B Class

The situation above is why I often say the B class is the toughest. Some fast kids graduate early and never race Pro Sport at Loretta’s. Others come back and race Pro Sport twice (like Temmerman did). Most everyone faces off before that in B, though, and specifically the classes for modified 250Fs, 250 B and Schoolboy 2, are where the biggest prospects play. This year Deacon Denno won both of those titles and the coveted AMA Amateur Rider of the Year Award. Denno is racing for KTM right now, but rumors say he’s talking to Triumph. He also said he’s not sure he will be back at Loretta’s next year—if he keeps advancing, he could be a full-on pro in 2026. We’ll see.

Denno finished first or second in all six of his motos, but Star Yamaha’s Carson Wood was also fast. He crashed way too many times to be a title contender but did come back to win the final Schoolboy 2 moto of the week over Denno. Was Denno cruising to lock down the title? Probably, but Wood can claim he was fast enough to lay the wood to the comp if he stayed up. Wood was racing minis last year and is one of the smallest kids on a 250F, so the potential is obvious once he gets a little stronger. He gets good starts and runs up front though, which is a good sign. 

Other stars in B include Massachusetts’ Owen Covell, who broke out last year in the 125 classes and was eager to prove he could win in those super-tough B classes this year. He somewhat did prove that with 1-3-2 moto scores in 250 B for second behind Denno, and the 450 B title. Covell is a little older than a lot of the kids in B and not everyone was sure what to make of the 125-dominance last year. But that doesn’t make future success impossible, as Justin Cooper once carved a similar path. Also, a shoutout to second-generation racer McKayden Fitch who won 250 B Limited.

Minis

You can break the 85-style classes down to three groups. There’s Supermini at the top, for big-wheeled bikes with punched-out displacement, then Mini Sr for 85s with the big wheels, and then 85 (10-12) with smaller wheels the younger kids. Each group had a standout. In Supermini, Darren Pine returned from big injuries last year at Loretta’s to win both titles, one in dramatic fashion. Folks on the amateur side have been saying “It’s Pine time” for a while now and his return to form this year did nothing to dampen that enthusiasm. He could be the next “it” kid coming out of amateurs.

In Mini Sr, Tayce Morgan won both titles and did it with slick, Cooper Webb style grit and race craft. Other kids could catch him and might have been faster, but Morgan rode so smart to hold them off without being dirty, and then twice he made counter moves to retake the lead. When others made mistakes, he took advantage. Again, very Webb-like and that’s high praise. Also, like Webb, Morgan races a Yamaha. Yamaha also won a title with the YZ65 for the first time via Tate Brush in 65 (7-9). KTM had been cleaning up the minicycle ranks for years, so if you’re looking for some cracks in the foundation there, this is it. It’s also worth noting that Team Green is out of the minibike racing game, it appears, as it hasn’t significantly updated its bike for a while. Yamaha is the only Japanese manufacturer that has continued to update its minicycles and that could really pay off if KTM has to make some tough choices.

The AMA’s Youth Rider of the Year Award, though, went to Sawyer Gieck, who is one age bracket down in (10-12). Yes, he was on a KTM. That’s a tough class because at that age most kids fit on 85s, so you’re generally racing the fastest kids your age, bar none (by the time you get to Supermini, there could be a bigger kid your age who is already on a 125 or 250F). Gieck, in that gnarly class, swept all six of his motos. Damned impressive. Gieck won the Youth Rider of the Year Award for his performance. 

The Girls

Probably the biggest story of the week was the sudden success of three young girls who battled the boys for podiums in three different classes. That’s never really happened at all before, and this year three of them did it! The headliner is Raycin Kyler, who won the 65 (10-11) class. Kannon Zanojnik, recently crowned World Champion at the FIM Junior World Championship, was the favorite there but crashed off the start of moto three, and Kyler went 4-2-2 to take the title. If you were watching on Racer TV, you’d know this was not a lucky title, as her style and speed are plenty legit. Kyler is now under the wing of Eric Sorby, and he says in nine months he took her from a girl who didn’t even qualify for Loretta’s last year to winning this year!

Kyler is the first-ever female champion at Loretta’s in a non-female designated class (Women’s or Girls). Yumena Berning made some history of her own in the younger 65 (7-9) Limited class, as she grabbed second in her first moto of the week, the first-ever female podium in an open class. She followed it with another second and came within a last-lap battle of winning the title! So that was nearly two championships for girls. Also, this year’s Girls (11-16) champ, Hannah Jamison, showed good speed battling around the top five in a lot of her Mini Sr motos. At the top of that chain, Lachlan “Lala” Turner not only dominated the WMX (Women’s) class, but she also showed top-ten speed in 250 B Limited (all while doing so with a banged up shoulder!). I don’t know what’s going on, but suddenly these girls are ripping, and with WMX returning to the pro scene and these awesome performances from Loretta’s, you know it will only inspire more girls to go fast. Good stuff for the sport.

PW Drama

Loretta’s offers three classes for very young riders, Shaft Drive (4-6) for Yamaha PWs, then (4-6) limited for Cobras and Mini E (4-7) for electric bikes. The more advanced riders race on the Cobras or the electrics. The PW class is a tradition and designed as a low-cost entry point for newer racers. The reputation, of course, for 50cc racing is that the parents are absolutely crazy, and this year’s PW class is generating a lot of attention on that front. Knox Ray, son of Loretta’s royalty Jessica Patterson and Eddie Ray, won the class, but he was protested, and his bike was torn down and deemed (very) illegal. The title then went to second-place Steele Crocker, who also had two members of his own family getting into an argument under the tents after the finish of the third moto!

Personally, I made the mistake of logging into Facebook after the race (never a smart move) and I’m seeing all sorts of posts about the PW class being “broken” because this kind of thing happens “all the time.” Well, yes, the class has a hilarious cliché’ reputation, but reality is this type of thing actually, factually, rarely happens. In my 24 years of going to Loretta’s, this is only the second time I’ve seen a PW champ stripped of a title due to bike mods. Twice in 24 years is not a trend. Also, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen an argument under the tent. Ever. I understand the spotlight was brighter this year because the original winner is Jessica Patterson’s son, but you can’t make rash decisions based on one instance. If we’re all going to complain that bikes cost too much, don’t complain about a stock PW class, and certainly not after the AMA rules actually worked to enforce the stock rules. In other words, don’t fix what isn’t broken.

See you next year!