Quads are emerging from their winter slumber. In the United States, the first round of the AMA ATV (All Terrain Vehicles) Championship took place on 24 and 25 March at Aonia Pass motocross circuit near Washington, Georgia. Like last year, Motul gave its technical support to two teams: team Motoworks with Joel Hetrick and John Natalie, title holder 2011, and team Walsh, with Cody Gibson.
The first two were entered on a Can-Am quad in the top category of the discipline, Pro ATV, and John Natalie played his game well by finishing on the second step of the podium. In the first race, he climbed from 4th to 2nd place and, in the second, held the lead for nearly all the race, being passed only in the last corner. His team-mate, who was making his debut on a Can-Am DS 450, clinched excellent qualifyings but came off the track in the first race and ended up 14th. He caught up in the second and finished 4th, which gives him 8th place in the overall standings.
Cody Gibson took part in two categories, Pro Am Production on a Suzuki LT-R 450 and Pro Am Unlimited on a Walsh CRF 450 R. He dominated both categories both mentally and physically, even offering himself on two occasions a 20 seconds lead over his closest contender!
Next event on 21 and 22 April in Muddy Creek, Tennessee.
Standings
Pro ATV
01// Chad Wienen - Yamaha - 50 pts
02// John Natalie - Can-Am - 44 pts Motul
08// John Hetrick - Can-Am - 25 pts Motul
Pro Am Production
01// Cody Gibson - Suzuki - 30 pts Motul
Pro Am Unlimited
01// Cody Gibson - Walsh - 30 pts Motul
