2019 Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Motocross | Day Two Race Report

July 31, 2019

2019 LORETTA LYNN’S AMATEUR MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
2019 LORETTA LYNN’S AMATEUR MOTOCROSS | FULL RESULTS

PHOTOS | Jared Hicks

The racing at The Ranch continued on Wednesday, the second day of competition at the 2019 Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Motocross championship event in Tennesse. Tuesday’s on-track action was a surprise in many ways and numerous riders wheeled into the starting gates determined to continue their string of success or with hopes of changing their results before a chance at the desired overall finish got out of reach.

Supermini 1 (12-15) | Moto One
6.00 mark in the video

Max Vohland was simply unstoppable in the first gate drop for the SuperMini 1 class on Wednesday morning. The exceptionally tall KTM rider went wire to wire in the 10 lap race and crossed the finish line 20-seconds ahead of the closest competitor. On the podium, Vohland stated this is his last event on mini-cycles and that all equipment will be for sale at the end of the week.

Schoolboy 2 (12-17) B/C | Moto One
37.00 mark in the video

Jarrett Frye claimed his first win of the week after a hard-fought battle with Preston Killroy, a surprise challenger that stayed with Frye all the way to the checkered flag. Killroy led the early laps of the race and handled Frye’s challenges until a small mistake allowed the Star Racing Yamaha rider the chance to make the deciding pass amid the slower riders of lapped traffic. Frye never relinquished the lead once he had it, and even when Killroy mounted a late-race charge that closed the gap from 1.673 seconds on lap seven to 00.735 seconds on lap nine, Frye pulled back ahead to a 5.169-second margin of victory.

Stilez Robertson put in a charge from seventh on lap one to third place at the finish, a ride that could be important later in the week when the championship is on the line. On the podium, Robertson shared that he had pulled the dreaded 42nd gate pick for that moto and that he was eager to see what he’d do with a better gate pick in the next race. Dilon Schwartz ran second in the opening laps until a fall on the second lap dropped him to ninth place; he worked back to finish the race in fourth place.

Open Pro Sport | Moto One
1:08.00 mark in the video

The first Open Pro Sport race of the week will go down in Loretta’s history as the Moto with the closest finish in the era of electric transponders. Parker Mashburn got to the head of the pack early and the Orange Brigade KTM rider stayed there from lap one to lap eight. Mashburn spent the summer racing in Canadian National Motocross series and at the RedBud round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, and his performance in the Open Pro Sport class put him in front of top talent scouts for the pro teams.

But there was little he could do to keep Jalek Swoll and Jett Lawrence at bay. For Swoll, it was his chance to gloss over a rough result in Tuesday’s 250 Pro Sport race, while Lawrence was ready to again be a spoiler. Swoll started in a much better spot than Lawrence (the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider was 8th on the opening lap, the AMSOIL Honda rider was 15th), and reached third place by lap five. Lawrence’s charge included a series of sub 1:55-lap times through the middle of the race and on lap seven, he was in third place and a few feet back of Swoll. With just five minutes left in the race, Swoll made the pass on Mashburn and instantly opened up a gap on the pack, and Lawrence followed.

The last two laps were a mad dash to the checkered flag. Swoll seemed like he was far enough ahead of Lawrence (2.158 seconds, to be exact) that he could have run a controlled, slightly slower pace all the way to the finish. But just when things set, Lawrence found a second burst of speed and pulled even with the leader on the final lap. The two split a lapped rider entering the last turn, came out off of the curve dead-even, and launched their motorcycles to the finish line in an attempt to beat the other by any margin. Ultimately, Swoll was credited with the race win by just 0.066 seconds.

At one point in the race, Carson Mumford had the chance to change the entire outcome. Thirteen minutes in, the AMSOIL Honda rider got into third place and posted the single fastest time of the moto, a 1:52.954. Mumford’s push ended when the backend of his bike slid out in a sandy, slick turn and he took a few moments to get back aboard; he ended the race in seventh place.

Grant Harlan and Hardy Munoz were two notable riders. Harlan held second early in the race and did everything he could to get his Honda over some of the bigger jump combinations and to hold the spot; he eventually ended up in fifth place. Munoz, meanwhile, continued to hold his own against the factory-supported riders and ended the race sixth.

Pierce Brown’s rank in the race varied greatly; the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider was seventh on lap one, fourth on lap two, 11th on lap three, 12th on lap four, and ninth at the finish line.

450 B | Moto One
5:11.00 mark in the video

Matt Le Blanc was another rider that ran a full moto with little competition. The Star Racing Yamaha rider led all 11 laps, put in a 1:51.072-minute lap time (the fastest of the class), and won by a 16-second margin.

250 Pro Sport | Moto Two
6:07.00 mark in the video

After the day’s epic Open Pro Sport race, there was even more importance placed on Moto Two for the 250 Pro Sport division. Jalek Swoll snagged the holeshot and looked ready to make up for Tuesday’s two tip-overs and 13th place results in Moto One, but the pack of Lance Kobusch/Jo Shimoda/Jett Lawrence/Hardy Munoz/Pierce Brown had other plans. Kobusch was the first to strike with a pass that started Swoll’s slide down the running order, while Lawrence followed moments later. Lawrence got into the lead on lap three and at that point, many expected him to continue his new reign on the Ranch.

Shimoda stayed steady from the start of the race to the end, and went from fourth place on lap one to third place on lap four to second place on lap six. Most of the 250 Pro Sport riders seemed to follow the same few inside lines everywhere around the track, but Shimoda went wide, made excellent use of the track’s edge, and carried momentum all the way around to reel in and pull even with Lawrence. The last three laps were arguably Shimoda’s best; his times were 1-3 seconds faster than Lawrence, he overtook the top spot on lap 10, and instantly established a 4.337-second lead at the finish.

Pierce Brown and Hardy Munoz were again noteworthy riders in the field, even without the top honors. Brown, a rider with limited recent time on the bike due to a broken shoulder blade, put in the fastest lap of the race (1:51.367 on lap six). Munoz was never worse than fifth in the race and wound up in fourth place at the finish.

Even with Shimoda’s win, Lawrence is still the lead rider in the overall standings with 1-2 scores to Brown’s 4-3, Munoz’s 3-4, Shimoda’s 8-1, and Mumford’s 2-8. Sadly for Swoll, his chance at the championship is gone, because 13-6 rides put him tenth overall with one moto to go.