BUCHANAN, Mich. (July 30, 2017) – Maxxis/Elka/Liquid Wrench/Honda’s Joel Hetrick continued his success yesterday, July 29, with a 1-1 performance at the RedBud National in Buchanan, Michigan. Picture perfect race conditions graced the iconic motocross track as the facility hosted the world’s fastest ATV riders.
When the gate dropped for Moto 1, Hetrick quickly upped his gate and rounded the first turn in the lead. With a clear track, Hetrick made quick work and began to build a gap on the rest of the field.
Wienen secured the runner-up position on the third lap and set his sights on chasing down Hetrick who was a mere four seconds ahead. Throughout the course of the moto the duo maintained consistent lap times, and Rastrelli remained behind in third.
The podium finishers crossed the line evenly spread out with Hetrick, Wienen and Rastrelli finishing on the box. Root River Racing/CST Tires/Pro Motorsports-backed Thomas Brown started outside of top-five on the first lap and finished just off the Moto 1 podium in fourth. GennUSA Racing’s Nick Gennusa rounded out the top-five.
The second moto start treated Hetrick well again, where he rocketed off the line to earn yet another SSi Decals Holeshot Award. Fortunately for Hetrick, Wienen was stuck mid-pack. With some extra breathing room, Hetrick began building his lead. Hetrick was dominating en route to his third straight 1-1 sweep, while Wienen continued his podium record with second overall. Brown edged out Gennusa to round out the overall podium in third, Gennusa followed in fourth and Upperman filled the top five.
The tenth and final round of the 2017 ATVMX series is slated for August 12 at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The championship will be decided, where Hetrick continues to carry the red number plate.