HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. — A sense of tension, nerves, and confidence filled the air at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch on Friday as the first wave of athletes were crowned AMA National Champions at the 45th Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship Presented by AMSOIL.
Twenty-four motos filled the Day 4 schedule, where all but one gate drop served as the third and deciding moto for 23 different classes.
While the drama on the track was at an all-time high throughout the day, it was counterbalanced by the unparalleled elation of capturing a coveted and prestigious AMA No.1 plate.
Moto 3: 85cc (10-12)
Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha’s Jaydin Smart came into Friday’s final moto in control of his own destiny following back-to-back moto wins. When the gate dropped for the third and final time, Smart successfully asserted himself at the front of the field once again, with Mendid MX GASGAS’ Nolan Cobb in second and Owen Motor Sports KTM’s Logan Lustig in third.
Smart established a multi-second lead by the end of the first lap and proceeded to add to his advantage as the laps wore on. Cobb strengthened his grip on second, while KTM Orange Brigade’s Beckham Smith joined the fray following a pass for third.
With Smart out of reach, the fight for second heated up halfway through the moto as Smith inched closer to Cobb. However, the battle never came to fruition as Cobb went down and handed the position to Smith before the GASGAS rider remounted in third.
Smart was never challenged and capped off a sweep of the motos with another wire-to-wire victory. He took the checkered flag by 6.8 seconds over Smith, with Cobb well back in third. TiLube KTM’s Braxton Roth was fourth, followed by Lustig in fifth.
Smart’s 1-1-1 effort and total of three points gave him a four-point edge over Smith’s runner-up finish (2-3-2), while Roth rounded out the overall podium with 15 points (6-5-4)
Moto 3: Mini Sr. 2 (13-15)
The battle for the Mini Sr. 2 title was set to be decided between ClubMX KTM’s Joey Vicari and Lynks Racing KTM’s Mason Murdy. As the gate dropped and the field navigated through the first two turns the battle for the championship took a dramatic turn as Murdy positioned himself at the front of the field and Vicari crashed hard, bringing an end to his moto before it began.
Unaware of what unfolded with his primary rival, Murdy looked to seize the moment with the lead in hand. Right behind Murdy was KTM rider Dylan Graham, who kept pace to keep the deficit at just over a second. Behind them was Pro Circuit Husqvarna’s Jaxson Lang.
The top two started to inch away from the field through the middle of the moto, as Graham applied persistent pressure for the lead. Despite that, Murdy maintained his pace and continued to log consistent laps to keep Graham at bay.
Murdy never put a wheel wrong and put forth an impressive final performance with a wire-to-wire victory to clinch the class championship. He took the checkered flag 1.8 seconds ahead of Graham, who was later penalized two positions. GASGAS rider Eidan Steinbrecher followed in third after a last lap pass on Lang, who was also penalized a position after the race.
Murdy finished the week with 4-1-1 finishes for six points, which placed him two points ahead of runner-up Steinbrecher (2-4-2). Lang rounded out the overall podium with 18 points (7-6-5). Vicari fell to 22nd place (1-2-DNS).
Moto 3: 65cc (10-11) Limited
The final moto was set for a showdown between TCD Racing KTM’s Levi Leddy and Cobra Elite Factory Racing’s Yumena Berning, who came into the day separated by two points. As the field stormed out the gate it was KTM rider Enzo Posca who grabbed the early lead. A few positions back Leddy and Berning were fighting their way forward from top-10 starts. As she looked to follow Leddy through the pack, Berning made contact with another rider and went down, which dropped her outside the top 20 into 26th place.
Leddy’s push to the front carried him into the lead on the second lap. From there, he opened up a multi-second margin over Cobra Elite Factory Racing’s Jax Baker, who fought his way into second from sixth.
Past the halfway point of the moto Baker tracked down Leddy and made a quick pass to take over the lead. Aware he was ahead of Berning, Leddy then settled into second. Behind them, Cobra Elite Factory Racing’s Shannon Tarnow moved into third, while Berning clawed her way into the top 10.
Baker carried on to take the moto win by 2.2 seconds over Leddy, who clinched the title with the finish. Tarnow finished third, with B’s Moto Lab KTM’s Tucker Tix in fourth and Cobra Elite Factory Racing’s Levi Meyer in fifth. Berning finished in ninth.
Leddy’s 1-1-2 scores and four points easily put him atop the championship standings, eight points ahead of Baker, who secured a runner-up finish with 8-3-1 scores and 12 points. Berning’s resilient final moto landed her third overall with 2-2-9 finishes for 13 points.
