Wimmer claims fourth victory of season

Suzuki’s Dustin Wimmer dealt his fellow competitors another blow by winning his fourth race of the season in the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA/ATVA National Motocross Championship in New Berlin, NY on June 8.

Wimmer finished second in both motos to secure the victory. Team Epic’s Jeremy Lawson was second, while Honda’s Joe Byrd was third.

Race day saw muddy conditions at Unadilla MX and Wimmer says an intelligent strategy helped him in the end.

“In the mud, you really have to finesse the bike so it doesn’t slip out on you,” says Wimmer. “I did what I had to do to stay behind John (Natalie) in the second moto and, since I didn’t need to pass him for the win, I just stayed consistent and rode smart.”

Dustin Wimmer has a huge lead in the standings. Can anybody catch him?

With the win, Wimmer sits atop the standings with 279 points, 61 ahead of Byrd and 82 ahead of Suzuki teammate Doug Gust. Gust was second in the standings before the motos, but he suffered through mechanical problems and finished in 20th.

Despite Wimmer’s overall win, the big story might just be the success of Can-Am. Lawson and John Natalie handed Can-Am’s new DS450 its second and third moto wins this season and Lawson’s podium was Can-Am’s third overall in 2008.

Lawson won the first moto after overtaking both Wimmer and Honda’s Josh Upperman to take the lead.

“Everything just happened so fast,” says Lawson. “These guys are so fast and you really have to be on your game. I am feeling really confident in my team, my bike and myself, so that makes me ride well.”

Natalie, who was seventh in the first moto, earned his second moto victory of the year, after catching and passing Byrd.

Jeremy Lawson (left) and John Natalie (right) each picked up a moto win on a Can-Am DS450.

“My Can-Am just pulls in this mud; we really had it dialed,” says Natalie. “We considered putting on the big tires, but checked out a couple classes before we went out and decided against it which was the right choice.”

In the Manufacturers’ Cup points chase, Team Can-Am moved past Honda for second place and his now just 43 points behind leader Team Suzuki.

National Motocross Series Round 7 Results:

Championship Points Leaders: