Press Release –
Kawasaki/Monster Energy’s Josh Creamer swept both the Pro and Pro-am classes of round nine of the NEATV series at Jolly Roger, which would be his final races of the season before undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury sustained earlier this year.
Jolly Roger is a favorite track of many NEATV racers and for round nine, racers were treated to a backwards run of the track, which included some whoops and jumps that are not included in the usual format. The racers were quite pleased with the change of pace and readily took on the challenge of running the track in the opposite direction.
In the pro class, Kawasaki’s Josh Creamer and Joe Haavisto both made an all night trek to Jolly Roger after racing at the AMA Motocross Invitational at Steel City the day before.
Both Creamer and Haavisto were riding injured due to crashes they were involved in at Steel City where, Haavisto hyper-extended his knee during practice and did not race in the main event.
Although he was still in a great deal of pain, Joe raced at Jolly Roger in order to salvage points and keep some distance between him and second place, Michael Pilotte. “I’m leading in points and I really want to keep it that way, especially in the pro class; that’s the one that really matters to me,” Joe stated.
Despite being a bit banged up himself, Josh Creamer came on strong in the Pro motos, taking the holehsot in both moto one and two and led the entire time.
Meanwhile, Canadian racer, Richard Pelchat also made an appearance at round nine, and ran a close second to Creamer in both motos, but since Pelchat is not a full member of the NEATV series, he was not eligible for points, which kept things in order for series regulars.
Even though Creamer and Pelchat checked out, the Pro motos had plenty of excitement as Michael Pilotte, Myle Santaniello and Justin Hoffler were battling it out as the end of their season draws near and the point race is heating up.
Pilotte is currently second in points with 313 points, which is only 56 points behind pro points leader, Haavisto. Santaniello has had a strong showing this season and is currently sitting in third with 278 points, while Thomas Mofford, who has been very consistent this season is close behind with 273.
In the Pro-am classes, it was Richard Pelchat, who grabbed both holeshots, but Josh Creamer made quick work of him, taking over the lead both times to claim the win in the Pro-am class as well. “It feels really good to come out here and end my season on a high note,” said Josh. “After I’m healed from my surgery, I’ll be getting back to training full time and hopefully come back even stronger next season.”
As Pelchat and Creamer battled it out up front, Jason Connell came on strong claiming a 2-2 finish and second overall. Michael Pilotte ran into problems in the first Pro-am moto and finished dead last, but the #748 Honda made a good comeback and took 4th in moto two, claiming 9th overall, which allowed him to hang on to second in the points race. Meanwhile a rather weary points leader, Joe Haavisto, was riding mid pack, taking a 9-7 finish, which was identical to his Pro moto finishes, claiming 7th overall and increasing his points lead to 352. Myles Santaniello rode strong to take a 3-3 finish, while Justin Hoffler’s 5-5 finish was enough to earn him 4th overall with Matthew Pomeroy rounding out the top five for the Pro-am class.
As the end of the 2008 NEATV season fast approaches, many racers are beginning to feel the pressure as the points battles begin to heat up and the weather cools down. Round ten of the NEATV series will head back to Middleboro, MA on September 14th, where Capeway Rovers Motocross will play host to the series for the third and final time this season.
