QUADTober Fest

QUAD-Tober Fest at Crow Canyon ride park

Tune up your quads and mark your calendars for the 2010 QUAD-Tober Fest ATV and UTV ride weekend at Crow Canyon Motocross Race Park in Uhrichsville, Ohio.

Crow Canyon is opening up its 400-plus acres of trails, youth and full-size motocross tracks and the Action Extreme Sports (AES) ride shop for two days in October for UTV and ATV riders. QUAD-Tober Fest is set for Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17.

The weekend event will give riders the chance to take brand new KTM and Yamaha ATVs and UTVs out for a spin as part of their massive, customer friendly demo ride tours. Models available for test rides from Yamaha will include their Rhino UTV, Grizzly, Raptor and YFZ450 ATV models. KTM will offer demo rides on their sport 450cc and 525cc XC model ATVs. Closed-course trail loops will be set up for the demo rides.

The sprawling motocross track, which will be watered and prepped during the weekend, will be open to ATV riders only during QUAD-Tober Fest. The track averages a 2-minute lap time for skilled riders and offers huge elevation changes with a number of challenging double and tabletop style jumps.

Crow Canyon’s more than 400 acres of trails will be open to all ATV and UTV riders and dirt bike riders during the event. The trails range from technical to easy and offer something for everyone – from mud holes to hill climbs and tight woods sections. Both the track and trails are enjoyable for the novice rider yet offer challenges for more skilled riders.

AES, the on-site performance shop and Terracross ATV/UTV dealer, offers parts and services to keep your quad or UTV running all weekend. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. for all events. Cost is $20 per rider. Camping is free for QUAD-Tober Fest.

For more information, log on to CrowCanyonMX or call 740-922-6655.

Scroll down for a helmet cam video of the MX track at Crow Canyon!

Video - Unadilla ATV Pro motos

ATP Relocates; Open for Business

ATP Racing Engines has relocated and reestablished its successful ATV engine building shop in central Florida. ATP is back to what it does best: Building engines and supporting quad racers.

After the company’s abrupt move in late February 2010 many believed ATP had closed. While it did take several months to restore operations, ATP is indeed very much intact and thrilled to be working on engines again for ATV racers and riding enthusiasts! ATP Racing Engines has taken an unscheduled hiatus from the AMA ATV MX Nationals this season to repurchase several essential pieces of machinery. ATP now has the majority of the engine machining capabilities that were available prior to leaving its location in northern Florida.

“It has come to my attention that many people are still unaware that we are in business," ATP CEO Mike Walker said. "Apparently there are still many rumors surrounding my company’s status and I want to reassure all of my customers and potential customers that we are up and running and taking in work daily.”

That being said, ATP has decided to offer reintroductory pricing that is well below both the company and industry standards. These budget build prices will be available for a limited time on many engine services such as competition Serdi valve jobs and complete engine tear down and reassembly. For example, all single cylinder 4-stroke head porting is priced at $300.00. This is the same race proven, high quality and high performance work that has always been offered by ATP! Again this is only for a limited time.

ATP Racing Engines, Inc has also opened a new eBay store featuring many of their custom engine components as well as several OEM parts that dealers typically don't have in stock.

ATP is currently accepting racer resumes for the 2011 race season!

You can contact ATP Racing Engines, Inc with any parts or service inquiries at the address and phone listed below:

ATP Racing Engines, Inc

230 Hatteras Ave

Clermont, FL 34711

Office phone: 407-703-3901

email: atpracing36@yahoo.com

Read more about ATP Racing Engines by clicking on the links below:

ATV.com: TPR Yamaha YFZ450R Project
ATP builds engine for TPR Project YFZ450R

ATP temporarily closes, plans to reopen

ATP leads charge on Yamaha motocross project

If you build it...

Video - Unadilla Pro Am

201 Films put together this collage of shots from the pro-am ATV motocross races at Unadilla this past weekend. Enjoy!

ATV MX Round 9 - Unadilla

Creamer Moves Closer to Championship
with Win at Unadilla

Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki's new recruit this year looks to be securing his first-ever pro ATV motocross championship.

