VOL. 53 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 9, 2016 P81
E
very year, a handful hot
new amateur motocross-
ers make the move to the
big time, but not too many of
them make the move as impres-
sively or as seamlessly as Austin
Forkner has.
Since joining the pro ranks at
the opening round of the Lucas
Oil AMA Pro Motocross Champi-
onship at Hangtown, which was
only a few months ago, Forkner
has already been mixing it up
with the stars of the 250MX-
class, stars like the Martin broth-
ers, Joey Savatgy and Cooper
Webb. In just his second race
as a pro at Glen Helen, he got
his first taste of the podium by
finishing third in the first moto,
and he nearly got on the podium
for the overall that day. But he
wouldn't have to wait long for
that to happen, which came at
Southwick with a 5-2 for third
overall. In the last race at Wash-
ougal, though, Forkner reached
his biggest milestone yet when
he won the second moto and
then capped that off by leaving
the track with the second-place
overall trophy with a 10-1.
Forkner is just 17 years old.
He calls Richards, Missouri,
home, but he's hardly there
anymore, now that he is follow-
ing the outdoor MX circuit as a
member of the Monster Energy/
Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Team.
Forkner is a nice kid who is
extremely polite and a joy to talk
to. He doesn't answer ques-
tions with just yes or no, but in
full sentences—and then some.
He's friendly, intelligent and
speaks well, and the sport of pro
motocross should feel lucky to
have someone like him coming
on board.
We caught up with Forkner
the day after he got his first-ever
moto win. He was attending a
Fox media event for his spon-
sor in Oregon, and you could
tell that his mind was still on the
previous day.
"It [the win] felt really good,"
Forkner said. "I was so excited
when the race was over. It was
really good. I got kind of a gift
from those guys all getting
together [second-moto pileup
that included Savatgy, Webb
and Cooper], but it doesn't really
THE
ROOKIE
FROM
MISSOURI
IS RIDING
LIKE A
VETERAN
BY KIT PALMER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOPPENWORLD.COM AND PALMER
E X C E E D I N G
E X P E C T A T I O N S
Austin
Forkner has
a promising
future in
motocross.
There isn't
much doubt
about that.
