MAPLESVILLE, AL

Round six of the Moose/Maxxis /Pirelli/Pro Taper-sponsored MSXC Youth Winter Series was a triple-sanctioned event, with the MSXC, SETRA and SERA Cross Country series all combining for one big shootout. This was the 12th year in a row that the Perry Mountain Motorcycle Club has hosted the event at the Reynolds Dirt Bike Pasture Paradise.

Like most of the Youth racers, Brandon Gourley (41, above), along with his family, made the long trip from Booneville, Indiana, hoping to find warmer racing weather. Sadly, the warmer weather failed to show up. In temperatures unseasonably and unreasonably cold for Maplesville in January, the Youth Junior A class took off.

Luke Chilman grabbed the holeshot, followed by Colin Brasher, Blake Clark and Gourley. The racing was unusually tight, and when the pack came within sight of the scoring tent on lap one, it looked like a freight train of riders, all within one second of one another. Chilman still held the lead but was rubbing tires and banging bars with Brasher, Clark, Gourley and Austin Lee.

On lap two, as that train of riders emerged from the woods, a new engineer was leading the charge: The Honda-mounted Brasher had assumed the lead after Chilman crashed. Gourley was now in second, having gotten around Chilman and Clark.

On lap three, with the race at the halfway point, the 12-year-old Gourley began to take charge, passing Brasher for the lead. On lap four, Gourley burned the fastest lap time of the race and was now putting some pasture land between himself and his fellow shootout racers. Only a mistake or bike trouble could ruin his day. After 60 minutes of racing, Gourley had put his Rinken Mods/Scott/Pirelli-backed Yamaha on the top of the podium. SOS rider Clark had found his way around Brasher for second. Brasher held on to third, Lee came in fourth, and Chilman rounded out the top five.

"I got a good start and battled with someone for a while," Gourley said after the race. "Then I got into the lead and started pulling away. It was hard to pass, also."

Not only did Gourley win the Junior A class on Saturday, he also won the Junior MC class on Sunday morning and overalled the Adult C classes on his 85 to boot!

In the Junior B class on Saturday, Blake Rinsch from Flat Rock, Illinois, landed his first win of the season. The Sparks and Sons/Renthal/Dunlop-backed KTM rider gave himself a boost in the points chase for the championship and a big confidence boost as well. He was followed by Kelly Adkins in second, Andrew Clark in third, Hunter Hutchinson in fourth, and Clint Watson rounded out the top five.

"I got second off the start, behind Kelly Adkins, and passed him on the second lap," Rinsch said. "From there, things went pretty good until my bike started cutting out. I took it easy on the last lap and won."

For more info, go to msxcracing.com.

Results

P/W (4-6): 1. Zane Williams (KTM); 2.Grayson Huddleston (KTM); 3. Cade Holder (KTM); 4. Alex Nicholas (KTM); 5. Major Paracca (Yam).

P/W (7-8): 1. Nathan McCoy (KTM); 2. Daniel Spurgeon (Cob); 3. Conner Barrett (KTM); 4. Ethan Gregg (KTM); 5. Ty Gallimore (Cob).

MINI A: 1. Sam Thurman (KTM); 2. Brett Gourley (KTM); 3. Ben Jones (Kaw); 4. Kaleb Hagan (KTM); 5. Dylan Gossett (KTM).

MINI B: 1. Matthew Harris (KTM); 2. Leighton Tittle (KTM); 3. Kruz Sampson (Cob); 4. Wesley Hardin (Kaw); 5. Jaron Wood (KTM).

JR A: 1. Brandon Gourley (Yam); 2. Blake Clark (KTM); 3. Colin Brasher (Hon); 4. Austin Lee (KTM); 5. Steve Nicholas (KTM).

JR B: 1. Blake Rinsch (KTM); 2. Kelly Adkins (Yam); 3. Andrew Clark (KTM); 4. Hunter Hutchinson (KTM); 5. Clint Watson (Hon).