Press Release –
The Red Bud GNC national was dogged by rain for the entire four days of the event. A low-pressure area in Lake Michigan created a spinning storm that never left.
Although the rain wasn’t too heavy, it was fairly constant resulting in a dramatically cut down track. The surface of the track held up nicely though and race day featured an eminently “raceable” (although shorter) track.
The first moto saw Joe Byrd snag a clean holeshot from the far right gate slot. Joe was followed by Natalie, Gust, and Jones. This set up a race long dogfight that featured some of the best racing of the year. The top four ran nose to tail the entire race.
Jones went on a big charge at about the midway point and looked to be a sure bet for the lead. But, going through the whoops section, he got a rock stuck in between his rear brake lever and the frame.
“I went into that little left after the whoops,” Jones said. “I went to hit the rear brake and the pedal didn’t even move. I rammed John so hard I don’t know how he didn’t wreck. If he hadn’t of been right in front of me, I would have gone right off the track.”
In the resulting melee, Gust got around Jones, while Natalie maintained the lead. Jones was able to kick out the rock a lap later but by then he was relegated to third. When the checkers waved, it was John Natalie, followed by Gust, Jones, and Byrd.
Moto two was a big holeshot for Digger Doug Gust. #55 led followed by Natalie, Jones, and Byrd. Natalie and Gust got together halfway through the lap with Doug going over a berm and losing six positions. Byrd got around Jones and took off after Natalie.
All three riders were dicing heavily for the first half of the race. Natalie started pull a bit of a gap while Jones and Byrd were scrapping. Jeremiah finally overshot a berm at the bottom of the ski run jump and by the time he got going again, the finishing order was set.
Natalie won with a 1-1 score. Byrd bagged second with a strong 4-2. Jones tagged the last podium spot with a 3-3. Doug Gust battled all the way back up to 4th netting a fourth overall.
“I was hoping that Doug and I could be on the podium together this race,” said the Gunslinger, “Maybe next time at Muddy Creek.”
