John Natalie and Cody Miller Both Place in Top 5

Walnut, IL – Can-Am/Warnert Racing’s John Natalie and Cody Miller braved the elements this weekend at round 5 of the AMA ATV Motocross Nationals and took two of the top 5 positions on their Can-Am DS 450’s.

During Saturday’s events and qualifiers, the weather was nearly perfect for racing. Cody Miller went out for the LCQ round and came off the line in 2^nd. Cody was doing a fantastic job of holding his position, but lost his seat in the last lap, which slowed him down and put him n 4^th place at the finish line which was enough to secure him a place in Sunday’s Pro Main Event.

Unfortunately, Sunday’s events would be severely impacted by heavy rain that began to fall overnight. 3-4 inches of precipitation fell, turning the track into a soupy mess. Amateur classes were cancelled and the Pro races were cut to only one moto. In addition, more than half of the track would be cut out making for a short race.

The Warnert team scrambled to weather proof the quads for Natalie and Miller and came up with a unique set up for John’s #13 DS450. It appeared the crew took the rear fenders from another DS450, cut them in half and attached them to Natalie’s front fenders in order to keep as much mud off of him as possible. Both Natalie and Miller were using more of a cross-country style tire set up in order to get maximum traction and more ground clearance in the mud.

As the gate dropped, Natalie was off the line and looked as if he was going to take the holeshot, but he was pinched out just before the first corner. Natalie who still does not have 100% of his vision back was in about 3^rd place, where he stayed for most of the race. With the treacherous conditions, the track had been reduced to pretty much a single line with limited opportunities to pass, but Natalie played it smart and made his move for second in the last lap and held that position until the finish line.

Cody Miller came off the line in 15^th place, but Miller was able to avoid a huge pile up in the 2^nd corner and soon found himself p in 8^th place. “When I came into the 2^nd corner, there was a huge mud hole and a bunch of guys were caught in it, so I took an inside line and got around it,” said Miller. The slick conditions made it difficult, but the #22 Can-Am began picking off riders. Miller soon worked himself up to 4^th but was passed by Doug Gust on the last lap so Cody had to settle for a respectable 5^th place. 

Round number 6 will be held on May 24^th-25^th at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, PA, where Natalie will try to take the win for the Can-Am/Warnert team, while Miller has his sights set on joining his teammate in one of the top 3 spots.