RCH Soaring Eagle/Dodge Amateur Series
Round 1: Exit 28 Motocross Park
Story and Photos by Dan McGee
Ricky Carmichael, one of the legends of Supercross, and his partner Cary Hart are working to help the grass roots of motocross. On May 18, the Exit 28 Motocross Park, located just east of Sparks, Nevada, hosted the first of five rounds of the RCH Soaring Eagle/Dodge Amateur Series.
The event brought out a large number of riders, including some from Southern California, who were eager to show their skills and vie for the prizes at the end of the series. Those included paid trips to the Monster Energy Cup event in Las Vegas this coming October, as well as other prizes.
Three groups of Pro riders really added to the excitement during the day, and two of the 250cc/ 450cc Pros split victories.
“I went two-one for first overall,” Colton Aeck said after his second moto. “It was really a good race. I started third, had to pass Nate [Nathan Tiearney] and [Dustin] Miller, but after that I just tried to ride a smart race and maintain my lead.”
Aeck then gave thanks to his sponsors Simi Valley Cycles, TREMX.com, X Brand Goggles, P&M Plumbing, Works Connection, and Tech One Designs, which brought him up from Granada Hills, California.
When the gate dropped, Nathan Tiearney grabbed the holeshot, with Aeck and veteran freestyle rider Dustin Miller in hot pursuit. Then Aeck made his move and took over the point position, but he had to fend off a determined Tiearney during the remaining laps, while Miller faded to seventh.
In the first moto, things had been reversed, with Carson City, Nevada’s Tiearney following and then taking the lead and scoring the victory. In the end, his 1-2 tally put him in second overall for the day.
After that first race, Tiearney said: “I didn’t get the best of starts; took off, I think, fourth or fifth, but a couple went down in front or me. I just tried to stay smart, as I haven’t been riding much, so my arms got a little tired – but I held it together.”
Then he thanked Moto Source, West Racing, Kiwi Car Care, Fly and FMF for their support.
The other Pro division, the 125/250cc class, had split winners as well. In their first moto, Miller, who said he does motocross for fun but that freestyle is his work, grabbed the lead and was never headed.
After winning the overall as well as topping the Over 30 Pro division, Miller said: “I did about three hard laps, then cruiser laps, as I was tired as hell. It was pretty brutal, as I don’t ride a lot of motocross, so I’m pretty tired right now. And I want to thank Tim O’Brien and Livfast for putting this on.”
After finishing second in that first moto, Billy Adams got on it, fended off other riders, and scored the victory that gave him the overall for the day.
“The first moto, I was just taking it easy, as I knew the guy in front me [Miller] wasn’t in my class,” Adams reported. “But in this moto, I had to push a little bit, as I had my brother-in-law, Ryan Ferris, behind me. I knew if I got a little bit of distance, he’d tire out. The track is decent, but you’ve got to get a good line, as there are a lot of bumps and square edges.”
Then Adams gave special thanks to his father and Reno KTM for getting him to the race.
Miller faded to third in his second moto, and Eric Gillen took the Over 30 Pro victory.
Among the veterans, Bill Webb won the Over 50 overall, while Layne Kolbet put on two determined races to claim the Over 40 Intermediate victory. Eric Stranger was the Over 40 Junior victor, while the Intermediate winner was Anthony Fagundes.
Mixed in with the Over 40 and Over 50 groups were the women racers, and in their second moto, they staged one of the closest races of the day.
When the gate dropped, Ashleigh Trapanese from Sparks grabbed the lead, with veteran Shami Potratz on her back fender. Lap after lap, they tore around the track, while Jordan Beck, who was second in the first moto, trailed in third. Toward the end of the race, Potratz charged out of a corner and took the lead as they passed the starting gate. Then Trapanese made a mistake that dropped her to third and gave Beck the runner-up spot in the overall finish.
At the youngest end of the age ladder are the 50cc or Pee Wee racers. Jonny Simpson, Zade White, Chase Cannizzaro and Cash Dunbar won their respective divisions.
The next-youngest classes, for the 65cc and 85cc riders, had strong fields, as the next generation of both boys and girls work their way up the sports class ladder system.
One 85cc rider from California is Colby Copp, and he dominated both the 85cc Open and Supermini events. In fact, right after the gate dropped, the rest of the field was battling for second, as Copp showed them his heels and ran away with all those motos.
With the pit packed and the overfill area pretty much full, several classes had almost full gates, which speaks well for the future of the sport in this area.
During the day, a few riders needed medical attention, but none of them required an ambulance ride, although they probably were headed to the hospital to have any injuries treated.
The event itself is the result of promoter Tim O’Brien and the RCH people teaming up.
“RCH is Ricky Carmichael and Cary Hart Racing, and there is a five-event series here at 28 Motocross Park,” said Justyn Amstudz, who represented the RCH side. “We partnered up with Tim from Livfast with our partners Dodge to promote this series, as it’s very important to see the industry grow at the amateur and grass-roots level. We’re supporting the grass-roots level so some of these kids might get a shot at Supercross status someday.”
After the dust finally settled and the trophies had been handed out, promoter O’Brien said: “I couldn’t ask for any more of a day, with RCH coming in and Dodge with their activation and everybody doing test drives – it was a big success for everybody. The rider turnout was great, and while I don’t have the total count yet, I couldn’t ask for any more, as the place was packed.”
