Rookie Hetrick Earns First Win at Unadilla ATVMX

As the gates dropped on the opening AMA Pro ATV moto, Wisconsin’s Nick DeNoble grabbed the SSiDecals.com Holeshot Award aboard his Janssen Motorsports Honda, with Can-Am/Canada’s Richard Pelchat close behind. The 7-Time Canadian National Champion held off Hetrick, Josh Upperman and Motoworks Can-Am’s John Natalie for the first few laps until the trio finally moved past and Pelchat dropped to seventh. Hetrick passed DeNoble for the lead around lap five and the rookie went on to claim his first-ever moto win in the AMA Pro class.

“It was definitely my weekend here at Unadilla,” says Hetrick. “The track was good. I mean it was smooth, simple and real fast. I started off the first moto in third and then I caught up to [Nick] DeNoble and Josh [Upperman] so I just tried to stay on their pace for a while and then I got around them and went for it.”

In moto two, the SSiDecals.com Holeshot Award went to moto one winner Joel Hetrick, who set an untouchable pace early on. Upperman got off to a great start behind Hetrick and latched onto the pace of the leader at first, until Natalie contested the Honda rider at the end of the race. With such a tight points margin, Natalie was more focused than ever on beating Upperman in order to maintain his points lead. Natalie made the pass on Upperman with just two laps to go, finishing second in moto two and securing his points lead with a (5-2) finish for third overall. Joel Hetrick went on to take the overall win, the first of his rookie career, with a (1-1) sweep.

“I got the holeshot and just lead the whole race. I kind of pulled a gap and held it until the end,” says Hetrick. “I’ve been working out a lot different at home and trying some different stuff. I rode a lot to get ready for this race and it seemed like it went well for us.”

Upperman claimed second overall with (2-3) finishes, gaining valuable points as the 2011 season winds down. Lawson managed to slate a fourth overall; despite a comeback effort in moto two and Pelchat went (7-6) for the fifth spot.

Natalie fought through a recovering injury to capture yet another podium for the Motoworks Can-Am team, edging Upperman out by only three points in the championship point standings. Lawson is 28 points back from the leader in third and 20 points ahead of Can-Am’s Chad Wienen, who will not be racing the remainder of the season.

The AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series heads to RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich., July 30 and 31.