Josh Creamer took the overall win at Unadilla in Berlin, N.Y., this weekend and extended his points leader over teammate Dustin Wimmer to 30 points with just two rounds left in the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship.

For a full report from Unadilla, read Christa Watson's race recap.

Industry News - Highland execs killed

Tragedy strikes U.S. Highland; Three top execs killed in plane crash

DealerNews reported last week that a plane crash claimed the lives of the three top men at U.S. Highland, the fledgling ATV manufacturer that announced this year it was releasing the 450cc and 507cc ATX Quad Racer.

Read the dealer news report below:

Tragedy struck U.S. Highland, Inc. Saturday night (July 10) as founder and president Mats Malmberg, 41, and two other top executives perished in a plane crash.

Also killed in the crash were COO Charles Bales, 51; and CFO Damian Riddoch, 37.

They were returning from a business trip to Detroit when they had asked to make an emergency landing at Tulsa International Airport, but went down instead in a wooded area of a city park northwest of the airport, killing all three aboard.

"This is a human tragedy beyond imagination," CEO Steven A. Moell sad in a press release. "Our hearts and prayers go out to their families. No words can describe the loss the families are experiencing. It was an honor to work with these three men and I know they would want us to continue to build US Highland into a leading U.S. powersports company. They were all true visionaries and will be deeply missed." 

The company moved from Sweden to Mounds, Okla., two years ago to take advantage of the larger American market and the capacity for R&D and manufacturing. At last report the company had about 30 employees and ambitious growth plans.

Malmberg was a former professional rider in Europe. He still designed and tested all of U.S. Highland’s prototype bikes.

The company had just announced that its hub motor was ready for production.
Bales, a part-owner, said in May that the company planned to introduce a new line of bikes at retail in a few months, and divulged its long-range plans to expand its facility to a five-building manufacturing campus.

Late Monday, Bloomberg reported that Bales was piloting the plane when it went down, and that the company would announce executive appointments Tuesday.

"I know everyone including myself at U.S. Highland will sincerely miss Mats, Chase and Damian. I always had a strong respect for their work ethic and strong level of integrity. My deepest condolences go out to their families," US Highland chairman Bengt Andersson said in the release.

Malmberg is survived by his wife and three children. Bales is survived by his wife and two children. Riddoch is survived by his wife and four children.

Editorial - ATV 'Nationals'

DREAM SERIES

Re-arranging

the ATV 'Nationals'

Scott Mushin, at Mushin Racing, recently posed a question to atv racers and fans in an online forum asking how they would create a dream ATV motocross series. Predictably, the post became a bash session for everything wrong with the current "national" race series, the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship.

A few good ideas came of the discussion, however, but perhaps the one most successful idea for an ATV National Motocross series didn't materialize.

Proven by dirt bike racers, the Loretta Lynn's qualifying races held throughout the country are a successful venue for amateur racers to showcase their skills and earn a ticket to the big show - the final at Loretta Lynns AMA Amateur National  Motocross Championships.

The AMA promoters and other promoter groups around the nation running ATV race series should consider a hybrid version of all their series modeled after the AMA amateur championship.

In each major ATV race series, a select few pros battle it out hard for the top 5 positions at most races, and really only two or three pros at most are close enough in the points chase to create any kind of real battle for the title. Most of these series are seeing dwindling gate sizes in the pro class due to the economy, rising traveling expenses, limited sponsor support and the dropping of factory backing from Honda and Kawasaki.

The major ATV race series around the country, including WORCS, ITP Quadcross, AMA ATV Motocross, DWT World ATV Motocross, and the NEATV-MX, should run their seasons as 'qualifiers' for a final national series held in the fall. The top 4 points finishers in the pro class for each series could then compete for a shorter series somewhere in the Midwest.

Creating a true "national" ATV series would bring together the top pros such as Dustin Nelson, Beau Baron, Joe Haavisto, Cody Miller, Josh Frederick, Michael Pilotte, Josh Creamer, Dustin Wimmer, John Natalie, Jr., and others for a guaranteed full gate of the nation's fastest ATV racers. The series could be limited to three races at the same facility or tracks within a close proximity within a weekend or one or two week span. The winner would be crowned the true ATV national champion. It could be called the USA ATV National Championship.

