The cream rises to the top in mud, too, at MX Nationals

Wednesday Race Action

Aug. 6, 2003 – Every year, the AMA Amateur and Youth National Motocross Championships run on an intricate and tightly planned schedule. But this year, Mother Nature has the final word on scheduling.

Motos in two 65cc classes were postponed until Thursday and there was a temporary pause in racing Wednesday afternoon as rain once again ruled the competition.

Just like Tuesday, the first motos of the morning ran on a muddy track, thanks to overnight rain. The track crew reconfigured the course, eliminating the hard right turn racers usually have to make after the start. Instead, racers had a straighter shot onto the back stretch. That first turn had been the scene of several pileups on the first day of racing.

Just as the track was drying, afternoon showers doused it again and brought racing to a halt for more than an hour. The track was deemed too rough for the small bikes in the 65cc classes.

The weather didn’t eliminate good racing, however. Three well known young riders made strong statements Wednesday with solid moto wins: Broc Hepler, Davi Millsaps and Mike Alessi.

In the highly competitive 125A Pro Sport class, one of the few to run in relatively good conditions, Hepler (right) charged from the pack and chased down early leader Chris Hunter, who was setting a pace on his Honda that nobody but Hepler could match. But Hepler, who missed the championships last year due to injury, rode his Suzuki past Hunter by the halfway point and pulled away to a decisive win.

Hunter held on for second and Bryan Johnson, of Cairo, Georgia, posted another podium finish by crossing the line in third.

In the morning, Davi Millsaps shrugged off the conditions, which included light rain as well as a muddy and increasingly rutted track, to post a decisive win in the 125 Modified 12-15 class on his Suzuki.

"The track isn’t as bad as yesterday," said the Cairo, Georgia rider. "It’s just a little sloppy. It’s a lot like what I’m used to back home."

It appeared Millsaps (left) would have a drier track for his second moto in the 125A class in the afternoon, but rain began falling half an hour before the 125cc riders lined up at the gate. It didn’t make any difference.

As several other class contenders went down in crashes, Millsaps pulled away steadily and finished well ahead of Ryan Sipes on a Kawasaki. Millsaps won despite the fact that his front fork was sticking in the muddy conditions and he could hardly turn the front wheel for the last few laps.

Also making a strong statement Wednesday was Mike Alessi, the fast Honda rider out of Apple Valley, California, who notched his third straight moto win with a victory in the 85cc Modified 14-15 class. And for the third straight time, Alessi beat his perennial rival, Ryan Villopoto. This time, it was one of the most thrilling battles of the day.

Racing through axle-deep ruts in a steady rain, Alessi and Villopoto pulled away from the pack. First Villopoto crashed and lost ground, but then Alessi went down and they were side by side coming to the finish line one lap after halfway.

Villopoto pulled off the pass for the lead, but then his Kawasaki slew sideways in the mud and he smacked into hay bales strapped to the pole that holds the overhead banner above the finish line. Unhurt despite the impact, he returned to the track and still finished second, but Alessi didn’t make any more mistakes to let him back in the race.

"It’s super slick out there," Villopoto said afterwards. "You don’t know where you’re going to go. You just have to stay on the gas."

"I fell three times," Alessi said from the victory podium. But he still proved to be the class of the field.

Another exciting finish took place in the Women 105cc, 125cc & Up class. Sixteen-year-old Marisa Hampshire, a Kawasaki rider out of Hudson, Florida, took the early lead against the more experienced competitors in the top women’s class.

Due to the conditions, the track was shortened for the women’s race, which meant the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic for nearly the entire race. Jessica Patterson, who holds the number-one plate in the class, hounded Hampshire lap after lap, and Sarah Whitmore applied pressure from third. But Hampshire didn’t crack.

Her victory followed up her Tuesday win in the women’s class reserved for riders age 15 and under. (Hampshire was 15 at the qualifying date, though she recently turned 16.)