Moto 3: Mini Sr. 1 (12-14)
After a heartbreaking end to his title hopes in Mini Sr. 2, ClubMX KTMs’ Joey Vicari entered the final moto of Mini Sr. 1 with a shot at redemption. He entered the race with a three-point edge over GASGAS rider Eidan Steinbrecher and as the moto got underway it was Steinbrecher to made the first move by putting himself out front. Vicari started inside the top 10 and soon settled into 11th.
Steinbrecher quickly moved out to a lead of more than four seconds over Lynk’s Racing KTM’s Whalyn Ballenger in the opening laps, while Vicari faced the unthinkable with another encounter of misfortune that saw him lose positions and eventually pull out of the moto after just two laps.
With the lead comfortably in hand, Steinbrecher went down and dropped several positions down to fifth. That handed the lead to Ballenger, followed by Bud Racing KTM’s Tim Lopes and Lynks Racing KTM’s Mason Murdy, the newly crowned Mini Sr. 2 Champion. Lopes then lost third to Murdy and fell to fourth following a pass by KTM rider Dylan Graham.
The top three proceeded to engage in a thrilling battle, with all of them separated by less then a second as they took the white flag. After several attempts, Murdy made a pass around Ballenger stick and stormed to the moto win and an unexpected sweep of the Mini Sr. titles. He took the checkered flag 2.2 seconds ahead of Ballenger, with Graham in third and Steinbrecher in fourth, while Lopes rounded out the top five.
Murdy’s 3-6-1 finishes and 10 points allowed him to edge Steinbrecher’s 1-7-4 effort by two points in the final standings, giving the KTM rider a pair of championships on the day. Lopes secured the final spot on the championship podium with 8-2-5 finishes and 15 points. Vicari ended up 12th (4-1-DNF).
Moto 3: Junior (25+)
The success of Liqui Moli Beta’s Zach Osborne has been one of the biggest stories to emerge at the Ranch this week and the former Pro Motocross Champion came into Friday’s final Junior moto in control of his own destiny following back-to-back moto wins.
As the gate dropped for the final time it was Osborne and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Phil Nicoletti renewing their week-long battle at the front. Nicoletti gained the upper hand to take the lead initially, but Osborne made the pass. Moments later, Nicoletti went down and dropped outside the top 10, which moved ClubMX Yamaha’s Brandon Haas into second and Let’s Ride Honda’s Jake Weimer into third.
Without the pressure from his primary rival, Osborne quickly opened a comfortable lead over the field. That left Haas and Weimer to battle for second, with the Honda rider able to make the move. Their fight continued through the heart of the moto as Osborne’s lead grew to double digits. Nicoletti, meanwhile, was on a torrid charge forward after dropping to 15th and soon found himself in fourth.
Haas wrestled second back from Weimer at the halfway point of the moto and it wasn’t long after that Weimer tipped over, which handed third to Nicoletti. Weimer resumed, but soon retired from the race.
Out front, Osborne moved 20 seconds clear of the field and was well on his way to victory. However, the battle for second continued as Haas came under fire from Nicoletti in the late stages of the moto. The defending Canadian National Champion closed in quickly on Haas and made the move on the final lap.
Osborne was dominant once again and swept the Junior motos by a margin of 10.4 seconds to claim the championship with an unblemished record. Nicoletti completed a run of three seconds, while Haas finished strong with his second third-place result. Full Throttle Motorsports KTM’s Harris Huizenga was fourth, with KoubaLink Kawasaki’s Austin Kouba in fifth.
Osborne’s 1-1-1 effort and three points put him three points ahead of Nicoletti’s 2-2-2 performance, while Haas rounded out the overall podium with 4-3-3 scores and 10 points.
Moto 3: 250 B
While Team Husqvarna Amateur Racing’s Tristan Prueitt had the hot hand coming into the final 250B moto, it was EBR Altus Performance Yamaha’s Tanner Dorman who was the rider to beat in the championship thanks to exceptional consistency.
As the gate dropped for the last moto it was Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Dane Pappas to put himself out front, followed by Altus Motorsports Yamaha’s Christopher Harris and Prueitt. Dorman started the moto in sixth.
Pappas showed stellar pace early on and established a multi-second lead. Sensing the moment, Prueitt made the move around Harris for second and looked to track down the Kawasaki.
