Race Report: Loretta Lynn's, Tuesday
HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. — The 2018 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, officially started yesterday from the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Cloudy skies graced the facility as the day started for the 37th running of the world's largest and most prestigious amateur motocross championship.
The first gate drop of the AMA Amateur National was the 450 B class, which started off the full day of racing at 7:30 a.m. Joshua Strickland quickly jumped to the front of the pack and continued to lead the race from start to finish. The second moto win went to Darin Downs, who also lead the Vet 30+ moto start to finish. Last year's Vet 30+ Champion, Taylor Painter, finished the day in fifth.
As moto five of the Mini Sr 1 (12-13) class, took to the track, Myles Gilmore found himself at the front of the pack when the checkered flag flew, with Kyle Smith and Dakota Aldredge following, while Gavin Towers came through in the fifth place position. Ryder Difrancesco came away with an eighth-place finish in moto one. The Masters (50+) had a heated battle that came down to the last corner between John Grewe and Barry Carsten. Grewe came away with the win with Carsten in second, followed by Michael Keating, Gaylon Dickson and Early May rounding out the top five.
When the 250 A gate dropped, it was Derek Drake grabbing the Bell Helmets holeshot award and the lead, with Seth Hammaker behind him in second. Hammaker would make the pass for the lead on lap two, while Mitchell Falk found himself working through the pack and making the pass on lap three to get into the third-place position. Dylan Greer and Tanner Stack followed Falk, passing Justin Rodbell. When the riders came around on lap six, a battle was brewing, as Drake closed the gap on Hammaker. However, Drake would not have enough to make the pass back for the lead, ultimately seeing Hammaker come through first as the checkered flag came out. Drake would follow in second, with Stack taking the final podium position.
The Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C saw a stacked class, with Pierce Brown taking the moto one win, followed by Jalek Swoll and Joe Shimoda. The highly anticipated Junior (25+) class took the track, where James Roberts jumped out to the early lead; however, by lap three, Michael Brown had moved into the number-one spot and remained there until the finish. Ricky Renner moved into the third-place position, and by the time the checkered flag came out, Renner had moved up to the second-place position. Roberts took the third-place position after earning himself the Bell Helmets holeshot award.
Lining up on the gate this afternoon were 42 of the fastest ladies, and Jazzymn Canfield found the front of the pack early on in the moto, where she led the moto for two laps. Jordan Jarvis applied the pressure and made the pass during the second lap, ultimately earning the first Women (12+) moto of the week. Canfield held onto her second-place position, and after a 12th-place start, Tayler Allred worked her way up to third, rounding out the podium. Katie Benson found herself in a favorable position and finished the moto in fourth, with Landrey Hazen, the 422 Nathan Hall Memorial Scholarship winner, rounding out the top five.
Perhaps the most intense race of the day was the 250 B moto, where Jalek Swoll earned the Bell Helmets holeshot, and Pierce Brown took the lead early in the moto. Italy's Andrea Adamo found himself in the top four on lap one; however, he would fall off the pace and finish 20th spot. Brown and Swoll would continue to battle at the front, coming through on lap two side by side. On lap five, Brown would go down, letting Swoll and Joe Shimoda get past him. With only two laps remaining Swoll tipped over in a corner, letting Shimoda past. Shimoda would hold onto the first-place position and take the win while Swoll held onto second. Brown would remain in the third-place position after his crash.
Deemed the elite class of the AMA Amateur National, the up-and-coming stars were eager for moto one gate drop for the Open Pro Sport class. The #91 of Curren Thurman got a good jump off the gate to earn the holeshot; however, it was Justin Rodbell in the lead early on in the moto. Thurman followed Rodbell, but had company from Derek Drake and Dylan Greer. Rodbell led the way the first three laps, but on the fourth lap, Jyire Mitchell made his way past and into the lead. Mitchell lead the lap until Drake came through, taking over the lead as they crossed the line for the fifth lap. Drake would remain in the lead and earn the moto one win and set his sights on the coveted championship. Seth Hammaker started the moto outside the top ten, but he would manage to work himself up to the second-place position by lap six and hold that spot until the end. Mitchell Falk also found himself struggling to stay at the front of the pack early on in the moto, but as the two-lap board went out, Falk had fought his way up to the third-place position and continued to hold that spot as the moto came to a close. Thurman, who earned the holeshot, finished fourth, with Bermuda's Jyire Mitchell finishing fifth.
As the day came to a close, the Supermini 2 (13-16) class took to the track at 6:30 p.m. CDT. As the gate dropped and the riders made their way around the track, it was Nate Thrasher tripling into the back section of the track called "Storyland" and taking the moto lead. Thrasher would continue to triple, and he was able to finish the race 15 seconds ahead of second place. Maximus Vohland battled his way from a fifth-place start to second, while Kaeden Amerine made a last-lap pass on Talon Hawkins to land on the final step of the podium.
Day two of racing will resume today, Wednesday, August 1, with the remaining opening motos and the beginning of the second set of motos. RacerTV continues with live streaming coverage beginning at 11 a.m. EST/10 a.m. CDT.
Tuesday's archived coverage is now available on RacerTV.com, to view the racing action from day one, please click here, while complete results from the National Championship can be found here.
The 2018 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by Lucas Oil is taking place now through August 4 at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Tuesday Class Winners
- 450 B - Joshua Strickland
- Vet (30+) - Darin Downs
- 125 C - Tristin Moffitt
- 85cc (9-11) Limited - Daxton Bennick
- Mini Sr. 1 (12-13) - Myles Gilmore
- Masters (50+) - John Grewe
- 250 A - Seth Hammaker
- Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C - Pierce Brown
- 65cc (10-11) Limited - Landon Gordon
- 250 C - Sam Martin
- Junior (25+) - Michael Brown
- 65cc (7-9) Limited - Drew Adams
- Mini Sr. 2 (12-14) - Caden Braswell
- Women (12+) - Jordan Jarvis
- 250 B - Joe Shimoda
- Open Pro Sport - Derek Drake
- Senior (40+) - Michael Brown
- 250 C Limited - Nick Norton
- 125cc (12-17) B/C - Preston Kilroy
- 450 B Limited - Parker Mashburn
- College (18-24) - Richard Taylor
- Supermini 2 (13-16) - Nate Thrasher