The last motos of the day were run in the worst conditions, with a dozen or more riders failing to finish in some classes. Joshua Hill overcame a variety of obstacles to dominate the 85cc Modified 12-13 class.

Hill, a Yamaha rider from La Center, Washington, got the holeshot but the race was red-flagged for a rider injured in a pileup at the start. Hill got the second holeshot, too, but crashed and let Jeff Alessi catch him. Hill crashed again, but still retook the lead, and then a lapped rider fell in front of him, putting him down a third time. Despite it all, he won the moto, giving him two wins in the class. Zach Osborne finished second with Alessi in third.

"I fell three times and anybody who says they like this stuff must be crazy," Hill said of the sloppy mud.

One of the riders who has been perfect so far this year at Loretta Lynn’s is Pasquale Morrocco, a Suzuki rider from Voorhees, New Jersey. Riding in the 125 C Stock and 125 C Modified classes, he has won all three motos so far, including two wins on Wednesday.

For full results, see MX Sports.

It’s just not the same; but it’s bigger and better

The country’s top amateur motocrossers have been coming to the Loretta Lynn Ranch for 22 years now, but the folks who were around for the first visit in 1982 have seen a lot of changes.

For one, motocross has gotten much bigger, the bikes and riders are faster, and while a trip to the AMA Amateur and Youth National Motocross Championships still counts as summer vacation for many of the racers and their families, the activities away from the track have grown even more than the racing.

During the week, young competitors can fill their downtime, and their siblings can fill their days, with everything from a fishing tournament to a horseshoe pitch-off, from bingo to miniature golf, from horseback riding to the oldest of pastimes at Loretta Lynn’s, taking a dip in Hurricane Creek.

And, this year more than ever, no other spot better shows how the event has changed than the rocky beach behind the camping area at the track. Now called Ogio beach, in recognition of the motocross gear maker, it was once referred to as the Snakepit.

In the snakepit days, it was an after-dark hangout for revelers at night, and the site of miniature Acapulco-style cliff diving by braver kids during the day.

Times have changed. This year, Ogio and Kicker got together and set up a tent with video and stereo equipment right on the rocky beach and are providing nightly movies suitable for families, including motocross action videos.

And while lots of people still take a cooling dip in Hurricane Creek, there’s a big sign on top of the cliff that reads, "NO JUMPING."

All that doesn’t mean the kids can’t do some rock climbing, however. At the sprawling Kawasaki tent, there’s a portable rock-climbing wall, complete with safety harness.

No, the motocross nationals aren’t what they used to be. But they are bigger and better, especially for families.

The 85cc Stock 12-13 class waits for the signal to line up at the starting gate.	Sixteen-year-old Marisa Hampshire defeated more experienced motocrossers to win the first moto in the open women’s division.	In some classes a dozen or more riders failed to finish in the difficult conditions.
Josh Lichtle battles the mud in the 125cc Modified 12-15 class.	Chris Hunter led the first half of the 125A / Pro Sport class moto before being passed by winner Broc Hepler.	Mike Alessi dominated two classes in Wednesday’s racing.
Ronnie Ray of Milan, Tennessee, washes 50 pounds of mud off his bike after a moto.	Cary Watson takes a breather after the Senior 45 Plus moto.	Dominic Izzi enjoys a win in the 85cc Stock 12-13 class.
Pasquale Morrocco has run three motos and recorded three wins in the first two days of competition.	The most experienced mud riders: the Senior 45 Plus class.	Chris Hunter, 88, got the holeshot in the 125A / Pro Sport class, but finished second.
Broc Hepler outclassed the field in the 125A / Pro Sport class.	Tevin Tapia won the 65cc Modified 7-11 class moto before rain ended 65cc racing for the day.	Despite the mud, Chuck Bosone was one rider who was easy to pick out from the pack.
Afternoon showers had fans reaching for umbrellas on the second day of racing.