NO ROOM ON PODIUM FOR ANYONE BUT TEAM BABBITT'S / MOOSE RACING

03/09/10

Moose Racing team riders had another great weekend filled with wins and podium appearances from across the country.

The weekend started off with some exciting AMA Arenacross action on Friday night from Livestock & Events Center in Reno, Nev. For the fifth time this season, Moose Racing swept the Arenacross class podium as Josh Demuth captured his fourth win of the season for the Babbitt's Monster Energy/TiLUBE Kawasaki team.

Demuth moved into the lead shortly after the start of the main event and was followed closely by fellow Moose Racing and Babbitt's teammates Tyler Bowers and Chad Johnson. Demuth would ride the rest of the 25-lap main event unchallenged and lead the way for the Moose Racing podium sweep.

Saturday's second night of Arenacross racing again featured Moose Racing atop the podium but this time it was Bowers taking the win. After moving into the lead a couple of laps into the main event, Bowers went uncontested for his eighth win of the season. Demuth joined Bowers on the podium after making a late race pass to put himself in the runner-up position ahead of Thor's Jeff Gibson.

With the reversal of Friday's top two spots, Bowers' championship points lead over Demuth holds steady at 17 with just three rounds and five races left to go.

In the AMA Arenacross Lites class, the Reno crowd witnessed a pair of flawless rides as Moose Racing's A.J. Catanzaro grabbed both holeshots and led all 36 laps of racing. Catanzaro shared the podium with fellow Moose Racing rider Jim Neese who took second place honors on Saturday night.

These impressive performances put Catanzaro a full race (25 points) ahead of his closest competitor in the overall standings. With only four races left in the Western Regional Championship, the rookie is in a good position to clinch the title prior to the final round in Denver.

Next weekend the AMA Arenacross Series racers are back at it from the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Across the country, Moose Racing's Josh Strang grabbed his second win in as many rounds as the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) took place in Washington, Ga.

The likeable Australian got off to a great start and was holding down the second position for the first half of the three-hour race. Throughout the next 30 minutes, Strang battled with Thad DuVall for the lead until DuVall went down. Strang continued to ride strong and would go on to finish a full two minutes ahead of Thor's Paul Whibley.

"I've worked hard for this and it feels good," said Strang. "And to get two wins is great. I got a good start, perhaps the best start I've ever got on the 450, and I rode well. I think I was better prepared for this race than I was in last week's race in the sand and my bike worked awesome, so it was a good day for us."

The GNCC series takes this weekend off before hitting the trails of Morganton, N.C. on March 20-21, 2010 for the FMF Steele Creek GNCC. Strang took the win here last year and will be looking to make it a perfect three-for-three to start off the 2010 season.

Images courtesy of Randy Tanaka