Shan Moore | August 5, 2019
Over the years, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, has become much more than an annual amateur motocross event. “Loretta Lynn’s,” along with its months-long qualifying series, has become an institution where amateur racers are evaluated, groomed and recruited for the pro series by factory race teams. Few racers enter the pros without going through Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Swoll Tops 2019 Loretta Lynn Amateur Motocross Results
The July 29-August 3, 2019, edition of the race saw a promising group of prospects graduate into the pro ranks and this coming weekend at Unadilla Raceway in New York, they will test themselves against the best in the world.
More than 1500 entries filled the gates at this year’s event to compete in 36 classes for the chance to earn the title of amateur national champion. After five days of racing, a handful of racers stood out as elite among the rest, and they were recognized with special awards on Saturday evening.
The most prestigious award an amateur racer can earn is the AMA Nicky Hayden Amateur Horizon Award, which was awarded this year to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jalek Swoll based on his performance in the Open Pro Sport class.
Jarrett Frye won the Amateur Rider of the Year thanks to his win in the Schoolboy 2 class, while Maximus Vohland won the Youth Rider of the Year with titles in the Supermini 1 (12-15) class and in the Supermini 2 (13-16) class. Finally, Mike Brown took the Vet Rider of the Year Award for his win in the Senior 40+ division.
Of the four, Vohland was perhaps the most dominating, sweeping all six of his motos en route to his two titles. Vohland’s final moto in the Supermini 1 class was arguably his toughest of the week, after he got off to a poor start.
Vohland Named Youth Rider Of The Year
“That last moto I pushed really hard, I was pretty far back,” said Vohland. “That was my toughest moto this week. I was about eighth off the line and I just started picking riders off one by one. I was hoping to win the Youth award and I knew I needed to sweep all my races to do that, so that was the goal.”
The 250 and Open Pro Sport classes were two of the most highly anticipated divisions of the week, with Jett Lawrence, along with his Amsoil Honda teammates Jo Shimoda and Carson Mumford, set to go up against Swoll.
Lawrence positioned himself well after the first two motos of the 250 Pro Sport class, boasting first and a second-place finishes heading into the final moto.
Lawrence was leading the final moto and was on the verge of clinching the 250 Pro Sport title, when a mechanical issue stopped him dead in his tracks and he was forced to push his bike back to the mechanic’s area for a DNF. Despite being one of the most dominate riders of the week, the Australian came away empty handed.
“I’m pretty bummed about the DNF because I had the title easily, although those things happen,” said Lawrence. “In the final Open moto, I messed up my start and I was riding like a goon and that doesn’t help. For my first time at this race, I surprised a lot of people and I surprised myself. I definitely kicked some ass. I know I could have come away with a couple of titles, but it just didn’t happen.”
Swoll suffered a groin injury in the second 250 moto and elected to sit out the final moto so he could concentrate on the Open class, and when Shimoda also DNFed the final 250 moto, Chilean Hardy Munoz took advantage of the situation and stole the 250 Pro Sport title with a 3-4-3 moto performance.
Munoz didn’t know he had won until his mechanic told him after the race.
“The track was really rough and soft and I got a good start and tried to do the best I could and be consistent. I didn’t know I where I was, I just pushed, and pushed and pushed,” said Munoz.
Riding with intense pain, Swoll took control of the final Open Pro Sport moto, and when Lawrence, who went 2-1 in the first two motos, got off to a poor start and could only work his way up into third behind Shimoda, Swoll took the overall win and ended his amateur career with the title in the Open Pro Sport division. The Florida rider will line up next weekend at Unadilla.
“I was in pain from the sight lap on,” said Swoll. “My team was giving me encouragement so I just dug down deep and it carried me through. I was relieved once I got into the lead because I knew I could just settle in and find a smooth rhythm so I didn’t put myself in too much pain. The Honda boys were really fast here and I knew they were going to give me a fight if they caught up so I kept looking ahead.”
Stilez Robertson parlayed a 1-2-2 finish into an overall win in the 250 B class, the Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki rider coming out on top of a three-way battle with Suzuki’s Dilan Schwartz and Am Pro Yamaha’s Jarrett Frye for the title.
Robertson Top 250B Rider
Heading into the final moto, both Robertson (1-2) and Schwartz (2-1) had 3 points each, while Frye (3-3) was right behind with 6.
“In the last moto, I got off the line in second and I hit someone before the Ten Commandments and we all kind of got bottled up,” said Robertson. “Dilan was out front, but then he tipped over and I got by him. He got right up behind me and passed me for second, but then he made a mistake and bobbled and I was able to pass him for second, which gave me the title.”
Frye won the moto and ended up second overall, with Schwartz finishing the moto in seventh for third overall.
Frye was more consistent in the Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C class, where he posted a perfect 1-1-1 score to top Robertson’s 3-5-2. Suzuki’s Preston Kilroy was third overall with a 2-3-8 tally.
The 450 B Limited class produced a good race between Amsoil Honda’s Hunter Yoder and Husqvarna’s Jace Kessler. Yoder (2-1) held 3 points going into the third and deciding moto, while Kessler (1-3) had 4.
Kessler held the early lead in moto three, but, after an intense battle that produced at least four lead changes, Yoder took the lead for good (and the title) when Kessler tipped over.
“The first 10 or 15 minutes I was pushing as hard as I could, Jace was put me through a test, for sure,” said Yoder. “I did what I had to to stay close and obviously I made mistakes and he made mistakes. That was one of the gnarliest races I had this week.”
The 450 B race saw Yamaha’s Matt LeBlanc take the title with a 1-1-2 performance over Levi Newby’s (Hus) 2-2-3. Austin Black won the final moto, but a DNF in the first moto left the Suzuki rider out of the title picture.
The 250 B class saw Yamaha’s Mason Gonzales take the title with a 1-2-1 moto performance ahead of Suzuki’s Hunter Yoder (2-1-2) and Hunter Yoder (3-4-3).
Forty-seven-year-old Yamaha Ambassador Mike Brown proved he’s still got what it takes by outrunning 30-year-old Darryn Durham (Yam) to win the Junior 25+ division. The former 125 National Motocross Champion returned to also sweep the 40+ race over Kawasaki-mounted John Grewe. Grewe used a 1-1-1 moto performance to win the Vet 50+ class ahead of Suzuki’s Barry Carsten (2-2-2).
Husqvarna’s Nick Romano won both of the Mini Sr titles, going 1-1-3 to win the Mini Sr 1 (12-14) class and 1-4-1 to win the Mini Sr 2 (13-15) class. KTM’s Mark Fineis gave Romano a run for his money in the final Mini Sr 2 moto, but went down on the final lap, as Romano cruised in for the win.
Jazzmyn Canfield clinched the Women National Championship with a 1-1-2 score, yielding only to Triangle Cycles Yamaha teammate Jordan Jarvis (2-2-1) in the final moto. The Women’s class was a hugely competitive class with Utah’s Tayler Allred (KTM) rounding out the podium with a 4-3-5 score.
Jordan Jarvis will join Brandy Richards and Becca Sheets on this year’s Women’s Trophy Team at the International Six Days in Portugal in November. CN
Click here for complete results.