Such a series would be a win-win for fans and racers alike. A true national series would allow pro and amateur racers to save on travel costs by competing in their "regional" series of choice, such as the ITP Quadcross or NEATV-MX, while using their performance there to qualify for the USA Nationals. This final series would create exciting racing for fans by throwing together the fastest quad racers from around the country, some of whom would not have the edge of seeing their competitor's moves week after week. The racing would be sure to be fast and close.

I doubt any of the promoters would consider this, as many are driven largely by ego and want their own series to be considered the one that crowns the world's fastest ATV racer. But such a collaboration would allow for greater exposure to fans and racers through joint promotion, shared resources and a truly "national" existence.

Such a move very well could be what launches ATV motocross racing into the mainstream.

Video - Women of NEATV-MX

201Films gives us a look at the top contenders in the women's class in the 2010 NEATV-MX series. The video features #537 Angie Maher, #67 Paige Whipple, #103 Amy Thompson and #838 Laura Pilotte.

Video - PAMX Thor Spring Series

Here's a highlight video from 724FILMz on the PAMX Thor Spring Series. The shots are from tracks mostly in Pennsylvania, including Steel City and Pleasure Valley Raceway.

Interview - Ryan Dungey's mechanic

Mike Gosselaar has won championships by turning wrenches for Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and now, Ryan Dungey. Check out this interview with "Goose" from Makita Power Tools.

Motosode 11 - Pleasure Valley Raceway

Check out the video action from the pro ATV motos at Pleasure Valley Raceway, courtesy ATVision.

PVR - Pro Am Production

Fate deals Casey Martin and his Polaris a win

Mechanical failure plagues Hetrick; mishap for Snapp

Call it luck or call it fate, but either way Casey Martin walked away from the Pro-Am production moto 1 at Pleasure Valley with a win Sunday, and after his performance in the second moto Martin cemented the weekend overall on his Rath Racing backed Polaris Outlaw MXR450.

The Fourth of July weekend gave Martin his first overall win of the season and bumped him up to fifth in the points chase in the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship.

With just three rounds to go, Martin is now just 23 points behind class leader Joel Hetrick.

In the first pro-am production moto, Suzuki-mounted Chase Snapp grabbed the holeshot. Kawasaki-mounted Joel Hetrick soon began biting at Snapp's rear tires. The pair hooked up and began pulling away from the rest of the class.

Perennial front-runners in the pro-am classes Chase Snapp(22) and Joel Hetrick(88) settled in to their usual spots and started to gradually separate from the pack.

But soon fate, or bad luck, intervened for Hetrick. The pungent odor of burnt coolant grew each time Hetrick passed, until it became obvious he had a coolant problem when white smoke started pouring from his quad.

The mechanical failure sent Hetrick tumbling backwards through the pack. He settled for an eventual 18th place finish in the first pro-am production moto. The failure had the Hetrick crew working feverishly to replace the quad's radiator between  motos. He managed third place in moto 2.

For a brief moment, Snapp seemed to benefit from Hetrick's misfortune as his pace picked up without the constant pressure from the Kawasaki rider. But it was only brief.

Out of the view of spectators, Snapp had some kind of mishap in the back section of the track. And practically everyone in the class took advantage and passed him. Whatever happened, Snapp re-mounted his quad but fell back and finished the first moto in 14 place. He left Pleasure Valley with a seventh overall finish after salvaging a sixth place finish in the second pro-am production moto.

Snapp's mistake left the door wide open for Martin, who charged right through it on his Polaris.

Casey Martin took advantage of Snapp and Hetrick's misfortunes to take his first overall win of the season on his Polaris MXR450 Sunday at Pleasure Valley Raceway.

Martin wasn't the only one to benefit from the misfortunes of the leaders. Ohio-native Aaron Meyer slid into finish second behind Martin in the first moto and backed that up with a fifth-place finish in the second pro-am production moto to take home third overall for the weekend.

Aaron Meyer cruises to a second-place finish in the first pro-am production moto Sunday at PVR.

Round nine of the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Nationals heads to Berlin, N.Y. for the Unadilla National July 17-18. For more information, log on to ATVMotocross.com.

