WPSA PowerSports ATV Tour returns to the place where it started
London, Ky.
Jun 14, 2007
PowerSports
The WPSA PowerSports ATV Tour will return to the place where it started its history-making tour, as it invades Daniel Boone Motocross Park for this weekendÕs Blue Ridge Open Championship. The double national event, which comprises Rounds 4 and 5 of the Tour, is scheduled to kick off Friday with Pro qualifying and continues through Sunday, which will feature Pro finals.
The events will be telecast on ESPN2 on Sunday, July 15 at 1 p. m. EDT, and again on Saturday, July 21 at noon EDT.
The PowerSports ATV Tour returns to Daniel Boone Motocross Park, where it started its inaugural season in 2006. The venue features one of the most breathtaking viewing vistas on the Tour, and the most elevation change of any WPSA venue, making for a great show and a competitive race.
The racing weekend will feature the nation’s top Pro riders, competing in three Classes: SuperQuad Pro 450, QuadTerrain Challenge Pro Stock, and SuperSport Side by Side. The SuperQuad Pro 450 Class features big air, motocross style racing. QuadTerrain Challenge features larger, utility-type ATVs, competing on an obstacle course that includes log jams, mud bogs, rock crawls, as well as high-speed sections. The SuperSport Class comprises four-wheel utility vehicles piloted by a driver and co-driver, sitting side by side. The purpose-built racing machines compete on a modified course that includes both big-air sections, as well as obstacles.
The race weekend will also feature nearly 20 other classes for Pro Am, Amateur, Junior and Women’s classes.
The Pros will be competing in two complete races, with qualifying scheduled for Friday and Saturday and finals scheduled for Sunday.
SuperQuad Pro 450
With two races on tap this weekend, every point will count. Dustin Wimmer (No. 191 MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki) padded his lead in the chase last weekend with his first victory of the season. In doing so, Wimmer, who leads teammate and defending champion Doug Gust by 15 points, helped Suzuki continue its run toward its second consecutive manufacturers’ title. Suzuki currently has a 10-point lead on Honda in the standings.
Injured, but by no means on his back, John Natalie, Jr. (No. 13 Elka, Maxxis/Honda) has recovered from injuries sustained practicing earlier this season to finish second in the most recent round, in Oklahoma. Though he sits fifth in points, Natalie is always one to watch, and he wants nothing more than his first WPSA title.
Keith Little is on a roll following the Oklahoma round. After finishing third in the final there, he moved up to third in points on the No. 12 Lonestar/Honda.
Sitting fourth is the always-competitive “Big” Chad Wienen. (No. 44 Team Rockstar, MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki). With one win under his belt this season, the super-privateer-turned-factory-star rider will definitely be in contention here.
QuadTerrain Pro Stock
The QuadTerrain Pro Stock story of the weekend is certainly going to be about local riders Adam Vaughn and William Yokley.
Vaughn (No. 83 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) virtually invented the construction methods behind the WPSA’s QuadTerrain course layouts. In fact, last year, the London, Ky. native virtually built the course himself!
Yokley, on a brand-new Kawasaki, will return to WPSA competition for the first time this season. Although he missed the first round, Yokley still finished third points in 2006 after scoring three convincing victories. Yokley is from Tompkinsville, Ky.
Arctic Cat’s “Minnesota Connection” has paid dividends this season with Rory Beckman leading fellow Minnesotan Jesse West by just six points in the QuadTerrain title chase. With a single podium, Beckman’s (No. 10 Jack Link’s/Arctic Cat) consistent qualifying efforts have elevated him to the top of the standings.
West (No. 888 ITP Tires, Oil Boyz/Arctic Cat) has shown that being a privateer isnÕt a disadvantage in QuadTerrain racing. With a win, and some amazing back-to-front charges this season, West is always the rider to watch.
Scott Kilby (No. 207 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) currently sits third in points, and is looking to bring his powerful yellow-and-black machine to the front. Consistently fast at the start, Kilby always gives the crowd something to watch going into the first turn.
Jesse West’s brother and teammate Josh (No. 788 ITP Tires, Oil Boyz/Arctic Cat) sits fourth in points, ahead of defending WPSA QuadTerrain titleholder Daryl Rath (No. 67 Jack Link’s/Arctic Cat).
Though points are irrelevant to this rider, victories aren’t, and cross-country legend Chris Borich proved that at the last round with a dominating victory aboard his Warnert Racing/Can-Am.
SuperSport Side by Side
The PowerSports ATV Tour unveiled the new SuperSport Side by Side Series as a professional class at the season opener. Fans and racers alike were in awe of the capability of these race-bred machines and their drivers. With a new Arctic Cat built by Rath Racing unseating the usually favored Yamaha Rhino in the last round, the gauntlet has been thrown. These machines are built from the ground up to race and will certainly be a highlight of the weekend.
All Pro Class Riders will be vying for one of the richest purses in ATV racing here. The Tour will award $45,000 in purse monies for the SuperQuad Pro 450 and QuadTerrain Pro Stock finals. The purse pays to 20th place in the QuadMX Series and to 15th place in QuadTerrain Challenge. The purse structure awards $4,000 to win in QuadMX and $2,000 to win in QuadTerrain Challenge, with $15,000 and $7,500 available in each Series final, respectively.
