| November 27, 2015
Austin Forkner grabbed another win, this one coming in the 450 A class in the Motocross category. Photos: Ricky Renner
Practice got underway bright and early for the motocross portion of the Florida Mini O’s at Gatorback on Thurday, November 26—Thanksgiving Day. It was the riders’ first chance to see the motocross track, and for some riders, it was the first time the hit the track at all here at Mini O’s. The added sand and deep plowed track has made for lots of deep ruts and a rough track. We provided the playground today for some excellent racing.
The 250 B Limited was the first gate drop. In division 1, it was Dylan Walsh with the holeshot. Challen Tennant would pressure Walsh into an early mistake to take the lead. The deep plowed track made the track a bit difficult to pass on so the order would stay the same the rest of the moto. Tennant, Walsh, and Nolan Heppner were top three.
Austin Winslow is smokin’ it on his YZ250 two-stroke. He won 250 B Division 2.
Division 2 saw Justin Boyd with the holeshot. Quickly, Austin Winslow put his YZ250 up front, and use that power to pull a comfortable gap. Tanner Stack looked to have a comfortable second place until the #946 Yamaha of Jake Masterpool came blitzing thrjough the pack to steal the seond spot late in the moto. The top three ended up being Winslow, Masterpool, and Stack.
Old guys need some love, too, right? It may be the Masters 55+ class, but they don’t ride like they are 55+. Harvey Sorensen Jr. dropped the hammer early and checked out. Balateau Jacky came from deep in the pack to take the second spot away from Kevin Brule. Brule would end up third, but props to all these guys for getting out there and continuing to do what they love.
Harvey Sorensen Jr. checked out in the 55+ group.
The 450 A class had some good battles as always. Austin Forkner got out front and opened a small gap, but the battle for second seemed never ending. Lorenzo Locurcio, Bradley Taft, Chase Sexton, and Cameron McAdoo fought to the end. At one point in the moto, I think each rider had the position. Forkner executed a perfect moto, with the wire-to-wire win. Locurcio ended up seond and Taft made some moves to take the final podium spot and set himself up for a shot at the championship.
The 65 (10-11) Limited racers hit the track late in the day, and to no one’s surprise, Matthew Leblanc put in another awesome ride. Leblanc has been on fire all week and has won every moto he has been in. Ryan Canaguier grabbed the holeshot but slipped back to the number-four spot by the end of the moto, still a solid finish. Florida riders Evan Ferry and Marcello Leodorico finished up second and third, respectively.
Matthew Leblanc ran off with a win in the 65 (10-11) class.
The 51 (4-6) Limited class looked like a Cobra demo race. The top-10 finishers were all on Cobras. Canyon Richards would lead lap one; Richards and Sam Garroutte would have a great battle for the lead until a tip-over late on the last lap cost Garroutte a shot at the moto win. He would get up to save a second-place finish. Drew Adams would settle into a race of his own back in the third spot, but he still has a shot at the title.
By Ricky Renner