Wienen On Top at Unadilla ATVMX National

Chad Wienen earned his fifth win this season as the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series visited Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, NY for Round 8 of the 10-race series. However, Wienen was pushed to the edge by Josh Creamer, the 2010 champion who made his return to the series.

When the gate dropped for Moto 1, it was creamer on his BCS Performance/Can-Am who took the SSiDecals Holeshot Award as he put himself into the front of the pack right away. Wienen put his Wienen Motorsports/SSi Decals/Walsh Race Craft/Yamaha right behind Creamer and the duo put on an exciting race for the lead.

Chad Wienen picked up his fifth win of the season at Unadilla.

Motoworks/Can-Am teammates John Natalie and Joel Hetrick battled back and forth for the third place position but it was Natalie who ultimately secured the spot in Moto 1, while Hetrick took a close fourth.

John Natalie finished third and trails Wienen by 29 points with two rounds of racing remaining.

Wienen shot off the start to grab the SSiDecals Holeshot Award in Moto 2 and the series points leader led all thirteen laps as Natalie and Creamer chased close behind. Natalie held off Creamer in Moto 2 in order to maintain the second place position, and Creamer took third. Wienen took the overall victory  with a 2-1 score. Creamer’s 1-3 score was enough to give him second overall for the day in his first ATVMX appearance this season. Natalie went 3-2 to secure the final podium position.

“Starts were really key today and we were able to rip two solid starts and even another SSiDecals Holeshot in the second moto!” says Wienen. “It was a fun day of racing and we’re excited to keep the momentum rolling to RedBud.”

Josh Creamer (left) and John Natalie (right) surround Chad Wienen on the podium.

Hetrick had a consistent day of racing as he took home fourth overall, just ahead of TBROWN Yamaha Racing/Moto-X-Perts Yamaha Thomas Brown who came in fifth. Baldwin Motorsports/PEP/Maxxis’ Josh Upperman experienced some issues in Moto 2, giving him a 5-7 score for sixth overall.

Canada’s Richard Pelchat (Can-Am) took home seventh overall with 7-6 finishes, while Ohio’s Adam Clark (Honda) came in eighth. Rookie Jeffrey Rastrelli (Suzuki) took ninth overall and Michigan’s Harold Goodman (Honda) rounded out the top ten.

The 2012 AMA ATV Motocross Championship heads to RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich. July 28-29.