WIENEN TAKES FINAL ATV WIN AS SUZUKI DOMINATES
Source: Suzuki
Aug 12, 2008 - 3:52:11 PM
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Team Rockstar/ MSR / Pro Taper / Yoshimura / Suzuki's Chad Wienen secured the
final victory of the final round of the 2008 Moose Racing/ ITP Tires AMA/ ATVA
National Championship series at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills,
Tennessee.
Although Dustin Wimmer clinched the 2008 Championship at the
previous round in Red Bud, Michigan - and Suzuki had locked up the coveted
Manufacturers' Cup Championship - Wimmer's team mate Wienen had yet to taste
victory this season.
"It was a difficult year for me," Wienen said. "It
was like one step forward, two steps back. I was racing at 60-to-70 per cent all
year trying to get over these nagging injuries."
Wienen was fastest in
Saturday's qualifying round and went into this contest to win the Tennessee
classic for the second year. He took top honours in the first moto and then
settled for second knowing that he had secured the overall ahead of Wimmer.
Wienen was territorial from the victory podium: "I've won two years in a
row here at Loretta's. So the way I figure it, I am renaming this place Wienen's
Ranch... I hope Ms. Lynn won't mind!"
"I was really looking forward to
this race," Wienen said after the event. "I am the defending winner here and
really wanted that overall. The way things worked out - it was really pretty
easy. I just cruised home in the second moto and wrapped it up. I'd really like
to thank Suzuki for building such a great bike - the QuadRacer R450, my Mechanic
Theo, and the entire team. In spite of this being a pretty rough year luck-wise,
it felt really good to end it on an up note."
"It was great for Chad to
pick up the final win," said Team Manager Kory Ellis. "Every rider on the team
has won at least one race this season and that is important for building
momentum into next season. We know the QuadRacer 450 is the best machine; we
know every one of our riders is capable of winning; and the team in general
knows that we can get the job done."
For 2008 Team Suzuki definitely did
get the job done. In the 11 rounds of the series, the Suzuki QuadRacer R450 was
on the podium of every race. Here are the end-of-series final facts and figures:
Final stats for Team Rockstar/ MSR / Pro Taper / Yoshimura /
Suzuki:
8 wins (5 Wimmer, 2 Gust, 1 Wienen)
4 seconds
(2 Wimmer, 2 Wienen)
4 thirds (2 Wimmer, 2 Gust)
Final
overall scores:
Dustin Wimmer - First Place with 438 points
Doug Gust - Third Place with 352 points
Chad Wienen - Sixth Place with
268 points
In addition, the Suzuki QuadRacer R450 dominated the series
over the other quads securing the Manufacturers' Cup.
Final
Manufacturers' Cup points:
1 Team Suzuki 466
2 Team Honda 393
3 Team Can-Am 366
4 Team Kawasaki 341
5 Team Yamaha 217
6 Team Polaris 3
Although the championship
series is over, next up is the invitation-only Steel City ATV Open, to be held
August 30th at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa. Although it will be a
non-points paying event, The Suzuki Squad will be there in force to put on a
good show and win bragging rights.
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