WPSA: Wienen and Borich Win, Natalie and West Take Points Leads
7-23-2007
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Flagworld
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WIENEN AND BORICH WIN WPSA WILD CAT FINALS; NATALIE AND WEST TAKE PRO POINTS LEADS
source: PowerSports Public Relations
Sunday's AMSOIL Wild Cat Open Championship proved pivotal in the 2007 WPSA PowerSports ATV Tour as winners returned to victory lane, and the Pro points leads changed hands.
In the end, Chad Wienen won his fourth SuperQuad Pro 450 final, and Chris Borich earned his fifth QuadTerrain Pro Stock win in six attempts this season. Meanwhile John Natalie, Jr. took the lead in the SuperQuad Pro 450 championship, while Jesse West grabbed the top slot in the QuadTerrain Pro Stock points chase.
The races will be telecast on ESPN2 on Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. EDT.
Wienen (No. 44 Team Rockstar, MSR, Pro Taper, Yoshimura/Suzuki), after two difficult races in Virginia, bounced back here. After qualifying second, he took the lead at the start, and easily walked away from the rest of the field.
"The last round was kind of rough for us," said Wienen. "We went back to the drawing board and picked it up. My team just stepped it up and made it happen for me."
Natalie (No. 13 Elka, Maxxis/Honda), who suffered severe leg and chest injuries in a crash during practice earlier this season, was ecstatic to be back in the points lead after finishing second. Pat Brown (No. 199 Golden West Cycles/Yamaha) finished third.
"I was busted up pretty bad," said Natalie of his injuries. "I had a torn sternum, as well as ACL and MCL injuries. We just kept fighting. I rode through the pain, we came back, and now we're in the points lead--which is where we belong.
"This takes a lot of heart," added Natalie of his privateer effort. "I don't have time to do anything else. All day long, I just work on bikes and ride. I eat, sleep and breath racing, and now it's starting to pay off."
Borich (No. 2 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) performed a similar feat in the QuadTerrain Pro Stock final, leading all but one lap to nab the victory, his fifth this season. Chris Bithel (No. 6 Warnert Racing/Can-Am) battled Borich throughout the race and finished second.
"I'm just having a great time," said Borich. "Can-Am and Warnert Racing have just put an excellent ride underneath me. Everything has just worked out well.
"This was one of the best races this year," added Borich. "It was just so close. Ultimately, it worked out well."
West (No. 888 West Racing/Arctic Cat) finished third, and took the points lead. The rider known as the "working man" has overcome adversity, injuries and bad luck to net the top spot in the championship.
"This feels great," said West. "Our goal was to take the points lead this weekend, and we worked hard to fulfill that goal. We finally had some good luck. We got through the starts cleanly, and just had fun.
"It's been a tough road," added West. "We had the points lead going into Illinois, and had trouble there. Then, we went to Kentucky and had two bad crashes, one of which hurt me pretty badly. I'm just now feeling 100%. So, I'm feeling great."
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