MSR Presents the Big 6 Grand Prix Series
Round 4: Hilltoppers GP at 29 Palms Motorsport Complex
Story and Photos by Rodney Rutherford
The Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club’s annual Grand Prix was incorporated into round four of the eight-round MSR Presents The 2015 District 37 Big 6 Grand Prix Series, held at the 29 Palms Motorsport Complex in Twentynine Palms, California. The approximately nine-mile layout was scouted a few weeks in advance, and grading and final preparations reached a crescendo in the last three days prior to the event. The heat hovered in the low 90s on both days of the two-day event, and several racers mentioned the heat as a factor through the course of the weekend.
Now, let’s get to the racing!
Mitch Hamm had previously placed fifth in the West Coast Grand Prix (WCGP) Novice class at round two and second at round three, setting himself up for a run at the class title with four rounds remaining. The WCGP is the premier event of the Big 6 GP, held on Saturday. The Beginner and Novice WCGP contest gets the checkered flag when the leader finishes after the 45-minute mark plus. The separate Intermediate, Expert and Pro contest runs its race at 90-plus minutes. Hamm took his very first WCGP Novice victory of the season.
The 17-year-old lightning bolt known as Trevor Stewart left a smoldering singe in his lines as he just absolutely railed in his quest for the WCGP Pro II-class win and the overall race victory. Keeping tabs on the eventual WCGP overall winner, WFOx Motorsports’ Colton Udall, John Burr Cycles’ Stewart kept steady with second through lap four but then faded to sixth overall by lap seven after running in the top three for the first six laps. He went down late in the race, finishing second in the WCGP Pro II class and seventh overall. Still, he set a blistering pace early on, and he remains one of the fastest racers overall in the WCGP division.
Forrest Minchinton rode in his first Big 6 round of the year and went straight to the toughest event, the WCGP Pro contest. He finished the steamy day with a sixth in class and 15th overall.
Rowan Trefz rode to third overall in the Vet class and second overall in the Vet Lightweight Expert class. Racing in the Pro II ranks, he has placed 10th, fifth and third in rounds one through three, respectively. Motion Pro’s Trefz broke the champagne bottle open on this day after winning the WCGP Pro II class for his first Pro II win of the 2015 series.
After winning the WCGP 250cc Novice class at rounds two and three, Kaden Lehne stepped up to the 250cc Intermediate at this round and raced to a second in class and 30th overall.
TBT Suspension’s Ryan Reina continues to be the dark horse in the WCGP Pro class, and he should never be counted out. He stayed in the top five for the entire duration of the race. He moved into third on lap seven after fighting courageously for that position with Justin Seeds. Unfortunately for Reina, Seeds prevailed for the third spot, but Reina retained the fourth spot in the final tally.
As for Moose Racing/ Precision Concepts’ Justin Seeds, his bike was being a bit testy and decided not to fire up immediately on the Pro-class dead-engine start. Finally firing up, Seeds was few seconds behind the leaders at the outset, but he calmly got her rolling.
Tapping through the gears and weaving his way through the dust, Seeds made his way up to fourth by lap seven and then raced by Reina for third, carrying that spot to the checkers after being dead last.
Zip-Ty/ FLO/ Focus Apparel’s Blayne Thompson put his Husqvarna TC450 on the right track, racing his way past WCGP Pro II racer Trevor Stewart for second overall on lap five. Blayne’s speedy recipe, apparently, was to stay solid and upright – which is what he did, taking second overall and second in the WCGP Pro class.
Colton Udall was on his game once again. The seasoned desert racer knows winning, and in the last two rounds he has used that knowledge to great success. After his round-three victory at Glen Helen Raceway, Udall once again marched with the leader’s mace in the WCGP spectacle.
Despite the heat and the fact that he was suffering a severe cold, Udall retained the smooth and skillful moto artistry that has brought him multiple Baja titles. Carving around the speedy track, he checked in at the end of lap one with a six-second lead over WCGP Pro II racer Trevor Stewart. Although Stewart was able to hang on to Udall, he was pushing very hard to keep up with the savvy veteran. Udall just stayed on the gas, finishing nine laps for the race win and WCGP Pro victory.
The Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club executed a well-tuned and safe event, utilizing their 70 years of experience at organizing off-road events. For more information and complete results on the Big 6 Grand Prix, please go to www.big6racing.com/ and then click on “results” and then “moto tally.”
Hilltoppers GP at 29 Palms Motorsport Complex
Twentynine Palms, California
50 (4-6): 1. Kai Hunter (KTM); 2. Zachary Novoa (KTM).
50 (7-8): 1. Andrew Schulz (KTM); 2. Luke Lopiccolo; 3. Jacob Adams (KTM); 4. Kellon Trubey (KTM).
MICRO BEG: 1. Zane Von Bergen (Kaw); 2. Barry Johnson (KTM); 3. Ryder Dodd (Hon); 4. Troy Johnston (Kaw); 5. Bradly Alday (Kaw).
MICRO NOV: 1. Lane Forbes (Kaw); 2. Jaxzen Tully (Kaw); 3. Logan Ferguson (Kaw).
