North Kingsville, OH (05/21/2011) – Round number six of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championships was a tough round for many, but Baldwin Motorsports’ Josh Upperman took a top five finish and gained a couple of points on the class leaders.
Steel City was the hosting facility for round six and the points battles were heating up with only five rounds left in the series. Josh Upperman, who has been the most consistent rider of the series stayed the course and closed in on the points leaders despite a nasty wreck in moto one.
In the first pro moto of the day, Josh Upperman was looking good, aboard his Baldwin Motorsports Honda, as he charged off the line in a solid third place behind John Natalie and Chad Wienen. Upperman was looking strong as he was holding off rookie pro Chase Snapp, but in lap seven, Upperman came off a jump and crashed hard. “It was a pretty scary moment for me. Chase Snapp and I were running really close and he was right behind me when it happened so it could have been a lot worse than what it was,” said Josh.
Luckily, Upperman was ok despite a few bumps and bruises and continued to race. Upperman was able to work his way back up from twelfth to ninth place before reaching the checkered flag.
In moto two, Upperman was looking for a bit of redemption, and got it, as he charged off the line in fourth place and worked his way into the number three spot. Upperman also recorded the fastest lap time of moto two with a time of 01:36.573 in lap eight. Upperman’s speed and consistency allowed him to hold off a charging Jeremy Lawson to hang on for a third place finish in moto two. Upperman’s 9-3 finishes did not earn him a spot on the podium this time, but it did allow him to round out the top five overall and gain a couple of extra points on John Natalie and Chad Wienen, who finished behind Upperman. “Being in the top five every round is what I was looking for this year and if I can make that happen for the rest of the season, I will be happy,” said Upperman, who has the skill and consistency to do just that.
Round number seven of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championships heads to Spring Creek Motocross in Millville, MN on June 4th – 5th where Josh Upperman will be looking to put Baldwin Motorsports back on the podium.
#20 Josh Upperman 2011 Sponsors:
Baldwin Motorsports, Inc, PEP, JB Racing, Fly Racing, DWT, Goldspeed, Rath Racing, Hinson Clutch Components, Wiseco Pistons, Precision Racing Products, Pro-Design, Fasst Co., Throttle Jockey, Quad Tech, D.I.D., Falicon Crank Shafts, Works Connection, PowerMadd, Scott Goggles, Sunstar Sprockets, DP Brakes, CV 4, RPM, Mechanix Wear, Sidi, VP Race Fuels, Ancra
Points Standing after round #6
1) #44 Chad Wienen – Can-Am 250
2) #13 John Natalie – Can-Am 240
3) #20 Josh Upperman – Baldwin/Honda 221
4) #16 Jeremy Lawson – Walsh Suzuki 205
5) #7 Joe Byrd 180