As the moto approached the halfway point, Prueitt closed in on Pappas and erased the deficit to initiate a battle for the lead. The Husqvarna rider made a quick and decisive pass for the lead and proceeded to run away from the field. Behind them, Altus Motorsports bLUcRU Yamaha’s McKayden Fitch made an impressive charge to third after starting ninth.
An unexpected drop in Prueitt’s pace on the final lap brought Pappas back onto his rear fender to initiate a late battle for the win. Pappas looked to make the pass but ran out of time as Prueitt held on to take his second straight moto win by a half second. Fitch finished right behind them in third, while Dorman secured an uneventful fourth place finish to wrap up the championship. Hunter Racing Kawasaki’s Trinnytie Batchelor finished fifth.
Even though he missed out on a moto win, Dorman’s consistent 2-3-4 moto scores and nine points put him atop the overall standings by four points over Prueitt and his 11-1-1 finishes, with the first moto playing a significant factor in the overall outcome. Pappas rounded out the overall podium with 12-2-2 finishes and 16 points.
Moto 3: Women
The final Women moto was set to be a showdown between Dusty Rocks Yamaha’s Jordan Jarvis, the most successful and experienced competitor in the class, and SLR Honda’s Mayla Herrick, a budding star. A single point separated to duo coming into Friday, setting the stage for a winner-take-all third moto.
Herrick made the first move by grabbing the early lead to open the moto, with Triumph rider Hannah Hodges in second and Jarvis in third.
With a clear track ahead of her, Herrick sprinted and laid down the fastest lap of the moto to establish a three-second lead over Hodges, who was engaged in a fight with Jarvis for second.
Jarvis was able to make the pass on Hodges and faced a 4.8 second deficit to Herrick nearing the halfway point of the moto.
Despite Jarvis’ best effort, Herrick’s pace was simply too much to keep up with. The Honda rider was consistently the fastest rider on the track and soon her lead moved into the double digits.
Herrick was in a class of her own in the final moto and was never challenged on the way to her second moto win and arguably her cleanest race of the week. She crossed the finish line 14.3 seconds ahead of Jarvis, with Hodges in third, followed by Solid Rock Facilities Triumph’s Lilly-Ann Pettus in fourth and Yamaha rider Tinley McCoy in fifth.
Herrick’s victory and Jarvis’ second-place finish officially left the pair tied atop the overall standings. By virtue of her win in the final moto, Herrick earned the tiebreaker to clinch the championship with 1-3-1 moto scores for five points. Jarvis settled for the runner-up spot with five points on 2-1-2 moto finishes, while Hodges enjoyed a consistent 3-2-3 effort with eight points to complete the podium.
Moto 3: 250 Pro Sport
As the most anticipated moto of the day it was fitting for the final gate drop of 250 Pro Sport to be positioned in the late afternoon. After ClubMX Yamaha’s Ryder Malinoski and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Carson Wood traded moto wins, it was anyone’s guess as to who might prevail with the duo separated by just two points, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Landon Gibson one additional point behind.
On the heels of his Open Pro Sport win the day prior, Gibson carried the momentum into 250 Pro Sport by charging to the lead out the gate. Wood gave pursuit from second with ClubMX Yamaha’s Jesson Turner in third.
As he looked to make a pass on Wood, Turner hit his fellow Yamaha and went down, which ultimately forced him out of the race. That moved Roseville Motorsports Kawasaki’s Nate Freehill up to third. Meanwhile, Malinoski was fighting his way forward from a ninth-place start.
Gibson and Wood showed impressive pace out front and were able to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Freehill then battled Team Husqvarna Amateur Racing’s Max Shane for third, with Shane able to take over the position.
As the moto passed the halfway point, it appeared as though Gibson was able to withstand the threat from Wood, as the Yamaha rider gradually started to fall back. Behind them, Malinoski had clawed his way up to fourth and had his sights set on Shane for third.
Wood’s pace dropped dramatically in the late stages of the moto, which allowed Gibson’s lead to approach double digits. As this unfolded, Malinoski made the move around Shane for third with just a couple laps to go, which ultimately proved to be the championship deciding pass.
Gibson was dominant and stormed to the moto win by 12.9 seconds over Wood, with Malinoski charging hard to finish third.
With his late pass for third, Malinoski held on to a single-point advantage in the overall standings to clinch the championship. His 1-2-3 finishes and six points narrowly beat out Gibson (3-3-1) and Wood (4-1-2), who finished tied with seven points apiece. Gibson secured the runner-up spot by virtue of the Moto 3 tiebreaker, while Wood settled for third overall.
