Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128628
AMA Amateu r N a t io n a l Motocross Championsh ips Loretta Lynn 's Dude R anch pull d o wn d oubl e -cl a ss wins a t t he world's m ost prestigious a mateur MX event (a lim it of two class e ntries is im posed). Mike Ale s s i pulled d own wins in 6 5 c c (10 - 11) a nd 85cc (7 11) Stock, Ben Riddle topped the 125 an d 250 cc/Ope n A d iv isi on s , and fo rm e r T eam S uz uki member Ron nie T ichenor made a Lorette Lynn 's re turn to to p Vet-A Plus -3 0 and Plus-25 racing . Loretta Lynn's utiliz es a un iq ue three -moto format, with e a c h class ' overall winn er chosen ba sed on his or her a ve ra ge over th e tr io of races. As h a s b e com e t ypi c al for Lo retta Lyn n's, th er e were over 12 00 entries for this ye a r's eve nt. He re is a cha m pio n- by -c ha m pio n loo k a t the 19th a nnual runn ing of the AMA Am at e u r Na t ion a l Moto cro s s Ch ampion sh ips : BRADLEY BAKER _ 5 1 cc [ 4 - 6 ) STOCK SHAFT In th e quietest class of the event, Ba k e r put together a p a ir of moto wins be fo re ex pe rie ncing so me tro uble s in th e final o u ti ng . "I wrecked two times , a nd I had to come ba c k." said th e Oh io res ident. "A kid hit m y w h e el , a nd I w re c k ed b y my s e lf once ." Ba ke r de n ied having be en worrie d, however, a nd indeed , he sa lvaged a moto-three win for a perfe ct week . TANN ER KRAHENBUHL 5 1 cc [4- 6) STOCK F ollowing wins in the first two motos , m ost assumed that Krahen buhl wou ld wal k away with moto three and the title. A so -so start made th ings diffic ult, howev e r, an d a c rash near moto 's e n d resulted in an e ighth -p lace fin ish a~d 's om e in it ia l co nf usion as to who had taken the cha m pio nship. With tire t racks on his seat, Kra henbuhl accepte d the tro phy. "I lo o ked back in a corner , so th at c a used me to c rash," ex plained th e Cobra rider. TREVORREIS 51 cc [7-S) S TOCK STO RY A N D PHOTO S BY C HRIS J O NNUM HURRICANE MILLS, TN, AUG. 8ยท12 n ly a fe w yea rs before Ricky Ca rmi c hae l wa s s hooting for a re cord ninth se ason win in the 2000 2 50cc C hevy Tr u c k s Na t iona l Motoc ross Cha mpionships , he was shooting (s uccessfu lly ) fo r a re c or d ninth -ca ree r win in the AMA Amateur National Motocross Champi on ships at Lo re tt a Lyn n 's Dud e Ranch . But just four years after Cycle News correc t ly c all ed Carmich ael 's c a reer "o n e of t h e greatest ever in motocr oss history, " a nother Kawasa ki Te am Green rider - Ja mes Stewart Jr. - tied th e a mateur mark with titles O in the S uperm in i and 85cc (14 -15) Mod ified cla sses at th e famo us country sing er's ranc h off Interstate 4 0 betwee n Nashville and Memph is . It was an outright re c o rd in m ini cycl e ra cin g , as Ca rmichael's final t itle had come in the 2 50cc/Open division , so Stewart, 14 , will get a shot next year to take the overall championsh ip reco rd for himself. "I'm kind of happy , glad I got this thing over with ," Stewart sa id following the final majo r U.S . min icy cl e race of h is career (he will c ontest the Mini des Nations in Germany befor e debuting o n a 12 5 in Englishtown , New Jersey ). "I wanted to go out on top, a nd that's what ha p pen e d . I ca n't wa it to go home and have a big bike James Stewart Jr. 1321, shown here dicing with Ryan Sipes, clinched his eighth and ninth Loretta Lynn's championships, moving him Into a tie with Ricky Carmichael for all-time ti tles at the event. Stewart will return next year to try and break the record on a 125. in m y front yard , just re a d y to g o ride. Hopefully the y' ll be there when I get back." Though th e added sign ificance of Stewart 's c r o wn s m e an t that t he Floridian garnered the lion's s ha re of attentio n, a total of 32 cha m pionships were hand ed out fo llowing t he fiv e days of ra c in g . Com pe ti tion was fie rce and the talent le ve l h igh , bu t three other rid e rs also manag ed to To av o id h ea t ing up b ikes and bod ies , man y o f th e 50c c ride rs op ted n ot to ride th e ho t la p a nd instea d waite d on th e line to conc e ntrate on th e sta rt. On e of th e mos t consistent g ood st arters was Re is , who won a ll three m otos . "I came about top five e very time ou t of the ho le , so I had to do a little bit of pa ss ing ," said Re is. DOMINIC IZZI 65cc [7-9) STOCK The final t itle of the week to be decided was in this KTM-heavy class, in which Izzi had the class lead after goi ng 1-2 in the first two m oto s . In th e final moto , he got into seco nd after one la p and stayed the re throug hout for the title . "I wa s going as fas t as I cou ld, 'c a use I kn ew if I got thir d , I woul d n't get it," he sa id.