Hot sunshine, fast racing
Aug. 7, 2003 – A full day of hot
sunshine and warm breezes finally made the track a fast one at the AMA Amateur
and Youth National Motocross Championships on Thursday, and two of the fastest
classes put on the best battles yet of the week.
 For
a while, it looked like the best race of the week was going to be the second
moto in the 250/Open A / Pro Sport class. Suzuki rider Brian Gray
of St. Augustine, Florida, who has some professional racing on his resume,
took the early lead and was chased by former AMA national outdoor motocross
and Supercross champion Jeff Emig (left). Gray led until the last two laps,
when Emig upped the pressure. The two swapped the lead several times, with
Emig coming across the line first.
But that exciting finish stood as the day's best race for no more than
half an hour.
The 125 Mod 12-15 class charged out of the starting gate next,
with Davi Millsaps getting the holeshot with fellow Suzuki rider Josh Lichtle
of Rochester Hills, Michigan, in pursuit.
"I fell and got arm pump picking my bike up," Millsaps said, explaining
what happened on the second lap.
 That
miscue let Lichtle close the gap. But unlike the scenario in so many other
motos, Millsaps was not able to shake Lichtle a second time. Instead, Lichtle
swapped the lead as they worked through lapped traffic, having left the
rest of the field far behind (right). At one point, with two laps to go
and Lichtle in the lead, a lapped rider crashed between them, but Millsaps
was able to avoid a collision.
He wasn't able to muster another pass, however, and Lichtle pulled off
the upset win.
"When I saw my Dad's face, I knew he'd love me forever for that," Lichtle
said of his stirring win.
Then the last race of the day made a claim to the closest finish in years
at the nationals. In the Women 105cc, 125cc & Up class, a race-long
three-way battle between defending champ Jessica Patterson, former champ
Sarah Whitmore and Tarah Geiger came down to a photo finish between Patterson
and Whitmore. The two nearly tangled in the last corner and crossed the
finish line with Whitemore ahead by a front fender.
 In
other action, Broc Hepler (right) notched up another win in the second moto
of the 250 Open A class in the morning when the track was still wet
and tacky. Hepler finished ahead of Ryan Sipes, who won the first moto in
the class, leaving the two tied for the championship going into the third
moto.
"A lot of people aren't too good with mud, but I get a lot of practice
in it at home," said Hepler, a Pennsylvania rider.
"Broc's riding awesome," said Sipes. "It's hard to compete against a
world-class rider like that."
Hepler had worse luck in the 125 A/Pro Sport class, however, as
a bad start put him out of contention. Bryan Johnson led the entire race
to win, though he barely held off the charge of Brian Gray, who finished
second for the second time in the afternoon.
Emig also won a second moto Thursday when he edged Kevin Walker in the
Vet 30 Plus class. Walker, an eight-time champion at Loretta Lynn's
and a Tennessee native, led most of the race, but once Emig got past, Walker
had no answer.
"He just took off," said Walker. "I hung in as long as I could, but it
just wasn't enough."
For full results, see
MX Sports.
All in a day's work
Stewart and Carmichael join the fun at Loretta's
It was started by Elvis and finished by the hottest 125cc
motocrosser on the planet.
It was also the least-serious race of the day.
The day's activities ended with the celebrity mini-bike
race, and James "Bubba" Stewart showed he can ride a mini-bike faster than
ever imagined by its manufacturer. And yes, an Elvis impersonator served
as starter and flagman.
AMA motocross and Supercross champ Rickey Carmichael
and Stewart later faced off in the Gatorade Celebrity Basketball game.
All in a day's work—or rather, fun— at the AMA Amateur
and Youth National Motocross Championships.
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Like a visit by royalty
The big purple and
chrome bus pulled up to the gate, the doors opened and the crowd
cheered. It was the only thing other than rain that brought
motocross to a halt all week.
If it felt a little
like a visit from royalty, well, in a way it was. Loretta Lynn,
queen of country music and, by the way, the owner of the place,
stopped on her way out of town to a concert to say hello to
her few thousand visitors.
"I told my daughter,
Patsy, 'I'll just go down there and give those people a show,'
and she said, 'Momma, they like rock 'n' roll.' "
"No, we like country
music!" someone shouted as her fans cheered.
"I want to thank everybody
for coming and tell you how much we love it," she said, though
she admitted it took her a while to get used to the tight racing
action in her back yard.
"The first time I came
down here and saw the little kids going around on motorcycles.
I said, 'I can't stand it, it scares me to death.' "
Then the bus pulled
out of Hurricane Mills and the racing resumed. Back to motocross.
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Where they're from
Just for fun, we've
been tracking moto wins by the riders' home states (see table
below). The numbers show that motocross talent comes to the
AMA nationals from all across the country, but Florida and California
are still hotbeds of the sport.
Winning riders have
come from 14 states, plus the South American country of Chile.
The AMA Amateur and
Youth National Motocross Championships always draw top riders
from abroad, as well as the best U.S. riders, and this year,
Andro Korlaet, 18, of Antofagasta, Chile, was the first foreign
rider to win a moto, finishing first Thursday in the 250/Open
C class. Coupled with his second-place finish in the first
moto, Korlaet leads going into the final moto.
Another foreign rider
making his first visit to the United States is Christopher Pourcel,
a French rider competing in the 105cc Supermini 12-15
class. Pourcel has two third-place finishes behind two of the
fastest young riders in the United States, Mike Alessi and Ryan
Villopoto.
"It's a big challenge
to compete against them and try to win," Pourcel said through
an interpreter.
Moto wins by home
state
Florida 12
California 10
Michigan 4
New York 4
Pennsylvania 4
Washington 4
Georgia 3
New Jersey 3
Alaska 2
Kentucky 2
Ohio 2
Colorado 1
Indiana 1
Iowa 1
Chile 1
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© 2003, American Motorcyclist Association
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