Friday is a special day at the Loretta Lynn Ranch. It’s the day all the hours and hours on the track or in the gym finally pay off. From the adorable Ryder Difrancesco to the grizzled vets of John Grewe and Earl May, twenty-one champions in all were crowned yesterday.
In his first appearance at the Ranch on big bikes, Austin Forkner claimed his first B Class title yesterday over Chase Sexton and Michael Mosiman. Sexton and Forkner had squared off all week, but Sexton needed help after 2-2 moto scores put him in a hole. And he got it, as Mosiman passed Forkner for the lead early in the moto. Unfortunately, Sexton was buried off the start and had to work his way through the field. He did make his way to third, but it wasn’t enough as Forkner cruised to the title with a second place finish behind Mosiman.
Another youngster making waves at the Ranch is Jett Reynolds. One of the Bakersfield Bunch, Reynolds sweep the 85 (9-11) Limited Class to claim his fifth title at the Ranch. Reynolds, who has consecutive titles in 51cc and 65cc, can make history today as he enters 85 (9-11) with 1-1 moto scores. If Reynolds can take care of business, he would become the first rider to win two championships in 51cc, 65cc and 85cc in three consecutive years.
Garrett Marchbanks, another member of Team Green, captured the Super Mini 1 (12-15) title in impressive fashion. Marchbanks is a hot commodity at the moment, with teams jockeying to sign the Utah native. To claim a second title today in Super Mini 2 (13-16) Marchbanks will need to best KTM’s Derek Drake, who enters Saturday with moto scores of 2-1 compared to Marchbanks 1-2.
For more from the Ranch, check out the MX Sports race report below.
The 2015 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by AMSOIL crowned the first 21 National Champions on Friday as the second to last day of racing took place in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The Loretta Lynn Ranch hosted another perfect day for racing as temperatures and track conditions were nothing short of ideal for the start of the final motos.
The first national title of 2015 was presented to Justin Cooper (1-1-1) in Two-Stroke, who was challenged by Jacob Williamson (3-2-4) and Austin Dodd (2-9-3). Austin Forkner (1-1-2) proved he was a force to be reckoned with this week winning his first 250 B title. Chase Sexton pushed for the lead but fell short with a 2-2-3 overall. Michael Mosiman won the third moto to take third overall (4-4-1).
It has been another Ricky Renner show again in the Junior (25+) division. In 2014 he won the class with a three moto podium sweep, and this year was no different as he went 1-1-1 for the overall championship. Sebastian Tortelli didn't just hand over the championship, he finished right behind Renner every moto.
In a crazy battle for the 250 A championship, focus and willpower proved to be the key. Mitchell Harrison (2-1-4) topped the box, Darian Sanayei (4-5-1) was second and Lorenzo Locurcio of Venezuela claimed third (7-8-3).
In 85cc (9-11) Limited, Jett Reynolds finished strong to claim the title with 1-1-1 scores. Caden Braswell (5-2-2) and Luke Kalaitzian (6-3-3) finished second and third. Marco Cannelia (1-3-4), Mitchell Falk (6-1-2) and Brock Papi (4-2-3) finished on the podium in Schoolboy 1 (12-16) B/C.
The inaugural Women All-Star (16+) division involved battles all week long, but it was Mackenzie Tricker that would take home consecutive national titles with 1-2-2 finishes. Brandy Richards (3-3-5) and Kirsten Raemisch (2-4-7) finished second and third. Gracie Van Horn (1-2-2), Annie Wernig (3-3-4) and Danielle Foot (4-5-3) followed the All-Star class positions on the podium in the Women's (14+) division.
Brandon Hartranft dominated 450 B. Hawaii's Kai Mukai (2-6-6) took home second with Jared Jennings (5-9-5) in third.
At the beginning of the week things started off slow for Benny Bloss, but he quickly capitalized on his third place in the first moto of Open Pro Sport to win the championship with a 3-1-1 over Marshal Weltin (1-3-2) and Mitchell Harrison (4-4-3).
The Mini Sr. 2 (12-14) class consisted of great racing all week long. Pierce Brown clinched the title over Carson Mumford, Ty Masterpool, and Jarrett Frye. Frye (1-4-3) would take second and Mumford (5-3-4) third. Garrett Marchbanks (2-1-1), won the Super Mini 1 class over Lance Kobusch (1-3-2) and Conner Mullennix (4-4-5).
The 51cc (7-8) Limited class was claimed by Casey Cochran (2-2-1) followed by Moon Gerrits (5-4-5) and Krystian Janik (7-6-2). Emile Lacher (1-1-1) made it a clean sweep in the 51cc (4-6) Special Limited class, followed by Barrett Keiffer (8-3-2) and Bryson Tolliver (6-4-5). In 51cc (4-6) Limited William Canaguier held on for the title with a 1-2-1, topping Sam Garroutte (2-1-2) and Manual Dumais (3-4-4). In the final 51cc class the 51cc (4-6) Shaft Drive Limited Canyon Richards (1-1-1) held off Seth Dennis (3-2-2) and Preston Payne (7-8-3).
In the 65cc divisions, Maximus Vohland swept all three motos for the (10-11) Limited Championship. Ryder Difrancesco (1-1-2) fought hard until the end to take the 65 (7-9) Limited title.
In the age divisions it would be John Grewe with a podium sweep in Senior (45+), Barry Carsten right behind him (2-2-2) and Dag Boyesen rounding out the podium with a (3-4-6). The Masters (50+) took to the track for the last time and Earl May came out victorious (1-1-2). Rodney Smith finished second (2-2-1) and Barry McCarty was third (3-3-3).
The final day of racing will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, crowning the remainder of the National Champions. Live streaming coverage courtesy of RacerTV begins Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. CDT / 3:30 p.m. EST.
Archived coverage is now available from the first four days of racing on RacerTV.com, to view please click HERE.
Complete results from the 2014 National Championship can be found HERE and Live Timing & Scoring can be accessed HERE.