AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST ASSOCIATION CONGRATULATES AMA REGIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONS

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association congratulates the AMA Regional Motocross Champions who will race for AMA national No. 1 plates at the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., July 28 through Aug. 3.

“AMA Amateur National Motocross titles are the most coveted rewards on the national circuit, and are only won at the end of a long and highly competitive journey that culminates at the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship,” said AMA Motocross Manager Kip Bigelow. “This August, 36 national champions will rise from among thousands of qualifiers to claim their AMA national titles.

“We are also pleased to work with MX Sports at the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship,” Bigelow added. “The organizational and promotional contributions of MX Sports continue to add to an event that has grown significantly over more than three decades of partnership.”

Added MX Sports Event Director Tim Cotter: “MX Sports is once again proud to host the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s. We are honored with the over 20,000 entries at the Area Qualifier level and the intense competition at all of the Regional Championships. After over 30 years of great racing at the Loretta Lynn Ranch, this year’s event is shaping up to be the best ever with unprecedented live streaming throughout the week, culminating with the first-ever live network television coverage on NBC.”

In addition to national championships, the best riders will compete for the AMA Motocross Horizon Award, presented to the amateur racer who demonstrates the talent and readiness to excel immediately in the pro ranks. As in past years, the rider who takes home the coveted AMA Horizon Award will compete in the fastest classes at Loretta’s — typically, the Open Pro Sport, 250 A and 450 A classes.

Leading the charge for these titles at the national will be the regional class champions.

These include multi-class regional champions such as Honda rider Matt Bisceglia from Weatherford, Texas, the South Central Open Pro Sport, 250 A and 450 A champion; Jesse Pierce, from Clarksburg, N.J., who rode his Suzuki to the Mid-East Open Pro Sport and 450 A titles; KTM rider Gavin Kadlec from Browerville, Minn., who won the 250 A and 450 A North Central championships; Hewitt, N.J.’s Luke Renzland, who earned theOpen Pro Sport and 450 A titles on his Yamaha; and Honda rider Shane McElrath from Canton, N.C., who took the Southwest titles in the Open Pro Sport and 450 A classes.

Individual Open Pro Sport regional champions include the North Central’s Keaton Ward (KTM, Bozeman, Mont.); the Northwest’s Chris Howell (Suzuki, Spokane Valley, Wash.); and the Southeast’s RJ Hampshire (Honda, Hudson, Fla.).

Individual 250 A regional champions include the Mid East’s Marcus Nilsen (Honda, Winter Garden, Fla.); the Northeast’s Dakota Alix (KTM, Jay, Vt.); the Northwest’s Alyas Wardius (Honda, Ridgefield, Wash.); the Southeast’s Jace Owen (Suzuki, Mantoon, Ill.); and the Southwest’s Thomas Covington (Kawasaki, Murrieta, Calif.).

Individual 450 A regional champions include the Northwest’s Kyle Tigert (Honda, Vacaville, Calif.) and the Southeast’s Hayden Mellross (Honda, Cairo, Ga.).

“Riders can only compete in two classes at the national, so it will be interesting to see who signs up for which class in Hurricane Mills,” Bigelow said. “Match-ups and class selections will be key. What we do know, however, is that the competition will be incredible in every class and that dreams will be fulfilled, as they are every summer, at the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.”

The Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship has produced a long list of AMA Supercross and Motocross superstars. Riders who have progressed through the program include AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael, as well as Kevin Windham, Travis Pastrana, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto and many more.

The Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship includes classes for riders from 4 years old to 50-plus on a range of motorcycles, including 50cc minibikes to state-of-the-art highly modified 450cc motocross machines.

For more information about the national championship program, see www.mxsports.com. For more information about AMA-sanctioned competition, see www.americanmotorcyclist.com/racing.

About the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

The AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship represents one of the longest-running motorsports championships in the country. The AMA launched the national championship program in 1975. That year, a series of regional races qualified 135 riders in three classes — 125cc, 250cc and Open — for the championship round in Baldwin, Kan. The program evolved over the next few years to include additional classes, with championship finales run in varying locations across the country. In 1982, the AMA partnered with MX Sports and the event moved to its current location at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. There, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship continues to crown the country’s top amateur motocross racers every summer.