The 35th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by AMSOIL, officially kicked off August 2 at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, and the action has been typically intense through the first two days of racing.
After a rain delay during Tuesday’s opening motos, the event fired up with the College (16-24) division where California’s Ryan Surratt jumped out to the early lead and held it from start to finish to collect the first Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National moto win of 2016. In the next moto, Austin Stroupe made his return in the Junior 25+ class. Stroupe had to work his way through the pack, but he made his way into the lead and went on to score a convincing win.
The Mini Sr. 2 (12-14) was a crash-riddled affair as Carson Mumford led the race, only to suffer fall back after suffering numerous falls. Joshua Varize secured the lead before crashing as well. With those two riders having their issues, Ty Masterpool worked his way up from fifth place to take the lead on lap five and went on to win the race by over 12 seconds. Dilan Schwartz and Levi Kitchen finished second and third respectively.
Kawasaki Team Green’s Jett Reynolds was on hand to defend his 85 (9-11) Limited class title, but when the gate dropped, his teammate Nick Romano grabbed the holeshot. Reynolds ran third early while Romano led the race for a long way before suffering a crash. Meanwhile, Reynolds was out of rhythm as he endured a number of tip-overs. Even so, Reynolds managed to take the lead, and he looked as though he was on his way to victory when he crashed again on the last lap. Jordan Biese capitalized on Reynolds’ mistake and made the last-minute pass to earn the moto win.
In a much-anticipated Open Pro Sport battle, Dustin Winter was leading the way. Bradley Taft took over the top spot by lap four, but took a crash in the 10 Commandments effectively handed the win to Chase Sexton. Cameron McAdoo finished second despite nursing an arm injury, and Taft gathered himself back up well enough to salvage third.
Evan Ferry pulled the holeshot line 65 (10-11) Limited class, and that was a good thing as it left him clear of a huge pile-up behind him. Ryder DeFrancesco also avoided the melee, and that gave Ferry and DeFrancesco a huge gap to third place. As the two riders battled for the lead, however, Hunter Yoder began to reel them in, and Yoder made the two passes he needed to secure the moto win.
The Women All-Star (16+) class saw Hannah Hodges snatch the holeshot and lead the race, only to tangle with a lapper near the mechanic’s area, allowing Brandy Richards to make a moto-winning pass. Hodges and Marissa Markelon finished second and third, while Jordan Jarvis won Women (14+) division.
Wednesday’s moto set featured the 250 A division where Sean Cantrell jumped out to the early lead, but it did not take long for Bradley Taft to take it from him. Taft cruised out front, claiming a fairly easy win ahead of Cantrell and Egan Mastin in third.
John Grewe absolutely dominated the Masters 50+ class winning the moto with over 57 seconds in hand. The 85 (9-12) division was won by Jett Reynolds. The 250 B Limited class featured a close race with Mitchell Falk, Max Markolf and Dylan Walsh grabbing the top three spots respectively.
Jamie Astudillo grabbed the holeshot in the Girls Sr. class, but Jazzmyn Canfield quickly stole the lead, only to relinquish it to Jordan Jarvis on lap three. Jarvis went on to score her second win of the week with an 18-second margin of victory.
The inaugural 250 All-Star A/B 14+ gate was full of up-and-coming talent, with James Anderson Jr. grabbing the holeshot. Jerry Robin pressured Anderson for three laps until Anderson went down on a corner and surrendered the lead. Robin began to fade as the moto wore on, and Brandon Gourley was able to charge past him for the win. Robin and Gordon Keck finished second and third respectively.
Dilan Schwartz was practically unchallenged en route to the Mini Sr. 1 (12-13) win, and Hunter Yoder enjoyed similar dominance in the 65 (7-11) class. Grewe also added a Senior 40+ class win to his tally.
After a rough start to his race week, Garrett Marchbanks was virtually untouchable in the Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C. Marchbanks out ran Jordan Bailey by 35 seconds. Tanner Stack finished third. In an intense 51 (7-8) moto, Jaden Palmer prevailed for the win.
A rain shower left the 250 C division to do battle on some of the worst track conditions of the day. Antonio Calavano was unfazed as he raced to the moto win. Immediately after the 250 C class finished up, the College (16-24) took to the track for its second moto, and Samuel Redman used his mud racing experience to lead every lap for the win.
Garrett Marchbaknks claimed his second win of the day and his first in the 250 B class. Jordan Bailey rode a consistent race for second, and Jake Masterpool finished third. Masterpool had suffered a disappointing DNF took in the first moto, however, and it is unlikely that he will be in the running for the class title.
Racing at Loretta Lynn Ranch continues with day three today.
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