Friday Race Report at the 2016 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

Courtesy of MX Sports


HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. (Aug. 5, 2016) - The 35th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by AMSOIL, crowned the first 21 National Champions on Friday as the second to last day of racing took place in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The historic Loretta Lynn Ranch presented near perfect race conditions with the typical hot and humid conditions that the AMA Amateur National is known for.

The fourth day of racing kicked off with the remainder of the second motos. In the 65 (7-11) division Matthew LeBlanc took home the moto win and control of the championship standings. After a 32nd place in the first moto, Cole Harley came back strong to claim the 250 C victory.

After landing just short of the first moto win in the Schoolboy 2 (13-16) division, Jordan Bailey had his eyes set on the top spot of the box. After grabbing the holeshot, Bailey continued to ride smooth and produced some of the fastest lap times of the week. With his biggest competition of Garrett Marchbanks right on his rear, Bailey maintained his focus all the way until the finish. Marchbanks and Tanner Stack began to fade back on the fourth lap but hold their positions for second and third.

Jordan Bailey has yet to finish off the podium in both
the 250 B and Schoolboy 2 (13-16) B/C classes.
Photo: Ken Hill

The first National title of 2016 was presented to Ryan Surratt in the College (16-24) class after his trio of podium finishes, while Jett Reynolds earned his seventh National Championship. Robbie Reynard was well on his way to earning the National Championship on a 125 two-stroke until his bike blew up on the last lap. Michael Stryker's impressive performance throughout the week set him up to steal the championship away in the highly contested Junior 25+ class.

The 250 A division was anything but predictable. Top rider Chase Sexton was shuffled back in the pack and sat in the 24th position at the conclusion of the first lap. As Sexton was working his way through the pack he faced yet another issue when he washed out and fell right by the finish line. Fortunately for Sexton he only lost one position and was hard charging once he recovered where managed to pass three competitors in only two turns, but at the end of the moto Sexton's hard charge wasn't enough to top Bradley Taft's consistency. Taft would claim the highly coveted 250 A championship with a 1-2-1 moto score.

Bradley Taft went 1-2-1 to earn the 250 A class championship.
Photo: Ken Hill

Perhaps one of the best races of the day was in the Senior 45+ class between Terry Bostard and Jay Wagner. Bostard jumped out to the early lead, but his success would not last long when Wagner block passed him right before the famed 10 Commandments. Bostard struggled to get his bike started and by the time he took off he was outside the top twenty. With only laps remaining Bostard had not only worked his way into a podium position but had his eyes set on Wagner who was just a mere bike length away. Bostard put a last minute charge on to pass Wagner back in the same exact turn he was taken out in and to earn the National Championship.

Terry Bostard fought hard to earn the Senior 45+ class championship
after crashing early on and working his way from the back of the pack.
Photo: Ken Hill

With a total of four different leaders and multiple lead changes the 250 B class was nothing short of exciting. With no surprise, Jordan Bailey was the frontrunner as soon as the gate dropped, but Mitchell Falk launched over the roller and moved into the lead on the second lap. Before he knew it Falk was accompanied by Dylan Walsh. The duo came together and Falk seemed to have some issues as the moto wore on from the run-in. Bailey soon made a reappearance and exchanged the lead with Walsh. While the focus remained on the battle for the lead Jake Masterpool was creeping into a podium finish, and before anyone noticed Masterpool had blasted right by to earn the moto win. Bailey would continue riding smart to earn a podium which vaulted him to the top to claim the National Championship.

Jake Masterpool topped the highly competitive 250 B class in the third moto,
but after a DNF in the first race he would finish 13th overall.
Photo: Ken Hill

The esteemed Open Pro Sport competed in their second moto where Sean Cantrell grabbed the Bell Helmets Holeshot Award. His biggest competition, Chase Sexton, disappeared after endoing over the tunnel jump. Bradley Taft was nowhere to be found on the first lap where he sat outside of the top thirty. Sexton quickly returned to the front after his crash where Cantrell rode a solid race and held off Sexton for a total of five laps until Sexton made the pass and continued to lead the way until the checkered flag flew. Cantrell and Lorenzo Locurcio rounded out the second moto podium.

Chase Sexton will head into the final moto with a 1-1 moto tally in Open Pro Sport.
Photo: Ken Hill

The fastest ladies in motocross took to the track for their third and final moto to end the day. After a tough first two motos Kylie Fasnacht returned to her winning ways, but Brandy Richards played it safe to earn the Women's All-Star (16+) title and Jordan Jarvis reigning victorious as the Women 14+ class champion.

The third and final moto racing action resumes tomorrow, Saturday, August 6, and RacerTV continues with live streaming coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. EST/ 7:30 a.m. CDT. Wednesday's archived coverage is now available on RacerTV.com, to view the racing action from day two please click HERE. Complete results from the 2016 AMA Amateur National can be found HERE.

The 2016 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship concludes tomorrow, August 6, at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

For additional information, visit the official website at www.mxsports.com or call (304) 284-0101. Also follow the official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for exclusive content and to catch the latest news.

About the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship
The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is the world's largest and most prestigious amateur motocross racing program. The national qualifying program consists of 55 Area Qualifiers (February through May) and 13 Regional Championships (May through June), hosted at select motocross facilities across the country. The qualifying system culminates in the National Final (first week in August) hosted annually since 1982 at the home of country music star Loretta Lynn in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Nearly 22,000 racers attempt to qualify in 37 classes for the 1,482 available positions at the National. Christened "The World's Greatest Motocross Vacation," the National event serves as a launch pad for some of the biggest names in professional motocross and supercross, including Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey. The national program is produced by MX Sports, Inc., a West Virginia-based race production company and sanctioned by AMA. For more information, please visit www.mxsports.com.

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