Exit 28 Motocross Park
Sparks, Nevada
Results: May 18, 2014 ( Round 1 of 5)
50 PEE WEE/HONDA XR: 1. Jonny Simpson.
50 (4-6): 1. Zade White; 2. Rob Wilson; 3. Elijah Auble; 4. Tanner Ines.
50 (7+): 1. Chase Cannizzaro; 2. Owen Bills; 3. Conner Gaarentstroom; 4. Ezra Arneson; 5. Oliver Bonner.
50 OPEN: 1. Cash Dunbar; 2. Owen Bills; 3. Connor Gaarenstroom; 4. Zade White; 5. Elijah Auble.
65 BEG: 1. Chase Cannizzaro; 2. Zachary Larsen; 3. Drake Lanning; 4. James Larsen; 5. Brayden Grashuis.
65 JR: 1. Demetre Proutsos; 2. Chandler Beveridge; 3. Hayden Fagundes; 4. Nakana Domingo.
65 INT: 1. Ryder Schwartz.
65 OPEN: 1. Demetre Proutsos; 2. Chandler Beveridge; 3. Hayden Fagundes; 4. Ryder Schwartz; 5. Nakana Domingo.
85 BEG: 1. Mitchell Keen; 2. Lyle Stoddard; 3. Christian Hicks; 4. Cory Sego; 5. Daniel Tantum.
85 JR: 1. Levi Wosick; 2. Brock Grashuis; 3. Danny Hillyer; 4. Dallas Serpa; 5. Dylan Thorwaldson.
85 OPEN: 1. Colby Copp; 2. Mikey Hillyer; 3. Trevor Tellez; 4. Dallas Serpa; 5. T.J. Taylor.
SUPERMINI: 1. Colby Copp; 2. T.J. Taylor, 3. Mikey Hillyer; 4. Trevor Tellez; 5. Brandon Copeland.
2-STROKE OPEN: 1. Austin Serpa; 2. Justin McVay; 3. Andrew Atangan; 4. Ricky Dahlberg; 5. Dallas Dussault.
125/250 BEG: 1. Tyrell Pedotti; 2. Matt Schlittenhart; 3. Mason Marlin; 4. Dustin Ferris; 5. Shane Van Damme.
125/250 JR: 1. Zane Roberts; 2. Tony Giusti; 3. Chad Heishman; 4. Austin Serpa; 5. Garrett Hueftle.
125/250 INT: 1. Collin McHaney; 2. Brad Maga; 3. Bryson Olson; 4. John Hansen.
125/250 PRO: 1. Billy Adams; 2. Ryan Ferris; 3. Zach Spicho; 4. Johnathon Ayers.
250/450 BEG: 1. David Brent; 2. Jon Pelcher; 3. Jacob Perrine; 4. Jordan Drawver; 5. Gary Dyrr.
250/450 JR: 1. Chad Heishman; 2. Justin Lydick; 3. Quinn Santana; 4. Wes Gilmore; 5. Ted Johnson.
250/450 INT: 1. Ethan Hoffman; 2. Collin McHaney; 3. Brad Maga; 4. Kenny Fye; 5. Dylan Galliett.
250/450 PRO: 1. Colton Aeck; 2. Nathan Tiearney; 3. Adam Conway; 4. Ryan Ferris; 5. Tyler Moore.
OPEN: 1. Jeff Simas; 2. Matt Manha; 3. Bill Webb; 4. Sam Mosier; 5. Michael Blochowiak.
WOMEN: 1. Shami Potratz; 2. Jordan Beck; 3. Ashleigh Trapanese; 4. Ashtyn Shepard.
SCHOOLBOY: 1. Collin McHaney; 2. Dylan Galliett; 3. Chad Heishman; 4. Garrett Hueftle; 5. Zane Roberts.
20+ JR: 1. Robert Gibson.
30+ BEG: 1. Frankie Albert; 2. Jesse Simmons; 3. Joe Young.
30+ JR: 1. Adam Stokes; 2. Ted Johanson; 3. Scott Simmons; 4. Justin Amos; 5. Nate Rogne.
30+ INT: 1. Kile Fye; 2. Kirk Sego; 3. Saer White.
30+ EX: 1. Jeff Simas.
30+ PRO: 1. Eric Gillen; 2. Matt Manha; 3. Dustin Miller; 4. Richard Carl.
40+ JR: 1. Eric Stranger; 2. Michael Blochowiak; 3. Jamie Bonner.
40+ INT: 1. Layne Kolbet; 2. Matt Tate; 3. A.J. Tumage; 4. Chris Dyer; 5. Chris Leone.
40+ EX: 1. Anthony Fagundes; 2. Chris Ponsock.
50+: 1. Bill Webb; 2. Gilbert Chick; 3. Ted Griffin.
CLUB: 1. Eric Gillen; 2. Anthony Fagundes; 3. Kirk Sego; 4. Layne Kolbet; 5. Mike Sturmbaugh.
SPORTSMAN: 1. John Hansen; 2. Aaron Wolff; 3. Ricky Dahlberg.