Site Lap: Amateur
by: Rodney Tomblin
Friday, September 14, 2012 | 9:00 PM
The 2012 ATV Motocross Season Celebration is still a few weeks away. The celebration of champions is a highly anticipated affair. A change of location this year provides anticipation that will heighten the excitement of the whole event. The magnificent Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, WV is a beautiful setting to celebrate a great 2012 season.
If you haven’t made your arrangements you need to make sure you get in on the special pricing. The banquet is scheduled for Saturday November 24. Act NOW to reserve your room at the Waterfront Place Hotel at the discounted ATVMX rate of only $101 + tax. This offer ends November 18 - so don't wait!
To reserve by phone: call 1 (866) 782-9974 and mention the "2012 ATVMX Block".
To reserve online: visit HERE.
Over the last few weeks we have been highlighting championship battles in each of the divisions. This week we continue with the amateur classes focusing on the A classes. Many of these riders are grooming themselves for the next step and many of those have been doing this since the youth ranks.
The A classes have really left us wanting more each round. One rider stands out having won three out the four classes we will focus on today. Nicholas Gennusa out of Wall Township, New Jersey is without a doubt an incredibly impressive rider to say the least.
In the 450A class Gennusa has been challenged all season long from a number of riders but more consistently it was Sibley Missouri’s Merrill Crose. Merrill challenged the youngster that was basically half his age, taking a few wins along the way. But in the end it was a very well prepared and schooled Gennusa (more on that in a moment) coming out with a mere 14 point win over Crose. A few other riders saw race wins but could not put together a battle for the championship as luck appeared to not be on their side this season.
Vital Cazenave all the way from Argentina found himself challenging Nick a few times and even came out with a win at Unadilla in New York. Other riders taking a race win this season was Bulls Gap, Tennessee’s Lucas Lamons and former pro champ Travis Spader.
Spader and Gennusa’s paths crossed quite often actually. They battle to the near end in the 4-Stroke A class which Nick won by only 18 points. Spader had 4 wins in this class this season but a season ending injury at Red Bud took him completely out of the running. Self admittedly Spader says he is not sure he could have stopped Nick on his mission to win championship.
The Production A class saw challenges out Vital Cazenave once again. Cazenave took a win in this one at Red Bud and finished 3rd in the class. The real challenges came from Petersburg, Virginia’s Chase Henry. Chase is the brother of Cole Henry who races the Pro Am division. Chase actually won 4 races during the season but less consistent finishes allowed Gennusa to take the championship by a mere 9 points. Other race winners throughout the season included Graham Gardener from Orchard Park, New York and Montezuma, Iowa’s Dalton Hicks.
The Open A class saw the great Travis Spader and Merrill Crose battling in this one. Only 17 points separated Spader and Crose in the end of this one. Even with Spader sitting out the last round due to injury, he had incurred enough wins and seconds to win the championship. Crose admittedly raced only the minimum amount of events and a little bad luck at a round or so allowed him not to capitalize on the situation and win the championship away from Spader.
As mentioned 3 championships went to Nick Gennusa and as mentioned more on the Travis Spader and Nick Gennusa relationship which began in their home state of New Jersey.
Spader as many of you know is a former top pro and champion of the series in 2000. Spader raced until about 2007 professionally before hanging up the boots. Eventually he would return to racing making the move into the vet ranks of the local series on the east coast and NEATV.
Both Being from New Jersey, the paths of Spader and Gennusa crossed and they formed a friendship on and off the track that would eventually push them both to new levels. Spader says it’s like riding with a son or a little brother and to witness Nick’s progress gives him a sense of pride.
The two ride and train quite often together and Nick says the mentoring from Spader has been priceless. Actually the whole family feels that way. Nick’s dad saw the value in this and the Gennusas formed a kind of team with Spader hauling all of his bikes and equipment to each race so they could work together on race day. If it not been for the injury at Red Bud the championships could have turned out a little different in not only the A classes but also Junior and Vet classes. One things for certain, Nick earned his championships because Spader will be the first to admit he gave nothing to the kid but all the competition he could dish out.
That’s it for now. Next time we will look at the age division. Until then, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.