Day of Champions at Loretta Lynn'sAnd one Horizon Award Winner
Aug. 10 - Evan Laughridge is a believer in desire and fitness, and the combination earned him the 2002 AMA Horizon Award at the Amateur Motocross Championships at the Loretta Lynn Ranch this week in Tennessee. He also made believers of many of the people who watched him win four of six motos, set some of the week's fastest lap times and ride with smoothness and power that earned him two championships and the Horizon Award.
It was just Laughridge's second appearance at the Amateur Motocross Nationals, but he's making up for lost time. Racing in two tough classes, 250/Open A and 125 A/Pro Sport, Laughridge put his number 19 Suzukis in first place in every moto in which he didn't crash. He started the week with a victory in 250/Open A, then battled back to a third-place finish in the first 125 A/Pro Sport moto after a so-so start and a crash. In the second 250/Open A moto, he crashed, moved up to second, then fell again and settled for fourth. But after that uneven start, he was flawless, finishing the week with three wins. Instead of going down, it was his competitors who, one by one, either crashed or slipped back through the field trying to keep up with him.
Laughridge and Troy Adams, of Brooksville, Florida, pulled away from the pack, leaving Hansen well behind in third. Adams had already earned the distinction of setting the fastest lap time of the week, a 1:58.6, the only sub-1:59 lap in any class. "I knew I didn't have to pass him," Laughridge said of the battle with Adams, who was not in contention for the championship. "I followed him for half the race. I knew Hansen was back there and I wanted to get a little better cushion."
Each lap, Laughridge had been getting a better launch over the tabletop, and it was there that he passed Adams for the lead, actually moving into first place while both were in the air. Then he pulled out to a comfortable lead for the win. "Desire is the number-one key in this sport," Laughridge said. "Right now, I want it more than anyone. I've been training really hard for these two races." After a week of racing by more than a thousand competitors, only 8 swept all three motos in their classes.
One of the most impressive was Matt Goerke, who took wins in all three motos in the 105cc Super Mini class. In the last Super Mini race, he was behind several riders at the start. But he didn't bother doing the math to see where he needed to finish to ensure a win. "I wasn't sure what place I was in so I just decided to win the moto," he said. No doubt there. Three wins equals a championship in any class. Among all riders, Goerke came closest to winning all six of his motos on the week. But a disastrous final moto in the 85cc Modified (14-15) class cost him a second championship and let Honda rider Josh Grant, a Red rider from Redlands, California, steal the championship with three second-place finishes in the class. Davi Millsaps completed a clean sweep in the 125cc Stock (12-15) class and local fast guy Kevin Walker, of Gray, Tennessee, who wins motos every year at Loretta Lynn's, swept the Junior 25 Plus class. Ryan Sipes, of Vine Grove, Kentucky, rode his Kawasaki to three moto wins in the 250/Open B Stock class.
Mike Alessi swept all three motos in the 85cc Stock (12-13) class, in addition to winning the 85cc Modified (9-13) class with two wins and a third-place finish. After clinching his second championship in seven hours, Alessi said, "It's just been an awesome week!" Austin Stroupe, of Lincolnton, North Carolina, also swept the 65cc Modified (7-11) class on his Kawasaki. The other rider who swept his class was Keith Bowen, of Cheboygan, Michigan, who took the Vet 35 Plus championship on his Suzuki.
Once again, the 125 A class was hotly contested by some of the best talents in the field. Going into the final moto, Ryan Mills, of Clintondale, New York, had a third and a first, and Jesse Casillas, of Jamul, California, had two seconds. Casillas had finished second in every moto of the week, except for an early DNF in the 250/Open A class, and he was looking for a win. Once again, Casillas was hampered by a mediocre start but charged all the way through the field to his fifth second-place finish of the week. But he came up about one second short of catching Mills on the last lap, and the Honda rider from New York took the championship.
Another championship fight was even closer and was decided by a few feet. In the Women 80-105cc (12-15) class, Leah Cantrell, of Marietta, Georgia, and Marisa Hampshire, of Hudson, Florida, each entered the final moto with a win and a second-place finish. Within two laps, they had pulled away from Philo Petricig, of Maple Park, Illinois, who finished third in all three motos.
Clearly the class of the field, Cantrell and Hampshire pulled away and battled through every turn. They passed the white flag side by side, but Cantrell eked out an advantage on the final lap and defended her position as they raced to the checkered flag to take the championship by a bike length. © 2002, American Motorcyclist Association |
