With summer temperatures heating up the competition, Maxxis
continues to make its presence felt ATV racing podiums in major series. Chad
Wienen took his fifth straight victory in the ATV Motocross National
Championship series over the weekend, while Walker Fowler, Chris Borich and
Chris Bithell swept the GNCC XC1 Pro podium a week earlier. Round seven of the
ATV MX series was held July 6
in Delmont, PE,
while round nine of the GNCC series was held June 29 in Snowshoe, WV.
After qualifying
fastest, Wienen began the first moto in third place and made steady progress
toward the lead, working his way to second place by the fifth lap. He took the
front spot with five laps left in the race and held it to the finish line, with
teammate and fellow Maxxis rider Thomas Brown in third place. In the second
moto, Wienen again got a third-place start, taking second place in the moto and
the overall win. "Track conditions were hardpack. It was smaller bumps, so it
wasn't super rough," said Wienen. "It was really fast and our traction was just
awesome. I rode within my limits and felt really comfortable all weekend."
Brown again took third
place in the second moto, taking third place overall. Other Maxxis riders also
earned spots in the top ten: Josh Upperman went 5-6 for sixth place overall,
while Casey Martin went 10-10 for tenth place.
Fowler's victory was his
second GNCC win of the year. He held the lead from the first lap, crossing the
finish line more than two minutes ahead of the next rider, points leader
Borich. Fowler's Maxxis tires gave him an advantage from the start: "The tires
hooked up great, and I got into the woods in first. I made a little bobble, but
once we were a half mile in I just checked out," he said. "Then there was a pro
section that started getting bad after the rain. We did it four times and the
last time through I was still just railing up it." Bithell earned third place
after overcoming a difficult start and a serious battle with two other riders.
Maxxis also did well in the GNCC's XC2 Pro Am race, with Brycen Neal and Fred
Marley taking the first and second place spots.
In other good news for
Maxxis, Beau Baron won round five of the QuadX series, with teammate David
Haagsma in fourth place. Baron took second place in both motos for first
overall, and he praised the performance of his Maxxis tires. "The track was
pretty tire-demanding in the second moto," he said. "It got hardpacked and
slick, and it was dry. The tires are gummy, so we had a lot of traction coming
out of the inside of a corner from a slide." The race was held July 7 at the
Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino,
CA. Baron and Haagsma are first and second in points for the series.
