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/361826
A s the off-road editor at Cy- cle News, I am fortunate to witness some of the best motocross racers in the world compete against each other on some of the best tracks in the country in the outdoor AMA Pro Motocross Championship. So why is it that I get more excited about being at one particular am- ateur motocross race than I do at just about any National MX race? Because it's Loretta Lynn's. There is a good chance that you're reading Cycle News be- cause you like racing - more specifically, motorcycle racing. I do too. And as much as I en- joy watching Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen and James Stewart mix it up on the track, I also get a real thrill watching the amateur moto- crossers go at it, which has often times - heck, most of the times - produced some of the best rac- ing that I've ever seen. So when you take the top amateur racers in the country and put them all together in one place, like you do at Loretta's, I will always make it a special point of being there. And it doesn't matter to me if it's in the "pee wee" class, minicycle class, women's class or even in the vet class, great racing is great racing. I don't care if it's the pros or the amateurs, if the racing is good, and they're on motorcy- cles, I'm all over it. One of the reasons why I en- joy the racing at Loretta's so much (and pretty much at all of the other major amateur events like Mammoth, World Minis, Mini O's, Daytona, Oak Hill and Free- stone, for that matter) is because the racing is usually excellent from first place all the way back to 40 th . Rarely do I see riders give up in a major amateur event, es- pecially at Loretta's, just because they're not in the top 10; after all, careers, not purses, are on the line. You'll see racers defending 21 st place just as hard as they would first place. You rarely see that in the pros, but you'll see it all day long at Loretta's. You also see a lot of emotion at Loretta's, which adds a lot to the racing element. Just about every competitor has some story of sacrifice and/or adversity to tell about how they got to Loret- ta's, so if the results don't pan out on race day, the emotional pain can be quite strong and evident. I've seen tears of disappoint- ment from many racers - not just from the young ones, either - at Loretta's. DNFs, crashes and in- juries can be devastating to any racer who comes to Loretta's in hopes of impressing the factories and major race teams that are all scouting for hot prospects. Luckily, Loretta's uses a three- moto format so chances are that if something bad happens you'll get a second or third chance to prove yourself. On the other hand, I've also seen tears of en- joyment produced by a podium finish. Loretta's is also a great place to watch the sons and daughters of famous racers getting their ca- reers started – riders like Evan Ferry, Haiden Deegan, Ryan Sur- ratt, Justin Jones, Aaron Pless- inger, and RJ and Robbie Wage- man. This year, it was something special to watch the sons of Tal- lon Vohland (Maximus) and Rick Ryan (Jeremy) go at it in every moto of the 65cc 10-11 Limited class. I'm sure this won't be the last time, either. Loretta's is also a place where motocross stars of the past can still get out there and do battle for a national title. This year, Robbie BY KIT PALMER CN III OBSERVATION CHECK LORETTA LYNN'S – THERE'S NOTHING AMATEUR ABOUT IT P136