hetrick battled back and forth for the third place position but it was Natalie who ultimately secured the spot in Moto 1, while Hetrick took a close fourth.
Wienen shot off the start to grab the SSiDecals Holeshot Award in Moto 2 and the series points leader led all thirteen laps as Natalie and Creamer chased close behind. Natalie held off Creamer in Moto 2 in order to maintain the second place position, and Creamer took third. Wienen went on to take his fifth overall victory for the season with a 2-1 score. Creamer’s 1-3 score was enough to give him second overall for the day in his first ATVMX appearance this season. Natalie went 3-2 to secure the final podium position and gaining valuable points in the overall title chase.
Pro Podium: (left) Josh Creamer, (center) Chad Wienen, (right) John Natalie
“Starts were really key today and we were able to rip two solid starts and even another SSiDecals Holeshot in the second moto!” Wienen said. “It was a fun day of racing and we’re excited to keep the momentum rolling to RedBud.”
Hetrick had a consistent day of racing as he took home fourth overall, just ahead of TBROWN Yamaha Racing/Moto-X-Perts Yamaha Thomas Brown who came in fifth. Baldwin Motorsports/PEP/Maxxis’ Josh Upperman experienced some issues in Moto 2, giving him a 5-7 score for sixth overall.
Canada’s Richard Pelchat (Can-Am) took home seventh overall with 7-6 finishes, while Ohio’s Adam Clark (HON) came in eighth. Rookie Jeffrey Rastrelli (SUZ) took ninth overall and Michigan’s Harold Goodman (HON) rounded out the top ten.
The 2012 AMA ATV Motocross Championship heads to RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan July 28 and 29 for the penultimate Round 9. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.
AMA Pro ATV Results
1. Chad Wienen, Yamaha, (2-1)
2. Josh Creamer, Can-Am, (1-3)
3. John Natalie, Can-Am, (3-2)
4. Joel Hetrick, Can-Am, (4-4)
5. Thomas Brown, Yamaha, (6-5)
6. Josh Upperman, Honda, (5-7)
7. Richard Pelchat, Can-Am, (7-6)
8. Adam Clark, Honda, (9-8)
9. Jeff Rastrelli, Suzuki, (10-9)
10. Harold Goodman, Honda, (11-10)
AMA ATV Motocross Championship Pro Point Standings
1. Chad Wienen, Yamaha – 374
2. John Natalie, Can-Am- 345
3. Joel Hetrick, Can-Am – 306
4. Josh Upperman, Honda – 286
5. Thomas Brown, Yamaha – 276
6. Derek Swartfager, Honda – 197
7. Adam Clark, Honda – 188
8. Mark Madl, Honda – 184
9. Jeff Rastrelli, Suzuki – 178
10. Harold Goodman, Honda – 160
Source: ATVMX Press Release
