#AtvMotocross

The world’s top ATV motocross athletes are back in action this weekend as the 2013 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship kicks off at Aonia Pass MX Park in Washington, Ga.

The 2013 ATVMX Pro lineup boasts one of the most stacked fields in recent history with 24 riders expected to line up at the opening round of racing, including defending champion Chad Wienen (Wienen Motorsports/SSi/Walsh/ Yamaha presented by Maxxis Tires and Team Vollmer). With several veteran riders, past champions and new riders making their debut into the pro class, the chase for the 2013 championship title will be one to follow. Two-time champ and ATVMX veteran John Natalie contested Wienen for the championship in 2012 but was left short and finished second overall in the points chase. This season Natalie will be riding a MotoSport.com/Motoworks/DWT machine and looking to reclaim that number one plate.

The series will be returning to many of the ATV racing community’s favorite venues, while adding two more for 2013. Round 4 heads to Indiana’s hotbed of racing at Wildcat Creek MX, while Round 6 stops at Birch Creek Motorsports in Danville, Va. The season wraps up August 10-11 at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

“The ATV promoters have put a lot of consideration into creating a schedule that best accommodates riders and families, while still creating an exciting series that is worthy of its national status,” says ATVPG Director Sam Gammon.”

After celebrating Chad Wienen’s AMA Pro ATV Motocross championship, Wienen Motorsports is aggressively expanding its race team for the 2013 season.

“I’m excited for the 2013 season, not only am I looking forward to defending my 2012 AMA ATV Pro MX National Championship but I am excited about bringing fellow Pro rider Thomas Brown underneath the Wienen Motorsports team,” says Wienen. “This season Wienen Motorsports will also be sponsoring Pro-Am rider Bryan Vollmer and Pro-Am/A Class rider Jordan Dummett.”

Thomas Brown is entering his fifth year as a Pro in the AMA Pro ATV Motocross Champion. He has been racing for thirteen years and was a very accomplished amateur rider. He has finished in the top five overall the past two years in the AMA Pro class and has several podiums to his name. In 2012 Brown only finished out of the top five once and claimed second place at the Montreal Supercross behind Wienen.

Yamaha ATV Racers have earned 2012 season championships in motocross and cross-country, from North America to the Southern Hemisphere, all aboard the YFZ450R.

Yamaha employees gathered outside of the company’s U.S. headquarters in Southern California to celebrate their champions and make their annual Feed the Children food drop along with the Star Touring and Riding Association. This year Yamaha helped raise more than $27,000 through employee donations and corporate fund raising efforts that will provide food and essentials for approximately 2,000 families across the country through next year.

Among the champions in attendance for the Yamaha celebration and food drop were Chad Wienen and Traci Cecco-Pickens.

The ATV Promoters Group (ATVPG) has announced a change in the location of the opening round of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series. Round one, originally scheduled for March 24-25 at Millcreek in Pell City, Ala., will now take place the same weekend at Aonia Pass Motocross in Washington, Ga. Check out the full schedule below the jump.

“Aonia Pass proved last year that their facility is worthy of holding the opening round of ATVMX and it just makes sense to make the change to this location for 2012,” says Sam Gammon, director of the ATVPG.

GBC Motorsports is a proud supporter of local ATV racing and is pleased to offer riders a chance at winning a set of tires. As part of FNL’s Fall ATV MX Series, GBC Motorsports is providing a set of Bomb Squad MX tires to one lucky raffle winner at each round of the series.

The FNL Fall ATV MX Series at Milestone MX Park in Riverside, Calif. provides a great opportunity for local racers and ATV enthusiasts to ride at a beautiful facility. As an added bonus GBC Motorsports is raffling off a set of their popular Bomb Squad MX tires at each round of the series. Each first moto class winner will automatically be entered into the raffle.

Round 2 of the FNL Fall ATV MX Series took place Saturday, Nov. 19 at Milestone MX Park. GBC Motorsports Sales Representative and former pro ATV racer Kory Ellis was in attendance to award the winner of this round’s raffle. This time around the winner was Jerry Maldonado (#64), winner of the Open 250 class as well as the beginner class. Jerry put together some impressive runs aboard his Triumph Motorsports Raptor 250. Congratulations, Jerry!

Yamaha Racing’s Dustin Nelson capped his record fifth QuadX Series Championship at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California on Oct. 29, dominating the track and winning both of the final two Pro 450 Production motos.

Nelson pulled holeshots and never looked back in the two Pro motos, highlighting his historic season in which he won all eight QuadX Series stops throughout Southern California and Arizona including 11 of 12 total motos.

“To have a season like we did, the equipment had to be flawless – and everything worked great round after round,” says Nelson. “We had strong engines to get us out front with no failures during the year. In fact, we used the same chassis and the same engine, with normal rebuilds only, all year.”

“Dustin dominated the series on his YFZ450R and stayed on top of the podium at every stop,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s marketing manager who was in attendance at the QuadX Series Finale. “He’s a true champion to keep pushing to take the top spot on the podium even after clinching the championship back at the last stop in Arizona. It was great to see him stay true to form and win both motos at Glen Helen to give himself, Yamaha and the YFZ450R a perfect season.”

MX Sports Pro Racing and ATVPG have announced the 2012 schedule for the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series presented by DWT. The series kicks off March 24 and 25 at Millcreek Raceway in Pell City, Ala. and wraps up August 11 and 12 at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

The series moves to a ten-race format in 2012 and will be returning to many of the ATV racing community’s favorite venues such as High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pa. and Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tenn.

