Racing at the 35th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship continued on Thursday at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, under heavy weather that delayed the race program.
Torrential rains turned the Loretta Lynn track into a quagmire, forcing race organizer MX Sports to revise the schedule accordingly. That meant that the 65 (10-11) class was the first to take to the muddy track for its second moto of the week. First-moto winner Hunter Yoder, who did some storming of his own as he built up a 15-second cushion on the field. However, Yoder eventually succumbed to the slick and rutty track allowing class rival Ryder Difrancesco to take the lead. By the time Yoder recovered, he was deep in the pack.
Although he would blitz his way past most of the field, before the end of the 20-minute moto, Yoder was forced to settle for second place behind Difranceso, tying the two riders in the battle for the class title as they head to an all-important third moto.
The conditions nearly doomed Seth Hammaker as well. Riding a clean race in the Super Mini 1 (12-15) class, Hammaker crashed in a corner while leading the race, but he had fortunately already built up a significant cap over second-placed Lance Kobusch, and Hammajer was able to recover without losing the lead. Hammaker held on for the win over Kobusch with Joshua Gibbs finishing third.
Although Derek Drake got the holeshot in the second Schoolboy 1 (12-16) moto, Moto 1 winner Jalek Swoll passed him for the lead before the start of lap two. Drake did not give up, however, and he was able to pass Swoll to retake the lead and score the Moto 2 win. Drake is now in an excellent position to land the 125 (12-16) B/C National Championship, although Swoll may have something to say about that in Moto 3.
Under drier conditions, Wilson Fleming took the early lead in the 450 B moto, but he soon faded to fourth place. Wyatt Fontenot held the lead with Nolan Heppner and William Garrison right beind him. The three riders maintained the same gap throughout the remainder of the moto, crossing the line 1-2-3.
Two last-lap passes shook up the outcomes of the Women All-Star (16+) and Women 14+ classes. Hannah Hodges led most of the (16+) class, only to relinquish the lead to Brandy Richards, who will head into the third and final moto with two moto wins. Jazzmyn Canfield passed Jordan Jarvis on the last lap to claim the Women 14+ victory.
Bradley Taft was hoping to pick up where he left off in the 250 A class, which hosts perhaps the three biggest names in attendance at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship. Taft, Chase Sexton and Cameron Mcadoo battled wheel-to-wheel until Sexton was able to make his way into the lead. Taft then battled with Mcadoo for second place. Sexton score the win with Taft and Mcadoo second and third respectively.
KTM riders Max Markoff and Mitchell Falk ran side-by-side heading into the first turn in 250 B Limited class moto. Markoff grabbed the Bell Helmets Holeshot Award, but his luck ran out when he tangle with another rider in turn two, causing a multi-rider pileup. Falk built a comfortable lead within the first few laps and went on to victory. Markoff would suffer a mechanical issue that would effectively eliminate him from the class championship chase.
Luke Fauser continued his podium streak by winning the 51cc (7-8) Limited win, Seth Dennis repeated his success by winning the 51cc (4-6) Limited class, Kevyn De Pinho claimed the win in the 51cc (4-6) Shaft Drive class, and Mason Raynor won the 51cc (4-6) Special Limited division.
Racing at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship continues today and into tomorrow, where all of the National Championship titles will be settled.
Your Privacy Choices