Photos - Pleasure Valley pro quads

Here are some of the photos from the AMA ATV Motocross National at Pleasure Valley Raceway in Pennsylvania during the July Fourth weekend. Click on the photo for a larger image. Check back Wednesday for highlights from the Pro-Am races at Pleasure Valley.

 

PVR - Pro ATV Moto 2

Another moto win for points leader Josh Creamer

Natalie rides smart to give Can-Am their first overall win

Team Motoworks Can-Am's John Natalie Jr. and Baldwin Motorsports Josh Upperman shot out of the gate at the start of moto 2 at Pleasure Valley Raceway Sunday and battled side-by-side for the holeshot. After a few turns, Upperman came away with the race lead.

But the Honda rider's lead proved short-lived. Natalie passed the Ohio native a few turns later and tried to settle in to the lead and the same pace that gave him the win in moto 1.

Pennsylvania native and hometown favorite John Natalie Jr. lead the second pro moto, but his lead would be challenged by several riders. The top five gradually broke away from the pack early in the moto with Natalie in first, followed by Josh Upperman, rookie Cody Gibson, Josh Creamer and Dustin Wimmer.

Creamer made short work of getting around Gibson, and he even got past Upperman a few laps later. But the Iron Man proved a greater challenge.

Josh Creamer reminded everyone in moto 2 why he's the current points leader. He started the moto in fourth, but Creamer quickly passed rookie Cody Gibson, who was putting in an impressive performance by hanging with the points leader and fighting off the defending champion.

Once Creamer moved into third, he set his sights on Upperman. The seasoned pro gave Creamer a good fight but eventually gave up the second spot. The Suzuki rider then closed in on Natalie, and the two settled in for a hard-fought moto that gave the Pennsylvania crowds some exciting racing to watch.

Creamer inched closer to Natalie with every lap, until finally he passed the Can-Am rider on the tabletop coming out of the back section.

It seemed only a matter of time before Creamer would guide his Yoshimura LTR450 around Natalie, but the Iron Man defended his position well and refused to open the door to the points leader. Even if Natalie relented the moto 2 win to Creamer he could still leave Pleasure Valley with the overall. Still, a big crowd was on hand and clad in shirts plastered with the Can-Am rider's name, and he surely didn't want to disappoint.

Natalie managed to fend of the challenge from Creamer long enough that the two leaders developed an intense pace that separated them from the pack.

But Natalie slipped and opened the door for Creamer, who finally made his pass on the tabletop coming out of the back section. From there on, moto 2 became the Josh Creamer show. Still, Natalie hung on for second, which gave him the overall and Can-Am's first ATV motocross national overall win.

There was plenty of action going on behind the two leaders. Jeremy Lawson put his head down and drove through the pack to get past Wimmer and Upperman  to claim the third spot. Upperman finished the second moto in fourth with Wimmer in fifth.

Jeremy Lawson put his Walsh Racecraft Suzuki on the podium for the first time this season with two third-place finishes for third overall at the Pleasure Valley National.

Chad Wienen claimed the sixth spot in moto 2 following a disappointing DNF in the first moto after he blew out his rear shock. Wienen, also riding out of the Motoworks Can-Am semi, moved around several riders but still came away with just eleventh overall. Thomas Brown put his Yamaha in seventh place and was followed by Jeremy Warnia in eight. Patrick Brown and Cody Gibson rounded out the top 10 in moto 2.

Creamer may have won moto 2, but the weekend belonged to Natalie, who took his first overall win of the season and gave Can-Am their first overall win since entering the motocross foray three years ago. Ever outspoken, Natalie humbly summed up the win.

"The weekend went really well for me here at Pleasure Valley" Natalie said. "I was able to grab Can-Am's first ever win in front of these amazing fans."

Natalie gets a thumbs up from a fan congratulating him on the overall win at Pleasure Valley Raceway July 4.

The next round of the ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship series heads to New York and historic Unadilla. The current points standings: 1. Josh Creamer (356); 2. Dustin Wimmer (331); 3. John Natalie Jr (281); 4. Josh Upperman (259); 5. Chad Wienen (258); 6. Thomas Brown (233); 7. Jeremy Lawson (207); 8. Patrick Brown (180); 9. Jeremie Warnia (179); 10. Nick A. Denoble (146).

