John Natalie wins third Pro MX in a row
Photos by Stephani McIntyre
April 20, 2005 – If you missed Round 5 of the ATVA ITP/Moose Grand National Championship Motocross Series you missed one of the best Pro races ever.
Held
at the Birch Creek Motorsports Park in Ringgold, Virginia, April 16-17, the
round saw record-setting attendance and a huge Sunday crowd enjoying perfect
race weather.
John Natalie (#13), riding a Honda, had to ride harder than ever for this win to give him three wins in a row. The win moved him into that coveted first-place position in the quest for the National Pro title.
The charge for the holeshot in the first moto was as tight as they get. Natalie had a slight edge in turn one, closely followed by Tim Farr (#4) on a Honda and Suzuki/Yoshimura team mates Doug Gust (#55) and Jeremiah Jones (#2).
Gust,
after crashing hard on the second lap, recovered but was way back in the pack.
Farr and Jones battled corner by corner, lap after lap in some of the most spectacular
racing ever.
Jones passed Farr and went on to challenge Natalie in the turn before the checkered flag but came up an ATV short.
In the second moto, Farr pulled the holeshot with Kory Ellis (#53), riding his Yamaha, following so close you would think they were one, as well as Jason Luburgh (#8), on a Yamaha, Travis Spader (#30), also on a Yamaha, Joe Byrd (#7) on a Honda and John Natalie.
Jeremiah Jones was deep in the pack around 10th or 12th position at the start.
Natalie, who has led the last five Pro motos in a row, didn't waste any time. He sat in sixth place after the start and passed riders as quickly as possible, working his way up to second place. Farr rode an excellent race and pulled away out of Natalie’s reach.
Back in the pack, Jones was passing riders as Natalie worked his way up to fourth place, behind Ellis.
The overall results for the day were Natalie in first place, Farr in second and Jones in third.
Jason
Dunkelberger (#19), riding a Yamaha for Lost Creek Cycle, had clutch problems
on the starting line in the first moto. He came off the line more than 20 seconds
behind the rest of the pack. But he passed riders left and right to end up in
seventh place and finished just one place off the podium in fourth for the day.
That gave him his best GNC-MX Pro career finish ever.
The
“Never Give Up Award” has to go to Keith Little (#12). When his motor gave up
on the last lap, Little jumped off and pushed his ATV the last 40 yards to take
the checkered flag.