Westley Wolfe Race Report: Unadilla, RedBud, Loretta Lynn's

Friday, August 19, 2016 | 12:50 PM

Westley Wolfe
Race Report: Unadilla, RedBud, Loretta’s
August 19, 2016

Westley Wolfe has been busy traveling to the last three races of the 2016 ProX ATV Motocross National Championship (ATVMX). On July 16 and 17 Wolfe made the five-hour trip north to the iconic Unadilla MX.

After practicing on Friday, Wolfe was eager to take to the “Home of Horsepower” for the first Pro Sport moto. Wolfe was able to get a quick jump off the gate for the first moto where he sat in fifth across the holeshot line. Once Wolfe worked his way in fourth on the third lap he began charging to catch third. Wolfe would lose traction in a turn right after the famed “Gravity Cavity” and would end up running out of time before he was able to make a move and have to settle for fourth.

On Sunday, July 17, Wolfe faced a string of bad luck where he ended up going down in the second moto of Pro Sport ultimately finishing 14th for ninth overall. After mustering through the pain Wolfe had a hard fought race to earn second in the first Pro-Am Moto, but once again faced difficulties when he went down in the second moto. Wolfe would end up going 2-11 for seventh overall.

Westley Wolfe finished the ATVMX season second in Pro Sport and third in Pro-Am.Photo: Provided

Just two weeks later Wolfe traveled to Buchanan, Michigan for the RedBud ATV National where the bad luck continued after he got tangled off the start in both Pro Sport motos. In the first moto Wolfe managed to work his way through the pack from sixteenth of third, and in the second moto he came from behind in eighteenth to finish fifth. The 3-5 moto score earned him a podium finish with third, and proved that the rookie was a force to be reckoned with.

Pro-Am treated Wolfe much better where he placed second in the first moto. Time would run out in the second moto before Wolfe would be able to make the pass for the win, and he would cross the line a mere five seconds behind the leader in third and finish third overall.

This past weekend, August 13 and 14, marked the season finale for the ATVMX series. Perhaps one of the most popular stops on the whole circuit, the Loretta Lynn Dirt Days makes the perfect location for the season finale. While the location may have been ideal, Wolfe’s health conditions were not where he put forth his best effort while he battled with cellulitis.

After winning his heat, Wolfe headed into the second moto on Sunday with another win on his mind, but would end up finishing fifth for fourth overall. The hot and humid conditions began to take a toll on Wolfe’s knee during the time the first Pro-Am moto came around; however, Wolfe pushed through for third. During the second moto he got off to a mid-pack start and quickly worked his way into the top five. With a tight track, it was hard to make passes on, but the top-five racers continued to race wheel-to-wheel. By the conclusion of the ten-lap race Wolfe had to settle for fifth which earned him fifth overall as well.

Wolfe’s season was rather successful where he finished second in the points championship in Pro Sport. In Pro-Am Wolfe tied for second, but earned third in the National Championship due to the last round tie-breaker.

“Overall I’m pleased with my results this season,” said Wolfe. “Last year I was awarded Amateur Racer of the Year, and I believe I followed that up pretty well when I moved up to Pro-Am. I am excited to continue advancing and move up to the AMA pro class next year.”

With the 2016 ATVMX season now over Wolfe will shift his focus to the remaining four races in the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series where he currently sits third in the XC2 Pro-Am National Championship standings. Once the GNCC series wraps-up Wolfe will begin off-season training for the 2017 ATVMX season where he will make his debut in the premier pro class in addition to racing Pro-Am.

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