Former Pee Wee champ Jett Reynolds continued to tear it up in the 65cc class. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
A little bit of normalcy returned for day three of the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Tennessee on Thursday. Warm temperatures for most of the day dried out the track for the first time this week, and it was a day that also saw the water truck in action for the first time, as well.
It was a full day of racing Thursday after heavy rains put a temporary halt to racing on Wednesday. Race organizers used the excellent weather conditions to squeeze in as many motos as possible in hopes of getting back to the original schedule.
With the new day came the start of the second set of motos, and that’s where the championship battles begin to take shape. With 23 classes already through moto two of the three-race format, riders in 12 of those classes remain undefeated in their field of competition.
Former factory racer Tim Ferry was back in action on Thursday. He continued to dominate the Junior 25+ plus division, winning again for the second time over Mike Sleeter and James Povolny, and he looks like a sure bet to win the championship. But, in the Vet 35+, the same cannot be said.
After finishing ahead of Robbie Reynard in the first moto on Tuesday, two crashes on the still wet track (Thursday morning) in the second Vet 35+ opened the door for Reynard to take the second-moto win. Ferry was running third on the last lap and desperately needed to get around James Evans to keep his title hopes alive. Ferry pulled out the stops and got around Evans and will now head into a final-moto, winner-take-all showdown with Reynard for the class championship.
Kevin Foley and longtime rival David Hand went at it in the second Masters 50+ moto. Foley, who won the first moto over Hand, found himself in second place, right behind Hand, on the last lap of the second moto. Foley made a big push to get by Hand, knowing a second in the moto would put them into a final-moto showdown for the class championship. Like Ferry, Foley dropped the hammer and slipped by Hand on the final go-around to take the win. That means that Foley can finish second to Hand in the final moto and still take the class champion, which will be Foley’s 10th title at Loretta’s.
Amsoil/Factory Connection Honda’s Matt Bisceglia kept his winning streak alive in the second moto of the Open Pro Sport class, but he had to work for it. After a multi-lap battle with Paul Coates, Bisceglia reeled in and passed RJ Hampshire for the lead and eventual win with room to spare.
Coates held off Shane McElrath for second.
Cameron Cannon (17) maintained consistency in the Mini Sr. (12-14) class where he grabbed the moto-two win on Thursday. Cannon sits in good shape heading into the final moto with a moto score of 5-2, but he will have tough competition with Enzo Lopes (8-2), Joey Crown (2-3), Chase Sexton (3-4) and Tanner Stack (4-5) on the line.
There was more great racing in the 65cc classes, including the second moto of the (10-11) Limited class, where Aiden Tijero came out on top. Tijero will go into the final with a 4-1 and Ty Masterpoole with a 2-2.
Two-time Motocross World Champion Trampas Parker grabbed his second win of the week with a wire-to-wire victory in the Senior (45+) class. John Grewe (2-2) continues to be Parker’s biggest threat, but Parker is looking good for the class championship.
Barry Carsten finished third for the second time.
In the Women’s 14+ class, Mackenzie Tricker claimed her second victory of the week over Hannah Hodges (4-2) and Alexah Pearson (5-3).
Hannah claimed a second win in the Girls (12-16) class, while Jazzmyn Canfield topped the (9-11) class for the second time as well.
There was a new winner in the Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C class. After a tough start, where he finished 16th in the first moto, Benny Bloss took out his aggressions in the second moto and took a hard-fought win over Kyler West and moto-one winner Ryan Surratt.
Austin Forkner took Thursday’s win in the Supermini 1 (12-15) to go along with his first-moto fifth, but it will be tough for him to beat Rockstar Suzuki’s Mitchell Harrison, who will go into the final with a 1-2.
Jett Reynolds has swept both motos of the (7-8) division, as well as the 65cc (7-9) Limited class.
The 51cc (4-5) Special Limited class and 51cc (4-6) Shaft Drive Limited class race ran together on double starting gates, and Daxton Bennick and Kyler Rhom came away with the class wins.
And one of the highlights of the day was a big win by Haiden Deegan in the 51cc (4-6) Limited division. Deegan, Brian Deegan’s son, blasted out of the gate and into the lead and never looked back. Unfortunately, an eighth in the first moto will make it nearly impossible for him to win the class championship, which looks to be Casey Cochran’s for the taking.
The Texan, Cochran, will go into the final with a safe 2-2.
