Yamaha congratulates ATV
racers Chad Wienen and Thomas Brown on taking the top two spots at the 2012
Montreal Supermotocross in Quebec
Sept 29. Wienen topped the podium and Brown finished second-both aboard their
YFZ450Rs-in what became one of North America's
most competitive races of 2012
in front of an estimated crowd of 40,000 fans.
Four of the top five U.S. national
ATV motocross racers competed along with top Canadians. Wienen, who won his
first Montreal Supermotocross back in 2009, capped a dream season after winning
the AMA Pro ATV championship this year following a severe injury in 2011.
"The competition was
definitely stacked this year," Wienen said about the Montreal race. "This is the final big race of
the year. It's always good to win there, and it can set the tone for next
season. We went up there and showed them we were on the gas."
Brown, who finished fifth in
the AMA series this year, had the fastest qualifying time in Quebec and chased Wienen throughout the
12-lap main to take second.
"Our goal for the weekend was
to go 1-2 and take that Canadian SX championship from the Can-Am guys," Brown
said. "It was great to paint the podium
blue."
The Yamaha guys excelled on
the technical supermotocross-style track. "It was a totally different type of
venue and race style," Brown said. "It was really tight with a lot more
technical jumps. We really like the more gnarly technical tracks. That's where
we and the YFZ450Rs really shine."
"We were running around 50-second
lap times, so it was a shorter course than we are used to," Wienen said. "You
had to be right on your game to clear some of the triples and step-on, step-off
sections. They have a little bit of everything in there. Riding in front of
that many people at a single event is really special. To be able to come out of
there with a win is always huge."
Brown, who has been on the road almost exclusively since the 2012 AMA season
began in March, is heading home soon to finish the year at his local series and
take a short break before ramping up training for the 2013 season. "I'll hit it
hard again before January 1,"
he said. "I want to come out and prove to everybody I can win a title and be a
top contender every weekend."
"We've had a successful
season and are just getting bigger and better," Wienen continued. "I feel good
about what we did this year, and I have a lot of racing to do ahead of me. I'm looking forward to getting back out there
and defending the number one plate."
