MILLINGTON, MI

It was a rain-soaked Saturday, but that didn't stop a ton of riders from making their way to Baja Acres to prepare for the Mideast Amateur Regional on tap for June 12 and 13. A big gate in the 50cc Trail class had dads running a marathon, as Baja Acres offers one of the longest Pee Wee tracks in the Mitten State, and on this day, Dagan Emert (4X, above) was fastest when it counted.

The top five riders in the 50cc Trail class were in a cluster for most of the moto, but in the end it was Clyde Miller (545, right) who crossed the finish line in front after putting in a great ride. It wasn't a runaway, though, as Emert chased Miller hard, all the while having to keep an eye behind him, as Shea Lee was also on the gas; he had to be, as Brendan Jimenez and Cassius Dodson were all in the hunt as well. Jumping over the finish line, Miller grabbed big air - and the first-moto victory. Emert was just off the pace in the runner-up spot. Jimenez found a great line to get around Lee late in the race. Dodson crossed the line in fifth.

In moto two, Emert got a good jump, as did Miller, and the two Flint-area Mini stars-in-the-making were out for the big gold as they circled the track at speed, quickly opening up a lead on the field. These two knew that it was a winner-take-all battle, and at the end of the day, Emert (2-1) had the right stuff, grabbing the second-moto win and the overall victory. Miller (1-2) was disappointed with the runner-up spot, but he shouldn't be: This kid is for real and has style beyond his years. Lee (4-3) dropped a spot late in moto one and didn't want that to happen this time around, so he kept it pinned to the end to lock up third in moto two as well as third overall. Jimenez (3-4) and Dodson (5-5) rounded out the top five.

That wasn't the only class that featured close racing. Matt Klann (165, above) and Daniel Ayotte (431, below right) traded wins in the Schoolboy 1 class. Klann timed the gate in moto one and went to work, pulling the field up and over "Kong" with the lead in hand. Ayotte didn't get the kind of start he wanted, but it didn't take him long to get going, and he was in the runner-up spot near the halfway point. Klann took the first-moto win, with a fast-closing Ayotte in second. Jacob Grzebinski, Kyle Breithart and Paul Scott made up the balance of the top five.

Moto two was all Ayotte's, as he would lead from start to finish, with Klann in tow. The win gave Ayotte (2-1) the overall, and Klann (1-2) was forced to settle for the runner-up spot. Dean Taylor took third, but his first-moto DNF gave the last spot on the podium to Scott (5-4).

The Memorial Blast is next on the Baja Acres calendar, a three-day event on Memorial Day Weekend, May 29-31. For all the info, go to bajaacres.com.

Results

50 SHAFT: 1. Dagan Emert; 2. Kaden Hunter.

50 JR JR TRK: 1. Preston Conquest; 2. Hunter Weeder; 3. Kaden Hunter.

50 SR JR TRK: 1. Hannah Dodd; 2. Bodie Diehl; 3. Jonathan Hanner; 4. Jeremy Gee; 5. Tyler Anderson.

50 JR: 1. Nathan Gross.

50 SR: 1. Cole Harkins; 2. Jace Bergin; 3. Ethan Daenzer; 4. Tucker Reickel; 5. Cameron Jeffers.

50 TRL: 1. Dagan Emert; 2. Clyde Miller; 3. Shea Lee; 4. Brendan Jimenez; 5. Cassius Dodson.

60 BEG: 1. Bodie Diehl; 2. Max Hammarlund; 3. Hannah Dodd; 4. Isaac Vincent; 5. Trevor Mason.

65 (7-9): 1. Hunter Gall; 2. Collin Blakita; 3. Hunter Winter; 4. Paige Norwood; 5. Caine Dodson.

65 (7-11): 1. Austin Brunet; 2. Angelo Molina; 3. Jesse West.

85 JR: 1. Michael Marston; 2. Matthew Gross; 3. Austin Wazny; 4. Kyle Xaypachanh; 5. Tucker Vest.

85 SR: 1. Jacob Williamson; 2. Austin Dodd; 3. Destin Batton; 4. Christopher Barton; 5. Alex Szymborski.

85 C: 1. Ian Ebe; 2. Jacob Phipps; 3. Blaine Bartos; 4. Will Querfeld; 5. Hunter Morgan.

85 (9-13): 1. Jacob Williamson; 2. Austin Dodd; 3. Michael Marston; 4. Matthew Gross; 5. Ryan Lutz.

S/MINI: 1. Jacob Williamson; 2. Kyle Pinkham; 3. Destin Batton; 4. Johnny Pavacic.

125 B/C: 1. Jeff Walker; 2. Lucas Buck; 3. Kyle Pinkham; 4. Jacob Haas; 5. Justin Larsen.

250 A: 1. Eric Montreuil; 2. Eric MacDonald.

250 B: 1. Erik Dunigan; 2. Robert Carver; 3. Trent Faber; 4. Brendan Lacy; 5. Jason Little.

250 C: 1. Eric McGregor; 2. Jeff Walker; 3. Jacob Miller; 4. Thomas Legleiter; 5. Cameron Kapfhamer.

OPEN A: 1. Eric Montreuil; 2. Eric MacDonald; 3. Chris Somers.

OPEN B: 1. Tim Walker; 2. Maverick Brooks; 3. Zack Corey; 4. Nicholas Hiltz; 5. Lucas Sprague.

OPEN C: 1. Brendyn Snell; 2. Carl Peterson III; 3. Cameron Kapfhamer; 4. Kevin Skover; 5. Josh Morgan.

SCHBY 1: 1. Daniel Ayotte; 2. Matt Klann; 3. Paul Scott III; 4. Kyle Breithart; 5. Dean Taylor.

SCHBY 2: 1. Jacob Grzebinski; 2. Matt Klann; 3. Dean Taylor; 4. Eric McGregor; 5. Daniel Hutchinson.