ATVA MX Round 3 - Gatorback, FL:
As the ATVA rolled in to Gatorback (a.k.a. Gainesville or Alachua, FL) everything seemed too good to be true. Smooth ride down to Florida, no hassle from the Alachua Police this year and the weather was beautiful unlike our 47 degrees back in Illinois. John Natalie was also feeling perfect this weekend as well, more on that in a moment.

After the normal 15 minute drive from any civilization normally associated with entering a national track we spent about twice as much time convincing the unorganized promoter’s staff we were media. “It’s only been 13 months now.” Upon entering in our despair we were amazed at how many racers were already there. The pits were nearly packed.

During practice nothing was clear cut, even after minor improvements Gatorback is still the least technical track on the series and everyone looked equally fast and smooth. Everyone wondered if the podium would be a repeat of last year’s winners or a carry over from Round 2 in Texas. Surprisingly, all bets were off.

After a rather lengthy track dressing session and a 30 minute late start the gate dropped and John Natalie left the field on the line with his new red 450r. After just a lap John had developed an amazing lead and was never challenged again throughout the moto. To be completely honest, nothing really changed throughout the rest of the moto. It’s true; Gatorback is a drag race and doesn’t separate the men from the boys. However, someone has to win, and John didn’t seem to mind.

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