| November 24, 2015
The 250 A class gets underway in Florida. PHOTOS: RICKY RENNER
Day one of Mini O’s in Florida in in the books. The riders hit the track for the first time this week at 7:30 when practice got underway. The track looked to be extremely tacky and forming lots of good lines. It was shaping up to be a good day of racing.
Battles are already raging in the 65cc divisions.
Racing kicked off with the 250 A class. Recent B class graduates Austin Forkner and Chase Sexton have joined riders like Bradley Taft and Henry Miller. When the gate dropped, it was Kawasaki’s Forkner and Geico Honda’s Sexton fighting for the holeshot. Forkner would lead lap one with a small gap over Sexton. Florida rider DJ Macfarlane had a good battle with Taft for most of the race before surrendering third place late in the moto. At the checkers, it was Forkner taking the first win of the week with a comfortable gap of Sexton. Taft would come home third followed by Macfarlane and McAdoo.
Austin Forkner (left) is already off to a fast start. He grabbed the first win of the week.
250 C limited saw full gates in all three divisions. Division 1 had a good battle from start to finish between Perry Warren and Johnny Murphy. Warren would come out on top and secure first gate pick for the Main.
Division 2 saw Austin Watling take the win over Stetson Johnson and Jordon Fancher. Zachary Robinson would holeshot division three and lead wire to wire. He was followed by a hard charging battle between Salvatore Cusimano and Locky Kennedy. This 250 C limited class is definitely one to watch come main event time.
Zachary Robinson scored a wire-to-wire win in 250 C Limited, Division 3.
Schoolboy 2 is always one of the most competitive classes. This weeks heavy hitters include names like Enzo Lopes, Joey Crown, Challen Tennant, Carter Halpain, Jayce Pennington, Ramyller Alves, Parker Mashburn, Tanner Stack, Scott Meshey, Tyler Pantley, Marco Cannella, Garrett Marchbanks, Jordan Bailey, Brock Papi, and Jake Masterpool. And those are just a few names that could win the class.
Division 1 would see a great battle up front between two KTM riders, Challen Tennant and Enzo Lopes. Lopes would come out on top with Tennant close behind. Greer, Alves, and Wilkins would round out your top five. In division 2, newcomer to the class, Garrett Marchbanks would show everyone that he is no slouch. He would take the win over Jordan Bailey with both riders we setting impressive lap times. Dickinson, Masterpool, and Lyonsmith would round out your top five.
Garrett Marchbanks has a win under his belt in Schoolboy 2, Division 2.
The 65 (7-9) class is full of up and coming hot shots, Division 1 had a great race between Ryder Difrancesco and Nicholas Romano. Both riders were first and second the entire race. Difrancesco would make a few runs at Romano, but every time Romano would answer back, and hold on for the win. Daxton Bennick had a solid ride to round out the podium.
Challen Tennant has a second-place finish in Schoolboy 2.
Division 2 was just as exciting. Haiden Deegan just makes riding a bike look effortless, he has so much style, and it’s fun to watch. He would take the win with Krystian Janick and Casey Cochran battling behind him for the number two spot.
At the end of the day, it was great racing capped off by the pie eating contest and the Scott Tug-O-War. Things are coming together to be a great week of racing.
By Ricky Renner