Posted May 31, 2007

Byrd maintains points lead over Lawson with 1-1 at Ballance MX

Defending AMA Pro ATV Champion Joe Byrd outlasted his championship rival Jeremy Lawson at round seven of the season, at Ballance MX, to bolster his status at the top of the standings in the 2007 ITP/Moose Racing ATVA National MX Championship presented by Parts Unlimited.

The Lawson-versus-Byrd rivalry grows each week, and Lawson served notice that he could once again run with the champ after turning in the fastest qualifying times in Saturday practice. The Ballance MX track—worked over by seven-time Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Champion Bill Ballance—featured a technical, supercross-type layout that led to many passing opportunities.

Byrd grabbed the ATVRiders.com Holeshot in Moto 1, with Cale Downen starting second, Lawson third, Pat Brown and Brock Lyons rounding out the top five. Lawson went to work on Downen and passed him at the end of lap two, and then he put his fast lap times to work, catching and then passing Byrd right before one of the most technical sections on the tour, the Six Pack, which consisted of three doubles before the finish-line jump. Lawson knifed inside before hitting that obstacle and made the pass for the lead.

A few seconds back, Brown was putting pressure on Downen to try to get into third and run with the leaders, but he wouldn’t make the pass stick until the halfway point in the race.

Lawson held the lead until the two-lap board came out, when Byrd went inside of him in the same corner where Lawson had taken the lead earlier. After Byrd made the pass, he put a quick brake check on Lawson which forced him to have to let off before the six pack and single out, while Byrd was able to double away for the moto win.

In the second moto, Byrd nailed the ATVRiders.com Holeshot again, with Lawson and Brown right behind. Before lap 1 was complete, Brown tried a pass on Lawson, and they tangled wheels, sending them both off the track.

Byrd began to pull away. Lawson got back into second within 1 lap, but Brown was still buried in the pack. Byrd appeared headed to an easy moto win until he got mud jammed into his rear brake pedal. While riding, he worked to remove the mud with his boot, which slowed him and allowed Lawson to close in.

Once Byrd got his brakes back, though, he opened up a lead again and set a pace that no one could match. Brown, meanwhile, put in a big charge to move up into third by the end of the moto.

Overall results, Ballance MX
1	Joe Byrd	Hon	1-1
2	Jeremy Lawson	Hon	2-2
3	Pat Brown	Yam	3-3
4	Cale Downen	Hon	4-4
5	John Ragon	Suz	5-5
6	Brock Lyons	Hon	6-7
7	Michael Brown	Hon	8-6
8	Shane Cochran	Yam	7-8
9	Justin Bres	Yam	9-10
10	Chris Tait	Yam	11-9
11	Alex Trompen	Suz	10-11
12	Justin Bush	Suz	13-12
13	Greg Meeks	Hon	12-13

 

Rider	Points	Wins
Joe Byrd	301	4
Jeremy Lawson	289	2
Pat Brown	219
Michael Brown	149
Dustin Wimmer	141	1
Justin Bres	138
Doug Gust	136
Alex Trompen	122
Keith Little	111
John Ragon	96

 

AMA Pro ATV Manufacturer Cup Standings
Honda	347
Suzuki	256
Yamaha	234
Kawasaki	23

© 2007, All Terrain Vehicle Association