ELIZABETH CITY, NC

As always, Elizabeth City Motocross was prepped to perfection when the troops rolled into town for the first Loretta Lynn Northeast Area Qualifier of the 2010 season. The sandy track provided multiple lines and extremely rough conditions. Malcolm Stewart and Cooper Webb took home two wins each. Stewart battled Ryan Zimmer for the 250 and 450 A-class wins, and Webb was in a class of his own, dominating the 85 (9-13) Support class and the Supermini One class.

The first moto of the 50cc (4-6) class saw Dalzell, South Carolina's Cullen Myers pilot his Cobra CM50 to the front of the pack, followed by New York rider Hunter Layton. The two Cobra riders battled the entire moto, with Layton pulling a small lead on lap two. They were followed by Deacon Kozell and KTM-mounted Robert Morgan. After swapping the lead at least two times per lap, Layton ended up with the win, followed by Nathan Merricks, Kozell and Morgan.

The second moto saw another battle between Myers and Layton. They again swapped positions almost every lap. At the finish, it was Layton, followed by Myers, Merricks, Kozell and Morgan.

A stacked 250 A class rocketed out of the gate, and Yamaha two-stroke rider Benjamin Ritter led Ryan Zimmer and Mike McDade through the first turn. Zimmer quickly passed Ritter for the lead, and Malcolm Stewart moved into fifth place on the first lap. Zimmer opened up a slight lead, but Stewart made his way through the pack, catching him on lap four. The Triangle Cycles/Serious MX rider gained some ground when Stewart ran off the track and into the woods, but the break was short-lived. Stewart charged back to Zimmer's rear tire and with half a lap to go made an aggressive pass attempt that left both riders on the ground. Stewart was able to get his Yamaha refired first and ended up winning the moto. Ritter and Johnny Wasco passed Zimmer to hang on for second and third, relegating Zimmer to fourth.

Zimmer led the way out of the first turn in moto two, followed by Ritter, Stewart and Ryan Currie. Stewart quickly moved into the second spot, and round two of the Zimmer-Stewart battle was on! Stewart was faster into the corners and Zimmer was faster on the way out, and the two first-year A riders battled to nose to tail to the finish. With just over a lap to go, Zimmer cross-rutted in the sweeper, and Stewart was able to get by and hang on for the win. At the checkered flag, Stewart was followed closely by Zimmer, Ritter, Nic Hayes and Johnny Wasco. It was one of the finest battles in the A class in some time!

As always, ECMX offered a challenging track combining technical elements with high-speed sections and braking bumps that belonged on an Olympic mogul course.

Results

50 (4-8) STK MULTI-SPEED: 1. Lindsey Groves (KTM); 2. Dominic Amilcare (Cob); 3. Caden Clark (Honda); 4. Nathan Merricks (Cob).

51 (4-6) SHAFT: 1. Deacon Kozel (Yamaha); 2. Donald Price Jr. (Yamaha); 3. Kristian Robinson (Yamaha); 4. Uriah Williamson (Yamaha); 5. Samuel Jackson (Yamaha).

51 (4-6) STK: 1. Hunter Layton (Cob); 2. Cullen Myers (Cob); 3. Nathan Merricks (Cob); 4. Robert Morgan (KTM); 5. Deacon Kozel (Cob).

51 (7-8) STK: 1. Jack Rogers (Cob); 2. Jalek Swoll (Cob); 3. Gauge Keith (Cob); 4. Collin Saunders (Cob); 5. Dawson Fietsam (Cob).

65 (7-9) STK: 1. Hunter Fenelon (KTM); 2. Cameron Mitchell (KTM); 3. Brock Papi (Kawasaki); 4. Chase McLaughlin (KTM); 5. Cody Charbonneau (KTM).

65 (10-11) STK: 1. Cole Mattison (KTM); 2. Colton Eigenmann (KTM); 3. Cameron Dowell (KTM); 4. Goodman Bare (KTM); 5. River Hancock (KTM).

U/L 65 MOD (7-11): 1. Joshua Strickland (KTM); 2. Cody Groves (KTM); 3. Noah Williams (KTM); 4. Jamie Astudillo (Kawasaki).

85 (9-11) STK: 1. Justin Dunn (Yamaha); 2. Brandon Hartranft (Yamaha); 3. Tristan Charbonneau (Yamaha); 4. Cameron Dowell (Yamaha); 5. Cole Mattison (KTM).

85 (12-14) STK: 1. Tommy Maxey (Suzuki); 2. Cody McCulloch (Yamaha); 3. Henry Miller (Yamaha); 4. Alexander Frye (Suzuki); 5. Matthew Burkeen (Yamaha).

U/L 85-112 MOD (9-15): 1. Cooper Webb (Honda); 2. Alexander Frye (Suzuki); 3. Bennett Mantooth (Yamaha); 4. Justin Dunn (Yamaha); 5. Fabian Toye (KTM).

S/MINI 1 (12-15): 1. Cooper Webb (Honda); 2. Matthew Burkeen (Yamaha); 3. Cole Varty (Kawasaki); 4. Austin Simpson (KTM); 5. Tommy Maxey (Suzuki).

U/L 125-OPEN: 1. Colton Amundson (Honda); 2. Chandler Lindsay (Yamaha); 3. Joshua Willin (Kawasaki); 4. Charlie Shotton (KTM); 5. Trent Kennedy (Honda).

250 A: 1. Malcolm Stewart (Yamaha); 2. Benjamin Ritter (Yamaha); 3. Ryan Zimmer (Honda); 4. Johnny Wasco (Honda); 5. Nicholas Hayes (Kawasaki).

250 B STK: 1. Jesse Wentland (Suzuki); 2. Ricky Hampshire (Kawasaki); 3. Jeremy Wendelken (Yamaha); 4. Conner Elliott (Yamaha); 5. Daniel Lippman (Suzuki).

250 C STK: 1. Austin Anthony (Honda); 2. Blake Thompson (Kawasaki); 3. Trey Burkholder (Honda); 4. Shayne Brown (KTM); 5. Cole Robbins (Kawasaki).

450 A: 1. Malcolm Stewart (Yamaha); 2. Ryan Zimmer (Honda); 3. Benjamin Ritter (Yamaha); 4. Nicholas Hayes (Kawasaki); 5. Johnny Wasco (Kawasaki).

450 B STK: 1. R. Chaz Wilson (Yamaha); 2. J. Tyler Coppersmith (Kawasaki); 3. Keith Rose (Yamaha); 4. Daniel Lippman (Suzuki); 5. Chad Godwin (Honda).

GIRLS (11-15): 1. Brooke Lynds (Kawasaki); 2. Dorian Franzen (Kawasaki); 3. Mallory Shelton (Kawasaki); 4. Amber Hill (Suzuki); 5. Kennadi Miles (KTM).

WMN (14+): 1. Erica Roland (Yamaha); 2. Mariah Andrew (Kawasaki); 3. Kimberly Hernandez (Kawasaki); 4. Dorian Franzen (Kawasaki); 5. Kailyn Miles (KTM).

SCHBY 1 (12-16) B/C: 1. Cody Gragg (Yamaha); 2. Ricky Hampshire (Yamaha); 3. Jacob Knable (Suzuki); 4. Kameron Page (Yamaha); 5. Austin Simpson (KTM).

U/L 25+/45+: 1. Eddie Braxton (Honda); 2. Christopher Webb (Yamaha); 3. Stephen Thraxton (KTM); 4. Isaac Dejager; 5. Robert Rose (Yamaha).