ATV Motocross

AMA Pro ATV Racers Podium at Montreal Supercross

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 | 12:00 AM

Out of sixteen entries in the ATV class main event at the Montreal Supercross on Saturday September 29, there were two AMA Pro ATV riders on the podium, along with one ATVA Pro-AM rider! Yamaha's Cody Miller came out with the overall win in front of 50,000 people, as Can-Am's Greg Gee and Yamaha’s Richard Pelchat rounded out the podium. We tracked down Cody and Richard to find out all about the event.

 

 

Cody! You won the race! Congrats!

““It was awesome. It was really a lot of fun. The track was pretty technical this year, and it was a cool experience.

 

 

 

Yamaha's Cody Miller is all smiles after winning in Montreal

 

So, you’ve raced the Montreal Supercross before then?

I raced it in 2005, and I was one spot away from the podium; I got fourth. It was more technical this year. It was a pretty good track. It was a lot easier to make passes on this year, so that helped me out a lot.

 

How was the start for you?

In the first [Warm-Up] moto, I started around eighth and passed up to fourth; I ended up fourth in the first moto. That gave me fourth position on the gate for the main. In the main, I think I started around sixth or so, then I made a few passes and I was right behind Greg Gee, Richard Pelchat and Jasmin Plante. There was one big triple jump that had a small downside on it””it was pretty tricky””Jasmin hyper-extended his knee whenever he landed and that pulled him off. Then Richard was leading the race, with Greg in second and I was in third. We were all kind of tight and then Richard clipped that same triple and he went over the bars. I was in second; Greg and I were battling it out for first and second for probably four laps. We passed each other back and forth several times over a triple jump in the back, and then one lap I took the line that he was anticipating me trying to make the same pass on him, so then I took a different line and passed him over the triple jump.

  

Did you know you could win this thing, or were you just hoping for any opportunity?

I was basically staying patient. I’ve raced with Greg a good bit this year. I was following and studying his lines, taking my time, I knew it was a ten-lap race. About the seventh lap, I passed him.

 

So, that triple was giving a lot of riders some problems?  

I was on that triple jump in the third practice, and I came up a little bit short and kind of smacked the bottoms of my feet and my ankles. I had to pull off right then, and almost didn’t even want to race because my feet were hurting so bad, but I got my ankles all taped up by the paramedics there, and it wasn’t too bad during the race.

 

I saw your brother Hunter also had a good ride”¦ 

Yea, Hunter got in a pile-up on the start, and then he came back up to fifth.

 

How was the crowd?

The fans were awesome. Every time you hit a big jump or Greg and I would pass each other back and forth, you could hear a huge uproar; they were loud. It was cool.

 


 

Richard Pelchat had this to say:

 

"I was really fast in practice. I had the fastest lap time, which is really good because it gave me the first pick for the Warm-Up race.  But the best part was that I was taking it easy”¦no rush to do a fast lap.”

 

““In the Warm-Up race, Jasmin Plante got holeshot with me in second,” Pelchat continued. ““I was pressuring him, but the race is a qualifier for the main event, so I didn't want to do anything stupid. The race is really short 5 laps, maybe 5 minutes, so I settled for second. I knew I could make a pass.”

 

““In the main, Jasmin got the holeshot with Greg Gee in second and me in third. I got the inside on Gee in the second corner and started pressuring Plante for first. Just before the finish line, there was a 65-foot supercross triple, it was easy to do but it didn’t allow for any mistakes. The triple took out about six or seven riders.

 

"On the first lap, Jasmin cased the triple hard. As I passed him in the next corner, he pulled off in pain with a badly hurting knee. After all these years, I was leading the race."

 

"I was picking up about a second a lap.  Just before the mid-point, (it was a 10 lap event,) I had about five second on second and third place, [and was] well on my way to the win. Then the Montreal Supercross bit me once again," he said.

 

"I came about three inches short on the same triple and got bucked off the seat and into the ground. I remounted, disgusted would be a good word, in fifth with my clutch lever down. I charged pass U.S. riders Casey Martin and Aaron Meyer to be in third place. I was catching on the leader, but finished a few seconds behind. I feel bad for throwing the win away like that, but I was fast and I finally got a podium there."

Click here for the full results from the Montreal Supercross presented by Coors Light, Parts Canada Thor , and Stat Timing