Day Three at Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

Open Pro Sport

If there’s been a statement race at Loretta’s this week you’d have to go with Levi Kitchen's (Yamaha) effort in today's second (of three) Open Pro Sport moto. The big dog of all the classes was utterly dominated by Kitchen this afternoon. The Washougal, Washington, native overcame a mediocre (8th place) start, getting to the lead by lap seven and put an 11-second gap between him and fellow Monster Energy racer Chance Hymas (Kawasaki).

More impressive than that was the fact that Kitchen topped moto one winner Preston Kilroy (Suzuki) by 32 seconds! Kitchen’s fastest lap was a blistering 1:52.365. That was this week’s quickest on the rutted Loretta’s course.

Back to Hymas, with the 2-2 finish in the first two Open Pro Sport motos, the Idahoan is in 2nd place overall – also ahead of Kilroy. Kansas’ Kaeden Amerine (Yamaha) would place 6th on the day and is in 4th place overall in the class (4-6).

250 B

Two 250 B class motos, two perfect podium sweeps for Monster Energy racers! Led by New York’s Nick Romano, who piloted his Yamaha again to the No. 1 position, but not without a serious fight from 2nd place Gage Linville (Georgia). The two would battle early, with Linville putting up the fastest lap in the moto (1:55.40) to keep within a half-second of Romano through lap four. Romano would increase his lead gradually over the next six laps, running virtually mistake-free to the 3.7-second victory. Rounding out 250 B opening moto podium sweep for Monster Energy was Kawasaki-mounted Gavin Towers (Pennsylvania). Romano (1-1), Linville (2-2), and Towers (3-3) comprise the overall top three in 250 B racing.

It was all Gage Linville in the 250 B Limited class as the hyper-quick Georgian showed why his opening 8th place moto finish wasn’t what he’s about. Linville took over the overall lead from Moto 1 winner Jayden Clough (Minnesota), dominating the contest by 9 seconds over Clough at the finish. With the win, Linville moved into 3rd place in the overall standings (8-1) with one moto remaining.

Supermini 1 (12-15)

One thing’s for sure at Loretta’s, don’t piss off Haiden Deegan. The Californian aboard the KTM came back from a Supermini 2 crash (not his fault) yesterday in rip roarin’ fashion, dominating the second Supermini 1 moto from gate to checkers and winning by 16 seconds over 2nd place Krystian Janik (Monster Energy/Kawasaki). Deegan’s top lap time of 1:58.724 was nearly a full two seconds faster than Janik’s top time. Deegan leads the Supermini 1 class with matching 1-1 wins, followed in 2nd place by Janik (4-2).

450 B Limited

Monster Energy’s Larry Reyes Jr. continues to run well, scoring another 2nd place finish in 450 B Limited and moving into first place in the overall class standings. The Yamaha pilot from Texas started in 10th place, moved up to 2nd by lap three – even led the race for two laps (6 & 7) – before settling for 2nd.

Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C

There are some ultra-fast kids in this class. But none raced faster on Thursday than Monster Energy’s Nick Romano. The New York native spooled up his Yamaha and let ‘er snap-in Loretta’s horse pasture, leading the entire way and topping factory-backed efforts from Kaxton Bennick (KTM) and Talon Hawkins (Husqvarna). Romano’s eight-second victory over Bennick was highlighted by a class-best 1:55.451 lap time. Through three motos (two in 250 B and this Schoolboy 2 moto) Romano is a perfect 3-0!

Women

Last year’s Girls (11-16) champion Katie Benson (Yamaha) scored a 2nd place finish in Moto 2 and improved her standing in the Women’s class to 3rd overall (4-2). Benson led Moto 2 for the first four laps and finished strong with a last-lap pass on Monster Energy’s Tayler Allred (KTM). Allred, who won the Women’s opening moto on Tuesday, would race to a podium 3rd place finish and sits in 2nd place (1-3) in the overall standings with one moto remaining.

125 C & 250 C Jr (12-17) Limited

Monster Energy’s Keegan Rowley (KTM) won today’s Moto 2 in the 125 C class, moving into 1st place overall in the standings (3-1). The Illinois racer also put up a solid 4th place finish in the 250 C Jr Limited class, and moved onto the overall podium (3rd) in that class as well.

Mini Sr. 1 (12-14)

Homeboy Drew Adams (Tennessee) put his Kawasaki KX on the box (2nd) in the Mini Sr. 1 class and moved into the overall points lead after two motos (3-2). Adams led the first six laps of the contest before running into some difficulty eventually finishing ten seconds back of the Moto 2 winner, Thomas Wood (KTM). Monster Energy’s Jeremy Fappani (KTM) out of Arizona raced to a 3rd place finish in Mini Sr. 1 Moto 2, putting him in 3rd overall (4-3). Alvin Hillan (Husqvarna) also ran well for Monster Energy in Mini Sr. 1 today placing 4th in Moto 2 to move into 4th place in the overall standings (5-4).

Mini Sr. 2 (13-15)

Winner! Winner! Monster Energy’s Landen Gordon gunned his Husky to 1st place in Mini Sr. 2 Moto 2, and grabbed the overall class point lead (2-1). Gordon led gate-to-checkers in the contest, topping KTM’s Wood by 2.5 seconds at the finish. Monster Energy’s Jeremy Fappini (KTM) also ran really well, placing 3rd and moving on to the overall points podium (3rd @ 6-3).

Noteworthy, Logan Best continues to run well in 125 (12-17) B/C and Schoolboy 1 B/C (12-17). The Monster Energy racer from Florida, aboard a Yamaha, placed 5th in 125 Moto 2 to remain on the overall podium (3rd @ 3-5). In Schoolboy 1, Best boosted his status to 2nd overall with a 2nd place finish in that class’ opening moto. Way to rip, Logan!