J Day Off-Road returned to its New England stomping grounds, August 1-2, for round six of the Regional AMA Championship series at the Southwick MX track, where Justin Cokinos has claimed this track as his over the years. He showed everyone how it’s done, finishing the day with 1-1 in Pro 125 and 1-1 in the Pro AA class.
Story by Kylie Kulpa | Photos by Kylie Kulpa/Eighteen Photos
With a few course changes, the racing was as good as ever. The Pro AA class started on the motocross track with a dead-engine start, then raced up the first sweeping hill. Robby Marshall led the lineup of 25 of the fastest woods riders into the woods section of the course. By the end of lap one, Plaistow Powersports rider Cokinos was leading the pack. Cokinos held the lead for the remaining seven laps, gaining time on second place and finishing first, 24 seconds ahead of Ricky Russell, who started moto one in 12th and charged to second by lap five. Thorn Devlin, who finished third in moto one, battled with fourth-place finisher Jiggs Fustini and fifth-place finisher Robby Marshall.
In moto two, Kyle Hangos was out front, grabbing the Fox Racing Holeshot. By the end of lap one, Cokinos was leading, with Marshall five seconds behind and Russell eight seconds back. Cokinos continued to pull away from second place until he crashed in the woods on lap four. Although Cokinos made what could have been a costly mistake, he recovered to finish the moto in first, leading all 14 laps across both motos to secure the Pro AA overall.
Russell finished second in moto two, and Fustini joined the battle to finish third.
On the podium stood Cokinos (1-1) in first overall, Russell (2-2) in second overall, and Fustini (4-3) in third overall.
The Pro 125 class, sponsored by Moto Tassinari, again saw Cokinos take the overall victory. He went 1-1 and led every lap of each moto. Cokinos was on a roll this weekend, dominating both Pro classes on the top step. Seven riders took on the two-stroke race, all aboard Yamaha machinery. Van Gosselin came in second place after having a fourth-place finish in moto one and a second-place finish in moto two. Robert Weiss Jr finished in third after having moto scores of 5-3 to round out the podium.
In the Amateur divisions, bLU cRU rider Colton McQuarrie earned the Amateur overall award, finishing first in the A250 class and eighth overall in the A class.
Pheonix Honda rider Tayla Jones dominated the Women’s Pro class. Returning from a leg injury and missing rounds five and six, she never lost a step, going 1-1. Jones started both motos from the lead. She finished moto one with over a minute’s lead and moto two with almost a two-minute lead.
Carly Lee finished the day in second place, battling with third-place finisher Mallory Pickard.CN
2026 J Day Off-Road / AMA East GP Round 6 Results
PRO AA OVERALL (Top 10)
- Justin Cokinos (Yam) 1-1
- Ricky Russell (Kaw) 2-2
- Jiggs Fustini (KTM) 4-3
- Thorn Devlin (KTM) 3-5
- Robby Marshall (Hus) 5-4
- James Harrington (KTM) 8-6
- Gavin Simon (Hus) 6-8
- Taylor Beckwith (Yam) 9-7
- Robert Weiss Jr (Hus) 7-10
- Jake Abbott (Yam) 11-9
