HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. — The second day of action at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by AMSOIL saw the completion of the first set of motos for all 36 classes of competition in addition to the beginning of the second motos for select divisions.
Open Pro Sport
The most dynamic class at the Ranch, Open Pro Sport features a unique mix of elite prospects and vastly experienced veterans. Case in point, defending champion Cole Martinez spent nearly a decade in the pro ranks and is accompanied by the likes of Andrew Short, Heath Harrison, and Jacob Hayes this summer.
Despite the wealth of experience on the gate, it was youth that grabbed the spotlight during Wednesday’s opening moto. Specifically, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Drew Adams.
After an incredible 34th to fourth climb in 250 Pro Sport on Tuesday, Adams enjoyed a much less dramatic outing in the Open division. The Tennessee native positioned himself in a prime spot off the start in third and showed patience in a methodical march to the front.
Adams was consistently the fastest rider on the track and put an exclamation point on his pass for the lead with the fastest lap of the entire moto. He continued to pull away over the second half of the moto and took the checkered flag 16.2 seconds ahead of the field.
Following Adams across the line was fellow Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rider Enzo Temmerman to complete a 1-2 for the decorated OEM effort.Â
The podium was rounded out by NSA Factory Yamaha Team rider Leum Oehlhof, who emerged with the STACYC Holeshot and paced the field on the opening lap.
Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C
Schoolboy 2 also garnered a lot of attention with a talented lineup of B class racers. In the end, it became a showcase of dominance for Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Caden Dudney, who parlayed the STACYC Holeshot into an impressive wire-to-wire performance that saw the Texan make a major statement.
Dudley established a multi-second lead of more than three seconds on the opening lap and continued to add to that advantage, cruising to the finish line 12.9 seconds clear of the field.
The Team Green squad secured another 1-2 effort thanks to a strong closing stretch from Landen Gordon, who took the 250 B win on Tuesday. He became the fastest rider on the track over the second half of the moto and made a last lap pass to snag the runner-up finish.
Third place went to EBR Performance Altus Yamaha’s Landon Hartz.
Supermini 1 (12-15) & Supermini 2 (13-16)
The Supermini class is the highest and most competitive level of the minibike division as up-and-coming racers begin to harness their talents and showcase the capabilities of these small motorcycles.
The race began with the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green ride of Carson Wood out front with the STACYC Holeshot. Right behind him was Darren Pine and the new GASGAS MOB effort, followed by KTM rider Grant McDonald and GASGAS rider Dannyn Reed.
Wood faced heavy pressure from Pine in the early laps but maintained his hold of the lead. However, Pine’s persistence paid off as Wood crashed out of the lead just before the halfway point and remounted in fourth.
The gap between the leaders dipped under a second in the closing laps, but Pine didn’t falter and secured a tight moto win by just 1.2 seconds over McDonald, with Reed right behind them in third.
The action was similarly exciting in the opening Supermini 2 moto, which began with the KTM of Jace Baker secure the STACYC Holeshot, only to be passed initially by McDonald, who was then passed by second generation racer Vincent Wey aboard his Team Husqvarna Amateur Racing machine. The opening laps soon saw a captivating battle between Wey and Reed, who moved up to second, followed closely by KTM rider Brody Barth and McDonald. As Wey looked to inch away, both Barth and McDonald made the move around Reed.
While Wey continued to lead, the other three members of the lead foursome continued to trade positions. That battle allowed Zingg to become the fifth player in the fight, with the California rider overcoming a drop down to 10th in the running order early on.
As the race surpassed the halfway point the top three started to tighten up with Wey facing heavy pressure from both McDonald and Zingg, who were the two fastest riders on the track.
With just a few laps remaining Zingg laid down the fastest lap of the moto to vault from third to first on the same lap and set sail through the finish, leaving both McDonald, who moved up to second, and Wey behind him.
Zingg stormed to the moto win by 3.9 seconds over McDonald, while Wey lost pace late to finish third.
250 Pro Sport
As the wave of second motos got underway over the second half of Wednesday’s action it provided an opportunity to see the budding superstars of 250 Pro Sport return to the track. As the moto got underway, NSA Factory Yamaha Team rider Avery Long was at the head of the pack with the STACYC Holeshot. Long was able to maintain his hold of the lead early on, but a hard-charging Drew Adams, fresh off his Open Pro Sport triumph, had his sights set on tracking down the Yamaha. However, Adam went down and lost several positions, eventually remounting in sixth.
Back up front, Long enjoyed a comfortable margin over his NSA Factory Yamaha Team teammate Leum Oehlhof but gave it up with a crash in the Ten Commandments.
That allowed Oehlhof to take over the lead as Adams remounted in second. As the moto entered the late stages it looked as though it was going to be a head-to-head battle between the Yamaha duo.
However, they made contact with one another and both fell to the ground. That opened the door for Adams, who had clawed his way back up to third, to seize control of the moto.
Once out front with a clear track, Adams set sail and easily distanced himself from the field. The Tennessee native went on to wrap up a sweep of his two Wednesday motos, taking the checkered flag 3.5 seconds ahead of SLR Honda’s Parker Ross, who kept it on two wheels to capture a quiet runner-up finish. Long rebounded to finish third.
Senior (40+)
After an exciting first moto saw Andrew Short prevail with the win aboard his KTM, all eyes were on the potential rivalry between Short and Munn Racing KTM’s Mike Brown as the Senior class returned to the track for Moto 2.
A fall while leading the first moto proved to be a difference maker for Brown, who entered Wednesday determined to get back on top the podium. As the gate dropped to open the second moto it was indeed Brown who seized the moment to charge to the STACYC Holeshot and sprint away from Short and the rest of the field on the opening lap. Brown proceeded to establish a torrid pace through the first half of the moto, which allowed him to eventually build a lead of more than four seconds over Short, who kept Brown honest for several laps.
Brown’s consistency allowed him to move further and further away from the field. His lead soon grew to double digits as wrapped up a convincing wire-to-wire performance to steal the momentum from Short, who finished nearly 13 seconds back in the runner-up spot.
Finishing third was defending champion Jeff Emig.
Other Winners
65cc (7-9): Beckham Smith, Canyon, Texas, KTM
250 C Jr. (12-17) Unlimited: Kaiden Vargas, Newcastle, CA, Honda
450 B Limited: Seth Dennis, Brooksville, Fla., KTM
85cc (10-12) Limited: Nolan Ford, Fairfield, Calif., KTM
Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C: Owen Covell, Plymouth, Mass., Yamaha
Senior (45+): Shane Kelleher, Cumberland, R.I., Honda
250 C Limited: Sawyer Treadwell, Tecumseh, Okla., Husqvarna
WMX: Kyleigh Stallings, Yukon, Okla., Kawasaki
65cc (10-11): Jaydin Smart, Berry Creek, Calif., Cobra
Vet (30+): Brando Haas, Chesterfield, Calif., Yamaha
450 B: Diesel Thomas, Raymond, Neb., Husqvarna
125 C: Carson Asay, Vancouver, Wash., KTM
85cc (10-12): Braxtyn Mes, Temecula, Calif., Husqvarna
65cc (7-9) Limited: Maverick Gresham-Lewis, Yuba City, Calif., GASGAS
Mini Sr. 2 (13-15): Dane Pappas, Livermore, Calif., GASGAS
450 C: Jason Norwood, Howell, Mich., Husqvarna
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