Thor's Amateur Riders Celebrate Eleven Championships at the 2009 World Mini Grand Prix!

LAS VEGAS (April 28, 2009) - Canadian riders Dean Wilson and Cole Thompson carried the torch for Thor's Amateur Program at the Las Vegas World Mini Grand Prix, April 13-19. Together the duo won seven of Thor's eleven titles at the event. Both racers are riding a wave of momentum from the Texas Spring Nationals (Lake Whitney and Oak Hill GNC) where each won a handful of titles.

Wilson had an almost perfect week in Vegas, winning seven out of eight motos en route to four championships. Wilson, along with Thor teammates Tyler Sjoberg and Justin Weeks, swept the podium in the 250 Stock Pro Class.

Dean Wilson blasts through a corner en route to one of his four championships. (Courtesy of VurbMoto.com)

Thompson, who took home three titles of his own, was a huge fan of the track at Las Vegas Speedway.

"I was super comfortable with the hard pack rutted track," he stated. "I was really focused on putting myself out front early with good starts. After getting out front I just tried to block out the pressure behind me and put in eight solid laps. It seemed to work out well. I'm really excited to finish up with three titles."

Cole Thompson hangs out the back end. The Canadian rider captured three titles. (Courtesy VurbMoto.com)

Junior cycle rider Sean Cantrell went into World Mini's still buzzing from his two titles at Oak Hill. As a nine-year-old in the 9-11 class, Cantrell knew he had his work cut out for him and put together strong motos to give him a title. To cap off a stellar showing, he earned a second and third place finish in two other classes.

Despite being one of the youngest riders in his division, Sean Cantrell was a regular at the front of the field in the 9-11 class. (Courtesy VurbMoto.com)

Another rider who came into Vegas looking to continue his success from Texas was Thor/Red Bull rider, Cooper Webb. The young rider celebrated the 85cc-150cc 12-13 Mod championship and a second place finish at World Mini.

Cooper Webb continued to ride strong for Thor/Red Bull and grabbed an 85/150 Mod 12-13 Championship.

(Courtesy VurbMoto.com)

Contrary to Wilson, Thompson, Webb and Cantrell, 85cc thru 11 favorite Steven Gretchen did not have the same luck and momentum from Texas. Gretchen, who struggled at Lake Whitney and Oak Hill, came to World Mini ready to redeem himself. He did just that by taking the title in the 85cc stock thru 11 along with a second in the modified class.

"I don't think my wins in Vegas were because of luck," explained Gretchen. "The main difference between Texas and my results in Vegas was the amount of time I spent training. I realize now that the race doesn't start when the gate drops, it starts when you get up at 5:00am to run and ride after school."

Steven Gretchen bounced back from disappointing results in Texas to get on top of the box in Las Vegas.

(Courtesy VurbMoto.com)

The World Mini Grand Prix not only marked the return to the first amateur nationals for Jessy Nelson since the Dodge Amp National, but also signified Nelson's big bike debut on the amateur national circuit. Nelson, who had a remarkable mini bike career, made a seamless transition to big bikes by winning his first championship aboard a CR250F before going down hard in his second main and being forced to sit on the sidelines for the remainder of his last motos.

Jessy Nelson had a stellar outing in his amateur national circuit debut.

(Courtesy VurbMoto.com)

Thank you to all of the champions for keeping Thor MX on top of the box!

Jr. Cycle Mod 9-11

Sean Cantrell

85 Stock Thru 11

Steven Gretchen

85/150 Mod 12-13

Cooper Webb

85/150 Mod 14-16

Cole Thompson

85/15 Stock 14-16

Cole Thompson

150 4-Stroke thru 16

Cole Thompson

250 Stock Intermediate

Jessy Nelson

250 Mod Pro

Dean Wilson

250 Stock Pro

Dean Wilson

450 Mod Pro

Dean Wilson

450 Stock Pro

Dean Wilson

Thor boasted an additional 14 podium finishes to go along with its 11 championships. Congratulations to the following riders for their top place finishes: Sean Cantrell, Joey Crown, Jamie Gardiner, Steven Gretchen, Tyler Sjoberg, Dakota Tedder, Matt Tedder Sr., Cole Thompson, Cooper Webb and Justin Weeks.

Thor would like to wish healthy and speedy recoveries to Thor Team Riders Justin Bogle, Malcolm Stewart and Jessy Nelson after their week at World Mini was cut short due to injuries.

Thank you to all of the Thor Team Riders for making World Mini such a huge success!

For more information about Thor visit www.thormx.com.

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