The 2017 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, officially got underway August 1, at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. This year marks the 36th running of the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross championship. Overcast skies graced the facility as the first 22 motos of the week-long event took to the track.
The first official gate drop of the AMA Amateur National was the 450 B Limited division, which kicked off the full day of racing at 7:30 a.m. Zane Merrett jumped out to the early lead grabbing the Bell Helmets Holeshot Award and continued to lead the race from start to finish. In the following moto, Devon Bates made quick work of the field and continued his dominance until the checkered flag waved in the 250 C class.
The Girls (11-16) class brought the heat to an overcast race day. Korie Steede found herself leading the way once the gate fell, but Jazzymn Canfield secured the lead position before conclusion of the first lap. Meanwhile, Jordan Jarvis sat back in ninth. While running in second, Steede bobbled and went down in the mechanics area. Steede was able to quickly rebound, but Katie Benson and Tayler Allred slid by. Jordan Jarvis was working her way through pack quickly and moved in to third behind Allred after Benson washed out. Canfield maintained a steady pace, leading from start to finish, with Allred and Jarvis rounding out the podium.
Seth Hammaker took home the top honors in the ultra-competitive 250 B class. Pierce Brown was an early front runner, but faced a string of bad luck with multiple tip overs. The battle for second tightened up at the halfway point of the race between Joe Shimoda and Derek Drake. The two were wheel-to-wheel when Drake went down, allowing Marchbanks, who was recovering from a 15th place start, to get by. Marchbanks attempted to make a charge on Hammaker, but the Kawasaki rider was too far ahead, ultimately claiming gold.
Open Pro Sport took to the rough and rutted track for their first of three motos. Deemed the elite class of the AMA Amateur National, the up-and-coming stars were eager for the Moto 1 gate drop. By the time they checked through timing for the first time Justin Cooper was leading the way, with Jayce Pennington on his rear wheel. Cooper didn’t look back, winning by a large gap over Enzo Lopes and Mitchell Falk. Although a win by 13 seconds was impressive from Cooper, eyes were also on Jake Masterpool who worked his way from 27th on the first lap, to finish just off the podium in fourth.
The 42 fastest ladies lined up on the gate this afternoon and Hannah Hodges found immediate success earning the holeshot, where she continued leading until the conclusion of the moto. Jazzymn Canfield made the early pass on for second and once the two-lap card was out Tayler Allred had moved into the top-three. Hodges was the first to cross the line, with Canfield and Kennedy Lutz in tow.
Ty Masterpool and Jarrett Frye led the first lap in the Supermini 2 (13-16) class, after Josh Varize jumped out to the early lead earning the Bell Helmets Holeshot Award. Dilan Schwartz attempted to pass Frye when he went down in the infamous “Storyland” part of the track. Stilez Robertson didn’t hesitate as he moved from outside the top-five to third, but Masterpool would end up beating Frye and Robertson to the line for the win.
The 250 A class saw Challen Tennant out in the lead first, with Ramyller Alves and Enzo Lopes behind him at the conclusion of the first lap. Lopes found himself in an unfavorable situation when he was trying to apply pressure to Alves and ended up going down. Meanwhile, Justin Cooper was busy working his way through the tough competition. Cooper reached the runner-up position at the midway point of the race, and settled into a comfortable pace with Tennant taking the win, Cooper in second and Alves taking the last spot on the box.
– Derek Garcia
Day two of racing will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, August 2, with the remaining opening motos along with the beginning of the second set of motos. Racer TV continues with live streaming coverage beginning at 11 a.m. EST/ 10 a.m. CDT.
Complete results from the National Championship can be found HERE.
The 2017 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by Lucas Oil is taking place now through August 5 at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by Lucas Oil
Loretta Lynn Ranch
Hurricane Mills, Tennessee
Results: August 1, 2017
Monday Class Winners:
- 450 B Limited – Zane Merrett
- 250 C – Devon Bates
- Girls (11-16) – Jazzmyn Canfield
- Senior (40+) – Mike Brown
- 65cc (7-11) – Daxton Bennick
* 250 B – Seth Hammaker
* Open Pro Sport – Justin Cooper - Mini Sr. 1 (12-13) – Jett Reynolds
- 250 C Limited – Stockton Stinebaugh
- Vet (30+) – Andrew Matusek
- Supermini 2 (13-16) – Ty Masterpool
- 250 B Limited – Derek Drake
- 85cc (9-12) – Jett Reynolds
- Masters (50+) – John Grewe
- 125 C – Dalton Spooner
- Women (12+) – Hannah Hodges
* 250 A – Challen Tennant - Schoolboy 1 (12-16) B/C – Mason Gonzales
- 450 B – Carter Halpain
- Supermini 1 (12-15) – Jarrett Frye
- 450 C – Adam Johnson
- 65cc (7-9) Limited – Kade Johnson
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