GNC-MX: John Natalie rocks at Florida MX
Photos by Stephani
McIntyre
March 17, 2005 – Honda-mounted John Natalie (#13) grabbed the holeshot in both motos and never looked back to win the third round of the ATVA/ITP/Moose Grand National Championship Motocross Series March 12-13 at Gatorback in Gainesville, Florida.
After
turn one in both motos, not a single rider got close enough to Natalie to challenge
his run for first place.
Mechanical problems or tangles on the track plagued him in the first two rounds and kept him off the podium. So this was his first time on the podium this season. What better way than first place.
This should tighten up the Championship points and make the next few rounds even more exciting.
Mother nature threw the riders a curve in the first two rounds of the series in California and Texas, but Florida lived up to its nickname as the “Sunshine state" as picture-perfect weather put huge grins on the faces of all the riders and families from cold northern states.
The
fine weather also encouraged a huge spectator crowd to cheer on the fastest
MX riders in the nation.
Team Suzuki rider Doug Gust (#55) was riding hard in the second moto with one of his signature come-from-behind charges. Gust was in eighth place at the start of the second moto and worked his way up to third place. That gave him a second-place finish for the weekend and moved him up to first in the points challenge.
Travis Spader (#30), aboard a Yamaha, took a four-year break from the GNC series and is back and charging hard. Spader finished third in the first moto and fourth in the second, earning him the third-place trophy and his first trip to the podium this season.
Promoter Wyn Kern and his staff worked hard over the winter to build ATV riders the best possible track. Loads of dirt were brought in to create option lanes and several new table tops. Tons of sand were also worked into areas of the track to loosen up the lime base.
The ATVA introduced another new class for youth racers for the 2005 season: 70 Production, for riders age 6-11. At round one there were only five entries but that changed at Gatorback as 24 excited youth signed up to qualify down to 20 for Sunday's final moto. Chase Horton took the win.