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AMSOIL Sponsored
MX Racer Tyler Bowers
click image to see photos from Loretta Lynn's |
Hurricane Mills, TN - From a talented pack of nearly
23,000 entries, 33 AMA Amateur National Champions were crowned at
the 24th annual AMA/Air Nautiques Amateur National Championships at
Loretta Lynn’s Ranch presented by Amsoil. The entries at the
Area and Regional qualifying levels were narrowed down to 1,386 finalists–42
per class–all of whom would compete in three 20-minute motos
at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN, to determine
the 2005 champions. Near-perfect conditions greeted all 99 motos throughout
the week, with the podium finishers in each moto receiving Gold, Silver
and Bronze medals from event organizers MX Sports.
The big winners included three double national champions.
Oregon’s Josh Hill, riding Yamaha YZ250Fs, collected his sixth
and seventh AMA National Championships at Loretta Lynn’s by taking
the 125 B Stock and Mod titles. Honda rider Justin Barcia took titles
in both the Stock and Mod divisions of the 85cc (12-13) classes back
to his New York home, and Ohio’s Mike Katin won both the +25
and +30 Vet Championships on his Suzuki.
Tennessee’s Kevin Walker rode into the history
books by clinching his 11th National Championship with a win in the
+35 class. Walker is now tied atop the all-time Championship list
with James Stewart and Mike Alessi. But Walker, a heavy favorite in
the +30 class, lost the title to Katin after a poor middle moto left
him a 1-5-1 second overall.
Other riders to note included Suzuki’s Jason
Lawrence, who notched his fourth career title by winning the highly-competitive
125 A Pro Sport class, and Kawasaki’s Ryan Villapoto, the Washington
native who won his first title with a 125 A Championship. Villopoto
was awarded the coveted AMA Sports Horizon Award, given to the amateur
graduate who shows the most promise in the pro ranks. (Lawrence was
considered ineligible because he is already competing on the professional
AMA Motocross National circuit.)
Katin was awarded the Vet Horizon Award, and Barcia
the Youth Horizon Award.
Two other expert titles were also locked up by California
riders. Honda’s Daniel Sani won the 250 A Pro Sport class, and
Kawasaki’s Scott Simon won the 250 A class. Lawrence missed out
on his chance to win two titles due to a crash and trouble restarting
his bike in the 250 A Pro Sport class, while his Suzuki teammate Mike
LaPaglia, also of California, won the Four-Stroke Championship, but
crashed out of the third and final 250 A moto while leading.
Hill swept the 125 B classes, while Kentucky’s
Tyler Bowers won the 250 B Modified Class on a Honda, and Georgia’s
Jase Lewis won the 250 B Stock Class, also on a Honda.
Kawsaki’s Team Green’s Austin Stroupe won
the 125cc (12-15) Stock title on his KX125 in a dramatic third-moto
duel with KTM’s Zach Osborne, while Minnesota’s Ryan Dungy
won his first title in the Modified division on a Suzuki.
Suzuki’s Nico Izzi was looking for two titles
of his own in the Senior Minicycle divisions, but the Michigan rider
ended up with only the Supermini 105cc (12-15) title after facing
mechanical problems in the 85cc (14-15) class. Honda’s Les Smith
claimed that championship with steady 3-2-4 moto scores.
Two Suzuki riders swept the 85cc (7-11) class, with
New Mexico’s Jason Anderson and Ohio’s Walker Brightwell
taking the wins.
Michigan’s Sarah Whitmore returned to take the
Women’s Championship on her Yamaha after another series of duels
with rival Honda rider Jessica Patterson. Like Walker in the Vet classes,
WMA Champion Patterson had a bad middle moto and her 1-9-1 meant third
overall at Loretta Lynn’s.
Suzuki’s Kurt McMillan, a top former 500cc National
privateer, won all three motos in the Senior +40 class on his Suzuki,
while Kawasaki’s Matt Tedder, the California father of five racing
boys, returned to win the +45 title for the second-straight year.
In the 65cc classes, KTM riders Brandon Mays, of
New York, Max Tannenbaum, of Georgia, and Jacob Hayes, of North Carolina
took the championships.
Florida’s Adam Cianciarulo won a 50cc class
on his Cobra, with another Cobra rider, Arizona’s Mark Worth,
sweeping all three motos in his class. North Carolina’s Austin
McKee won the Shaft 50cc class on his Yamaha.
Finally the Golden State of California picked up
the "state championship" award for the most success throughout
the week in Tennessee.
The AMA Air Nautiques Amateur National Motocross
Championships presented by Amsoil is the world’s largest amateur
motocross race. In 2005, over 22,000 entries attempted to qualify
in 33 classes for the event. The 2005 National was held August 1 –
6, 2005 at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Winning an AMA Amateur National Championship is considered the launch
pad to a lucrative pro motocross career. Sponsors include Air Nautiques,
Amsoil, Maxxis, Thor, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, KTM, Cobra,
FMF, Gatorade, Parts Unlimited, Ogio, Freestyle Watches, Scott, Alpinestars,
Boyesen, CTi, DC Shoes, Kicker, Liquid Performance, Wiseco, AGV, Renthal,
Twin Air, Moto Tees and EK Chain.
For complete results, please visit www.mxsports.com.
And to see video highlights from every day of the weeklong AMA/Air
Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships, check out the
DMXS Radio/GK Films-produced MX Sports Center on www.mxsports.com