AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship Continues

The first appearance of the Schoolboy 1 class signified the second time on track for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Evan Ferry. While the second-generation racer enjoyed a strong start Tuesday, it was bittersweet given a late-race miscue resulted in a missed win. Wednesday’s moto provided an opportunity to rebound.
 
The moto began with Grindstone Compound KTM’s Kayden Smith out front in the early stages, with On Track School/GPF/KTM’s Jordan Renfro in second and Ferry in third. The Husqvarna showed patience in the opening laps and methodically worked his way around both Renfro and Smith to take control of the moto.
 
Once out front, Ferry quickly established a comfortable lead that he continued to build on over the course of the moto. He was never challenged en route to an assertive moto win, followed by Best in second and KTM rider Ivan Aldama Jr. in third. EBR Performance Yamaha’s Crockett Myers was fourth, with KTM rider Trevor Colip completing the top five.

After a dominant performance Tuesday in Supermini 1, all eyes were on KTM Orange Brigade’s Haiden Deegan in his quest for a pair of AMA National Championships. The second-generation racer entered as a heavy favorite, but had his work cut out for him in the early stages of the opening Supermini 2 moto.
 
Off the start it was Monster Energy/Vision Wheel/GASGAS’ Casey Cochran who secured the STACYC Holeshot ahead of JMC Motorsports GASGAS’ Reven Gordon. Cochran went down on the opening lap, which handed the lead over to Gordon, followed by Race Tech KTM’s Dilon Blecha and Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Krystian Janik. Well behind all this action up front was Deegan, who endured through a challenging opening lap and came around in 16th place. Deegan’s lack of presence at the front of the pack was an unusual sight at Loretta Lynn’s, but it provided an opportunity to see him work his way through the field. 

Back out front, Gordon continued to lead the way, but KTM Orange Brigade’s Enzo Temmerman was on the move. He made his way up to third, then second, and made the pass on Gordon to grab the lead. Janik was in pursuit of Temmerman and was able to fight his way up to second.
 
While Temmerman asserted his hold on the lead the attention shifted to Deegan, who defied the odds and put himself into the top three. With less than two minutes to go Deegan made the pass on Janik for second, but shortly thereafter he failed to complete a tabletop jump that Janik had already committed to. Janik landed on Deegan in a frightening incident that saw Janik continue on while Deegan quickly moved out of harm’s way and fortunately did not appear to be injured. Unfortunately for Deegan, his race, and likely his hopes of a Supermini 1 title, ended there.
 
Zemmerman went on to take the moto win over Janik, but both riders were penalized following the conclusion of the race and docked two positions apiece. That moved KTM rider Adler Caudle to the top of the results, with Rides Unlimited KTM’s Noah Viney in second. Zemmerman was dropped to third and Janik to fourth, with Blecha in fifth.

Arguably the most accomplished class at Loretta Lynn’s is Senior (45+), which boasts former AMA Pro Motocross champions Jeff Emig and Mike Brown, in addition to multi-time National winner Ryan Hughes. They’re accompanied by the likes of Barry Carsten, Kurt Nicoll, Kevin Walker, and more.
 
A lot of excitement surrounded the first gate drop for this division, from which Brown emerged with the STACYC Holeshot aboard his Rockstar Energy/Munn Racing Husqvarna with Walker in pursuit aboard his Ulrich Performance/Triangle Cycles Suzuki. As Brown looked to take advantage of the clear track, Walker and The Wick 338/Pilgrim Powersports Kawasaki’s Keith Johnson battled for second, with Johnson gaining the advantage.
 
The holeshot worked like a charm for Brown, who found himself more than seven seconds clear of the field at the completion of the opening lap. At that point his lead was going to be too much to overcome, so the attention shifted to the battle behind him. Johnson gained a firm hold on second, but soon had Emig and his Shift MX Husqvarna pressuring from third. Johnson and Emig engaged in an exceptional battle that saw the Husqvarna make the pass halfway through the moto. Johnson didn’t give up and the battle reignited in the closing stages. Johnson reclaimed the position from Emig and then posted his fastest lap of the moto to put the finishing touches on the pass.
 
Brown went wire-to-wire for the moto win, with Johnson second and Emig third. Hughes was fourth aboard his Rynopower Honda, while Carsten completed the top five on his RM Army Suzuki.