“The ATV promoters are excited to release the National ATVMX schedule for 2012,” says ATVPG Director Sam Gammon. “We have put a lot of consideration into creating a schedule that best accommodates riders and families, while still creating an exciting series that is worthy of its national status.”

A broken chain derailed Josh Creamer's championship hopes.

Can-Am DS 450 racers won seven class championships and earned a total of 15 top-three finishes in other classes after the final race of the 2011 New England ATV Motocross series.

Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 Pro class competitor Josh Creamer came up 15 points short in his quest for a Pro championship due to a broken chain in the first Pro class moto.

“I was proud of Josh Creamer’s effort this year and second place is nothing to be ashamed of that’s for sure. A broken chain is out of your control, but, sadly, it’s part of racing,” says Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “I was pleased to see so many Can-Am DS 450 ATVs compete in the New England MX series this year and to have seven amateur class titles.”

Creamer held a 10-point advantage in the Pro class standings coming into the finale at Hemonds MX in Minot, Maine. However, a broken chain on the first lap of the first Pro class moto resulted in a DNF and mathematically eliminated Creamer for the Pro title chase. The skilled pro remained focused, however, and won the second moto to go along with a double-moto sweep in the Pro-Am class. Creamer ended up second overall in both the Pro and Pro-Am classes aboard his Can-Am DS 450.

The AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series has announced that Can-Am will be the recipient of the 2011 Manufacturer’s Cup, edging out Honda by less than forty points.

Each year, AMA Pro Racing awards the manufacturer that accumulates the most points in the AMA Pro class throughout the course of a season with the Manufacturer’s Cup. The series points are configured race-to-race, based on each manufacturer’s best overall finisher. Can-Am finished out the season with seven of the eleven victories, aided by Can-Am riders John Natalie, Chad Wienen and Chase Snapp.

“On behalf of BRP and Can-Am we are extremely proud of our racers and teams that contributed to winning this year’s Manufacturer’s Cup championship aboard the DS450. The entire Can-Am / Motorworks team has worked extremely hard, investing countless hours and making numerous sacrifices to help us achieve our common goal,” says Can-Am Race Manager, Jimmie O’Dell. “Our team riders John Natalie and Chad Wienen were true inspirations this season by both overcoming adversity and have also taken training and preparation to another level. I also want to thank Can-Am X-Team rookie pro Chase Snapp and his team as they worked extremely hard this season and have contributed to Can-Am winning this manufacturer’s cup title.”

Motoworks / Can-Am ATV racer Josh Creamer overcame the excessively muddy conditions at MX 207 to win the Pro class at round eight of the New England ATV Motocross Series in Lyman, Maine. Creamer also won the Pro-Am class aboard his Can-Am DS 450 ATV. Series points leader, Dustin Wimmer finished second to Creamer in both classes. BCS Performance / Can-Am DS 450 racer Cody Miller earned two podiums as well, taking third overall in each class.

“With his outstanding weekend performance, Creamer has dramatically closed up the Pro class points championship race and sits only four points behind the leader with four rounds of racing remaining,” says Jimmie O’Dell, race manager, Can-Am. “He continues to impress on the DS 450 and his performance in the slick, muddy track was incredible.”

Creamer jumped out to an early lead in moto one, grabbing the holeshot, and held off another racer for the win. Moto two was even more challenging as Creamer, who took another holeshot, dropped back to second place during the early part of the race before making a pass and rallying for the win. His 1-1 finish gave him a 10-point cushion over second place at round eight. With his third overall victory, he now trails the Wimmer by just four points heading into round nine, which is to be held Aug. 21 at Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.

“I had a good day even with all the mud,” says Creamer. “I knew a good start was needed, so I just did my best to get out front and stay there. I’m looking forward to the next round at E-Town. Hopefully we’ll get a little better weather for that one.”

Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 racer Josh Creamer won both the Pro and Pro-Am classes at round six of the New England ATV Motocross Series in Minot, Maine. BCS Performance / Can-Am DS 450 racer Cody Miller joined Creamer on both podiums, finishing third in both classes.

“Josh continues to amaze us on how talented of a rider he actually is. This season he’s has adapted very quickly to the Can-Am DS 450 and continues to get faster each race,” says Jimmie O’Dell, race manager, Can-Am. “This past weekend Josh was in championship form and rode hard on his way to winning all four motos.”

Creamer had a challenging first moto after a battle with the current Pro-class points leader. After grabbing the holeshot in moto one, Creamer lost the lead only to regain it again as the leader made a mistake. Then in the second Pro moto, Creamer used the power from his Motoworks-prepped DS 450 to grab another holeshot and lead wire-to-wire for the victory. The two-moto sweep moved Creamer to within 14 points of the Pro class leader.

Motoworks / Can-Am pro ATV racer and current AMA ATV MX Championship series Pro-class points leader Chad Wienen crashed last week while training at his practice track in Illinois suffering a season-ending injury to his back. Medical crews were on the scene quickly and he was transported to an area hospital. At the hospital, it was discovered Wienen broke two vertebrae in the middle of his back, but he suffered no major spinal cord injury and has feeling in his extremities.

Wienen underwent surgery on Saturday to stabilize his back. The surgery to fuse several vertebrae in his back was successful and he is conscious and talking; he may be moved out of recovery today. He is anxious to get back on his feet and will start rehabbing as soon as he gets approval from the doctors.

“Chad is a hard-working and dedicated racer and I am sure he will tackle his recovery from this injury just like he tackled his training: with 100-percent commitment,” says Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “I was glad to hear the surgery was successful and Chad is in good spirits and ready to move on and start recovering. He is in the thoughts and prayers of everyone here at BRP.”