Hurricane Mills, Tenn. - The 2015 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by AMSOIL officially got underway today at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee for the thirty-fourth running of the world's largest and most prestigious amateur motocross championship.
The first official gate drop of the 34th annual event was the College (16-24) where Justin Cooper from Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. took home the win in the 7:30 a.m. moto. The following moto was Junior (25+) where the reigning champion, Ricky Renner fought to hold defend his National championship from World Champion Sebastian Tortelli, but Renner crossed the finish line victorious.
Tanner Stack claimed the Bell Holeshot Award in 250B, all while being in front of a bulky pileup that affected a large portion of the riders. While Austin Forkner lead there was a battle brewing for the remaining positions, these intense battles lead to tip-overs and mistakes especially for Josh Mosiman and Stack. Overall it was Austin Forkner taking the first moto win, with Chase Sexton in second and Sean Cantrell rounding out the top three.
Open Pro Sport is often referred to as elite class at Loretta's and that was proved today when some of the biggest names in amateur racing pushed through the heat in pursuit of a National Championship. Shelby Peterson jumped out to grab the holeshot, but the lead was quickly taken over by Chase Marquire and he was followed closely by Egan Mastin, Jerry Robin, Ricky Renner, and Cody Chisholm. Mastin takes the checkered flag first, but is docked one position due to jumping on a red cross flag. Marshal Weltin takes the official first moto win, with Mastin and Benny round out the podium.
The veterans of the sport came out and verified that they still have plenty of action left to prove from the following year in the Masters 50+. Rodney Smith and Earl May picked back up from where they left on in 2014 and fought neck-and-neck followed by Barry McCarty, Raymond Niebel, and Mark Harshman. In the end it would May, Smith, and McCarty.
Perhaps the most exciting youth class of the day was the 65 (7-9) Limited when Ryder Difrancesco pushes his way to the front after Chance Hymas took the holeshot. Also fighting for first place was Nicholas Romano who took over the lead when Difrancesco bobbled and fell down. However, he was able to push he way to the top again and win by two seconds. Difrancesco stands on top of the podium with Romano beside him in second and Hymas in third.
Kai Mukai from Hawaii took the holeshot and early lead in 450B Limited, but quickly succumbed to the hard charging of Brandon Hartranft who continued to hold the lead throughout the 20 minute moto. Mukai plays consistent and finishes second with Sam Wise in third.
The brand new Womens All-Star (16+) division took its inaugural gate drop at Loretta's with Kylie Fasnacht taking the first ever holeshot home in the brand-new class. Multi-year National Title holder Jessica Patterson quickly moved upfront to lead the pack until Taylor Higgins makes the pass. The lead continued to change multiple times with the top names in female motocross trying to place on the podium, but at the end of the day it was Mackenzie Tricker in first, Kirsten Raemisch in second, and Brandy Richards in third.
Day two of racing will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29, with the remaining opening motos along with the beginning of the second set of motos. RacerTV continues with live streaming coverage beginning at 10:30 EST/ 9:30 CDT.
Tuesday's achieved coverage is now available on RacerTV.com, to view the racing action from day one please click here. Complete results from the 2015 National Championship can be found here and Live Timing and Scoring can be accessed here.
The 34th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur Motocross Championship presented by AMSOIL is taking place now through Aug. 1 at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. For more information, visit the series official website at www.mxsports.com or call (304) 284-0084.
