Cody Janssen #25
Cody Janssen National ATV MX Round 1 Race Report
After a long snowy winter in Wisconsin, March 23-24 marked the start of the Mountain Dew ATV Mx National Championship Series. Cody Janssen and the CJ25 rig loaded up a week early and headed to Durhamtown Plantation in Georgia to get a little testing in before opening day. After a couple days of good training and testing they made the half hour trip over to Aonia Pass Mx in Washington, GA, the host of the national series’ round number 1 where he’d be racing 4 Stroke A and his main focus, Pro Am. The weather had been good for all of their testing but that would soon change.
Friday practice went well for the young Wisconsinite and his team, all they were hoping for was for the bad weather to stay away but their wish would not be granted. Early Saturday morning the rain came, it monsoon rained for the better part of the day. Cody knew that he only had one moto on Saturday so as long as he got through the few laps that he had to in the mud he would be fine, in hopes that Sunday would be dry. His moto was race number 3 in the morning so he was racing on a virtually untouched race track, the only problem was the standing water covering the entire track. He was sitting in 2nd coming out of the first corner before getting roosted bad enough to have to pull a few tearoffs and lose a few positions. Janssen found himself in 6th, but some stealthy moves in the first few corners got himself back into the runner up position. By now he had used all his tearoffs so he had to carefully pick a spot to pass so he would still be able to see, that place was after the finish line where Janssen jumped into the lead, threw his goggles and controlled the lead for the rest of the muddy race. He went on to win by 10 seconds. “I made most of my passes early, and picked my spot to pass for the lead pretty carefully. I could barely see!” Said Cody after the race. “It always feels good to win, even if it’s in an A class. And I love riding in the mud, just not washing it! (laughs) Overall, it was a good race for me.” Little did he know at the time, but that would be his only moto of the weekend. Sunday went on to be cancelled and the races were based off of a 1 moto format. Cody Janssen won 4 Stroke A at Aonia Pass and is the current points leader.
So what about Pro Am? Well, since both motos are held on Sunday, the AMA kicked around the idea of cancelling every Sunday moto and still running Pro Am in the deluge. But they ultimately decided to cancel every race for Sunday, including Pro AM. Therefore, the opening round for Pro Am will be in a few weeks at the series’ round number 2 at Muddy Creek in Tennessee. “It’s a bummer that we didn’t get to race Sunday, especially that we didn’t get to race Pro Am whatsoever, being that that’s my main focus. But after seeing the track, I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to go out there. (laughs) Let’s hope that Muddy Creek doesn’t live up to its name and I’ll see you guys in Tennessee!” Cody said.
Lastly, Cody must thank all of his sponsors. First and foremost his great team, Team Janssen Motorsports FSI, Roy, Faye, and Troy Hill, Jimmy Sims, his amazing family, friends, and fan base. Also a huge shout out to Elka Suspension for everything they do for Cody! “I always know I have the best suspension out there, the Elka Stage 5 is unmatched. Great product and even greater people!” Also, Maxxis, SSI Decals, DP Brakes, Thor MX, 100%, Oshkosh Tattoo and Good Girl Piercing, Dynamite ATV, Tweeked Powderworks, JB Racing, Rath, Renthal, Motoworks, Hinson Clutches, CP Pistons, Andrew Vogt, Terry Moore at Advanced Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, his phenomenal mechanic Todd, and everyone else that helps him out. See everyone at Round 2!