Wienen Sweeps Motos at RedBud to Clinch ATVMX Championship

As the full pro gate dropped for moto 1, it was Wienen who crossed the SSi Decals Holeshot Award line first. Wienen spaced a four-second lead on the field by the end of the first lap and was able to maintain a similar distance until he crossed the checkers first in moto 1.

Thomas Brown didn’t come out of the first turn with as good of a start and fell into the field just inside of the top ten. Brown had to make up a lot of ground and set out to do so quickly moving up to fifth by the end of the first lap. Brown’s determination kept him pushing the entire moto and he was able to go from fourth to second with less than three laps to go. Brown finished out moto 1 three seconds behind the leader in second. Corrosion Hetrick Racing’s Joel Hetrick came off of the gate inside of the top ten and sat in the third place position from the end of the first lap up until Brown made the pass and he moved into fourth. Hetrick’s endurance kept him pushing and he made a pass back into the third place position with two laps to go and rounded out the podium finishers in moto 1.

“I always really look forward to coming to RedBud their facility and track is always top notch and really suits my style of riding,” says Brown. “I’ve been looking forward to getting closer to the top of the box all season and I really had to work for it but it left me really pumped to continue to work to lead the field.

BCS Can-Am rider Josh Creamer came out of the holeshot right behind the leader and maintained his second place position despite pressure from behind until Brown and Hetrick came racing through the field with a few laps to go. Creamer finished out moto 1 in fourth with a fifteen second advantage on the rest of the field. John Natalie had a top five start in moto 1 aboard his MotoSport.com Motoworks DWT machine. Natalie showed true to his nickname “Ironman” by holding onto the fifth place position despite pressure from behind numerous times throughout the moto.

“The track was really technical and I made a few mistakes that cost me some positions but the front of the field had a great battle going on the entire moto and I was having fun out there,” says Creamer. “I know I need to go out there and work on a few things before the final round in a few weeks.

Rookie of the Year contender Tyler Hamrick had a standout race aboard his Vechery Racing finishing well inside the top ten in the eighth place position after battling with several other riders for his position.

“I’ve been waiting to snag the holeshot award all season and I’m glad I was finally able to find the front of the field off the gate,” says Byrd.

Brown came out of the first turn in second and was in third by the end of the first lap. Within four laps Brown was able to make clean pass into second and continued on to finish a step higher on the podium in 2013, grabbing the second place overall for the weekend. Brown increased his points lead on the third place championship points rider to twenty-two points heading into the final round of racing.

Hetrick had a lot of work ahead of him after coming out of the first turn just inside the top ten. Determined to find the front of the field, Hetrick starting picking off the field one by one advancing into the third place position by the halfway point. Hetrick went 3-3 for the weekend, taking third overall and his best finish at RedBud MX so far in his pro career.

Natalie was consistent in moto 2, starting the moto in the fourth place position and ending in the fourth place position. Natalie fell back into fifth for two laps of racing but it wasn’t long before the Ironman made his way back into fourth and take fourth place overall for the weekend. Baldwin Motorsports PEP Upperman Racing’s Josh Upperman had rough start to moto 2 but wasn’t going to let that hold him back from salvaging valuable championship points. Upperman sat in eleventh at the end of the first lap and put his head down to work through the field. Upperman never gave up picking through the field and making his way up to sixth by the halfway point and making his last pass of the day stick with two laps to go to secure fifth for moto 2.

The series will conclude at Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. on August 10.