Yamaha YFZ450R racer Chad Wienen claimed his second overall victory of the 2013 AMA Pro ATV season with a first-moto win and a podium in moto two at Ballance MotoX in Oakland, Ky. on Saturday, April 27. Teammate Thomas Brown followed up with a third-place overall finish, his third consecutive podium of the year, with a pair of 2-7 moto finishes. This marks the third consecutive event where the Yamaha teammates have shared the overall podium. Their respective efforts on a particularly muddy and slick race day further expand Wienen’s points lead in the 10-event motocross series, while also securing Brown in third in the standings.
Wienen started the day by winning the fast qualifier award in the rain, guaranteeing himself top gate pick for the first of two motos. And he used it to his best advantage, streaking to the holeshot when the gate dropped to begin moto one. Knowing that being out front and away from traffic was the best place to be, Wienen charged hard to build up an impressive 4.3-second lead by the end of the first lap, then set the quickest lap of the race on lap two. But the YFZ rider didn’t stop there – Wienen continued to add to his advantage, riding unchallenged throughout the race and ultimately winning by an incredible 25.2 seconds over Brown, who had started third and moved into second when rival Josh Creamer faltered early in the contest.
The second moto was much tougher for both Wienen and Brown, while also testing their determination and resolve. This time rival John Natalie took the holeshot as both Wienen and Brown found themselves mired deep in the field. However they put their heads down immediately to work their way up-field, with Wienen advancing to seventh and Brown to 11th by the end of the first lap. It took Wienen 11 more laps, but he finally raced into third position with less than three laps remaining, securing the overall win. Meanwhile Brown worked equally hard climbing up to seventh, giving him third place overall for the day. The next AMA Pro ATV round is on May 11-12 in Rossville, IN.
| Pro Class |
| 1 |
Chad Wienen - YAM |
|
| 2 |
John Natalie |
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| 3 |
Thomas Brown - YAM |
|
| 4 |
Josh Creamer |
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| 5 |
Josh Upperman |
|
| 6 |
Joel Hetrick |
|
| 7 |
Nick Denoble |
|
| 8 |
Casey Martin |
|
| 9 |
Adam Clark |
|
| 10 |
Jeffrey Rastrelli |
|
|
 |
| Standings |
| 1 |
Chad Wienen - YAM |
131 |
| 2 |
Joel Hetrick |
119 |
| 3 |
Thomas Brown - YAM |
114 |
| 4 |
Josh Creamer |
110 |
| 5 |
Josh Upperman |
104 |
| 6 |
John Natalie |
97 |
| 7 |
Nick Denoble |
76 |
| 8 |
Jeffrey Rastrelli |
69 |
| 9 |
Joe Byrd |
61 |
| 10 |
Casey Martin |
52 |
|
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