Press Release –
Joe Byrd has been around long enough to know when it’s time to pull off a big win. With Round 6 of the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA/ATVA National Motocross Championship Series Presented by Parts Unlimited marking mid-point of the 2008 season, as well as the opening round of the ITP Tires Grand Slam Presented by QUAD Magazine, Byrd brought his “A” game…and it showed. Byrd knew it was time to win, and win he did.
Byrd (No. 7 Honda) captured the ATVRiders.com Holeshot Award in the second moto, and, combined with his third-place finish in the first moto, he netted his second overall victory of the year.
Putting in another strong ride was Can-Am’s Jeremy Lawson, who finished second, ahead of Josh Creamer (No. 9 Team Monster Energy Kawasaki), who recorded his second podium this season
Byrd switched machines three rounds ago and since then, he has been methodically marching his way to the top of the series points.
“This quad has just worked out great,” said Byrd. “Sometimes, one machine is just better than the other one; plain and simple. We finally got to enjoy perfect weather and I was feeling great out there. We worked hard on the set up on this Honda and it was working perfectly.”
The victory provided a boost to Byrd’s points tally, but the Union City, Tenn. native is still taking it race by race.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Byrd. “We’ve been trying to dig ourselves out of a hole and things are coming around. There are still a lot of motos to go.”
After posting a solid runner-up finish, Lawson (No. 16 Can-Am) suffered a poor start in moto two, but quickly made his way into second place. Once there, he made a short charge after Byrd, but couldn’t make a dent in the Honda’s rider’s lead. His second-place overall finish is his best this season.
“I rode my hardest to overcome my bad start, and I just hit the wall when I reached second,” said a motivated Lawson. “It’s been a good weekend for me and my Can-Am has been working well. The guys at Epic have been working hard to give me everything I need.”
Adding to Bryd’s stellar day was the bad luck of series points leader Dustin Wimmer. The MSR/Suzuki/Yoshimura/Pro Taper rider earned the Ti Lube Fast Qualifier Award, and the Suspension Systems Holeshot Award, en route to winning the opening moto.
However, the Center Valley, Pa. rider suffered a variety of misfortunes to post a 15th place in moto two. Most in attendance were expecting another win from the previously dominant Wimmer, but he ran into trouble right out of the gate.
“I came together with Josh Creamer, we rubbed tires and I was lucky not to crash,” said Wimmer. “I was completely up on my front wheels, spinning backwards, and somehow I pulled it out.”
From there it things continued to go poorly for the series points leader: “I cut the right front tire down when I made contact with Josh,” added Wimmer, “then the left went flat on the second lap.”
Wimmer’s team changed his tires. He continued to race to salvage valuable points.
Team Honda edged closer to Team Suzuki in the Manufacturers’ Cup standings. Suzuki now holds a 46-point lead going into the next race. Team Can-Am sits third, 49 markers out of the lead.
The next race for the ATV Motocross Series is scheduled for June 7-8 at Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, N.Y.