PVR - Pro ATV Moto 1

Natalie fights off Wimmer for win 

John Natalie, Jr., ripped the holeshot on his Team Motoworks Can-Am DS450 in the first pro ATV moto at Pleasure Valley Raceway Sunday and tried hard not to look back.

Natalie had to contend with pressure from Rockstar Yoshimura Makita Suzuki's Dustin Wimmer, who stayed close to the Can-Am rider early on. Wimmer settled in to Natalie's pace for several laps before making one last push to close the gap, but the defending champ couldn't get around the Iron Man.

Natalie's moto 1 win came on the heels of a third-place finish in moto 2 at the last round in Millville, Mn.

The win did not come easy for Natalie. He had to fight hard and maintain a grueling pace as the track only got hotter and dustier. Wimmer kept Natalie in reach for most of the moto, but by the end he couldn't pull the trigger.

Natalie and Wimmer weren't the only two battling hard for position, whether that battle was to maintain a spot or pass several riders.

Jeremy Lawson moved up through the pack passing several riders, including Joe Byrd, who finished in fifth. Lawson punished his Walsh Racecraft LTR450 throughout the first moto, and it held up to give him a solid third place finish, which tied his best of the season so far.

Rockstar Yoshimura Makita Suzuki's Josh Creamer, the points leader heading in to Pleasure Valley, put in a respectable effort to maintain points in moto 1. Creamer finished fourth behind Lawson.

The number nine seemed to be holding back in moto 1 with only a fourth place finish, and that became more evident as he unleashed the speed in dominating fashion in moto 2.

Creamer rode smart and didn't take his chances. Pleasure Valley only provided a few opportunities for for the quad racers to make any passes, and those who could pass took advantage in moto 1.  

Mushin Racing's Thomas Brown moved his Yamaha YFZ450R through the pack as well, and he even put a textbook pass on teammate Cody Gibson in the same off-camber corner where Wimmer came close to passing Natalie several times.

Gibson didn't relent easily. He hung tight on Brown's rear wheels but couldn't retake the position and eventually faded. Still, it proved one of the young  rookie's best showings so far this year, as Brown finished in eight and Gibson took home ninth place.

The French Can-Am rider, Jeremy Warnia, took home sixth place ahead of Balwin Motorsports' Josh Upperman, who finished in seventh place in moto 1.

Pat Brown rounded out the top 10 in moto 1 on his Yoshimura and Lonestar backed Honda.  Harold Goodman, Cody Grant, Keith Little and Brian Baragnwanath rounded out the first pro moto, which only saw 15 pros leave the gate at PVR. The big dissapointment in moto 1 was Chad Wienen, who destroyed a Fox Podium X rear shock and ended with a DNF.

Dustin Wimmer pushed his Suzuki hard to try and catch the leader and eventual winner of moto 1, John Natalie, Jr......

....but Natalie pushed his Can-Am even harder to take the moto 1 win. "Dustin Wimmer and I had a really good battle the whole race, but I came across the finish line first," Natalie said.

Check back Tuesday for coverage of moto 2 and more photos from the weekend at PVR.

ATV MX Round 8 - Pleasure Valley

IRON MAN WINS BIG!

John Natalie Jr. finishes 1-2 at Pleasure Valley,
jumps into third in the championship chase

Photo by Matt Fredmonsky

Team Can-Am Motoworks' John Natalie Jr. took home the overall win at the Pleasure Valley Raceway ATV Pro MX National on Sunday as most of the rest of the nation celebrated our independence.

Natalie recorded 1-2 moto finishes under heavy pressure in both motos from the Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki duo of Dustin Wimmer and Josh Creamer.

Check back Monday for a full race report from both pro motos and some pro-am action from the Fourth of July race at PVR.

Photo by Matt Fredmonsky

Pennsylvania native John Natalie Jr. scored some well-deserved recognition at Pleasure Valley Raceway by taking home the pro ATV motocross overall in front of a big hometown crowd Sunday. Check back Monday for a full report from the weekend's pro motos.