For Immediate Release - April 28-29, 2007
The Baldwin Motorsports/Kawasaki team opened up its season this past weekend at Round 1 of the WPSA ATV Tour in Reynolds, Georgia. This year's team consists of Pro rider Josh Upperman and Pro-Am rider Mark Kendall. The duo was looking forward to debuting on the newly released Kawasaki KFX450R. The WPSA ATV Series has a three moto format. The first two motos are used to determine qualifying position and the third moto is the main event which determines the actual finishing order.
The weekend started off strong for the team as Kendall grabbed the first ever holeshot on the new Kawasaki. Kendall never looked back as he led every lap of the moto.
Upperman followed in the Pro class with a strong fourth place moto 1 finish behind Suzuki's Dustin Wimmer, Honda's Keith Little, and Lost Creek Suzuki's Joe Haavisto. Honda's John Natalie won the other Pro 1st moto.
In Sunday's second Pro-Am moto, Kendall once again grabbed the holeshot and led the race for nearly three laps before clipping the rear tires on the track's large uphill triple. Kendall had a hard get off, but luckily was not hurt badly.
The second Pro moto had a lot of banging as Upperman found himself mid-pack off the start. As the tight group rounded the corner toward the finish line on lap one, Upperman was hit from behind causing him to launch off a jump sideways and crash. The quad was badly damaged, but Upperman was able to walk away.
Upperman and Kendall's strong Saturday finishes combined with Sunday's tough second moto finishes were enough to earn them both a spot in the main event. Kendall was in pain and shaken up, but was determined to put in a strong finish in the main event. When the gates dropped for the Pro-Am final, Mitch Reynolds had the early lead. Kendall found himself in the fourth place position. Canada's Greg Gee mounted a charge behind Kendall and eventually took over the lead. Kendall fought for a fifth place finish in the main event.
WPSA Round 1 Super Quad Pro-Am 450 Results:
The Pros lined up for the final race of the day. Upperman had to settle for poor gate position and knew he was going to have to put in a hard day's work. Natalie grabbed the holeshot followed by Weinen, Gust, and Wimmer. Upperman rounded the first turn in 19th position, but put his head down and began to pick off rider's one by one. Upperman had moved up to twelfth place with two laps remaining but then lost his seat. The subsequent beating took its toll on Upperman and he moved back to eighteenth by the checkers. Natalie held on to take the win. Weinen succumbed to mechanical problems so Gust and Wimmer rounded out the podium.
WPSA Round 1 Super Quad Pro 450 Results:
Team manager and Eleven-time Pro Champion, Tim Farr, stated "The team just recently received the KFX450Rs and still has a lot of testing and development to do. We certainly had some high points this weekend and Upperman and Kendall proved they are both riders to watch. Mark Baldwin did an excellent job in a very short time period to get us up and running strong with the new Kawasakis. I am, as always, fully confident that Baldwin Motorsports will continue to develop the KFX450Rs to get them into top form and the team will get stronger every race."
The race will be televised on ESPN June 16 at 1:00 PM ET.
Special thanks to the 2007 team sponsors: Kawasaki, Baldwin Motorsports, Farr Racing Enterprises, BKT, PEP, DID,JB Racing, DID, Sunline, SixSixOne, Sidi, Troy Lee Designs, Rath Racing, Douglas Wheel, Scott Goggles, Quad Tech, Updog, Kames Sports Center, Wiseco Piston, Precision Racing Products, Hinson Racing, and State 8 Motorcycle and ATV.
NEXT STOP: WPSA ATV Tour - Round 2 - Taylorsville, IL - May 12-13