JR BEG: 1. Jacob Endress (KTM); 2. Nathan Merrill (KTM); 3. Tanner Atkins (KTM); 4. Chase Hodges (Yam); 5. Rev Alberta (Hon).
JR NOV: 1. Kade McPhetridge (KTM); 2. Evan Rousaville (Kaw); 3. Gavin Brubaker (Kaw); 4. Jett Brubaker (Kaw).
JR ADV: 1. Austin Eddy (Kaw).
MINI BEG: 1. Caleb Benton (Suz); 2. Zachary Von Bergen (Yam); 3. Andrew Jennings (Yam).
MINI NOV: 1. Larry Tyerman (Suz); 2. Jacob Lacroix (Hsq); 3. Tyler Belknap; 4. Clayton Roberts (Yam).
MINI INT: 1. Kirby Cooper (Yam); 2. Mason Stiffler (Kaw); 3. Carson Baehr (Yam); 4. Mason Klein (KTM).
86-200 LIGHTWEIGHT 2 EX: 1. Jesse Vanhoy (KTM); 2. Paul Krause (KTM); 3. Logan Tweet (Yam); 4. Ryan Karell (KTM); 5. Jerry Stevens (Yam).
201-250 LIGHTWEIGHT 1 EX: 1. Nick Stover (Hsq); 2. Chance Wyllie (Kaw); 3. Zach Teno (Kaw); 4. Jordan Gamboa; 5. Trevor Hoffman (KTM).
251+ HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Troy Armstrong (KTM); 2. Brendan Crow (KTM); 3. Cody Patton (Hon); 4. Andy Vandenberg; 5. Andrew Puckett (Yam).
0-250 30+ VET LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Morgan Crawford (KTM); 2 Rowan Trefz (Yam); 3. Jason Trubey (Yam); 4. Robert Baehr (Hsq); 5. Matt Alexander (Yam).
251+ 30+ VET HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Andrew Puckett; 2. Scott Putnam (Suz); 3. Steve Roberts (Kaw); 4. Nick McBride (Hon); 5. Bryan Denny (KTM).
0-250 40+ SR LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Robert Baehr (Hsq); 2. Craig Hunter (Yam); 3. Steve Nakamoto (Yam); 4. Brett Hoffman (KTM); 5. Rich Ellyson (KTM).
251+ 40+ SR HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Paul Krause (KTM); 2. Scott Putnam (Suz); 3. David Glass (Yam); 4. Richard Pratt (KTM); 5. Frank Charolla (Kaw).
0-250 50+ MAGNUM LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Mark Davenport (Yam); 2. Rick Lundin; 3. Steve Nakamoto (Yam); 4. Bill Boyer (Hon); 5. Ron Lawson (Yam).
251+ 50+ MAGNUM HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Paul Krause (KTM); 2. Jerry Black (Hon); 3. Ron Hofer; 4. Frank Charolla (Kaw); 5. Greg Bender (Hon).
LIGHTWEIGHT 1 BEG: 1. Tanner Desrosiers (Kaw); 2. Carson Kelley; 3. Heath Greenlee; 4. Kason Bartlett (Hon); 5. Clayton Morgan (Hon).
LIGHTWEIGHT 1 NOV: 1. Chase Brubaker (Kaw); 2. Benny Landry; 3. Hunter Oakley (Yam); 4. Sam Capt; 5. Blake Turner.
LIGHTWEIGHT 1 INT: 1. Justin Moore (KTM); 2. Dallen Myers (Kaw); 3. Tate Kaplan; 4. Todd Rooney; 5. Zachary Vogt (Yam).
LIGHTWEIGHT 1 EX: 1. Nick Stover (Hsq); 2. Chance Wyllie (Kaw); 3. Zach Teno (Kaw); 4. Jordan Gamboa; 5. Trevor Hoffman (KTM).
LIGHTWEIGHT 2 BEG: 1. Brandon Benton (Yam); 2. Vince Armstrong (Yam); 3. Clayton Gardner (Yam); 4. Nathan Waddell (Yam).
LIGHTWEIGHT 2 NOV: 1. Hayden Hintz (Hon); 2. Dylan Carter (Yam); 3. Carson Moore (BRG); 4. Keaton Opteyndt (Hon); 5. Cory Skaggs (Hon).
LIGHTWEIGHT 2 INT: 1. Cario Gifford (Yam); 2. Nicholas Baehr (Yam); 3. Joey Schoeningh (KTM); 4. Brett Hart (KTM).
LIGHTWEIGHT 2 EX: 1. Jesse Vanhoy (KTM); 2. Paul Krause (KTM); 3. Logan Tweet (Yam); 4. Ryan Karell (KTM); 5. Jerry Stevens (Yam).
HEAVYWEIGHT BEG: 1. Christian Aguilar; 2. Edward Burdeno (Hon); 3. Joe Tralongo; 4. Austin Adams (Yam); 5. Tim Kelley (Hon).
HEAVYWEIGHT NOV: 1. Johnny Degen (Yam); 2. Kurtis Klouzer (Suz); 3. Alex Goutier; 4. Keith Dupuis (Yam); 5. Michael Gossett (Kaw).
HEAVYWEIGHT INT: 1. Tyler Frank (Hon); 2. Thomas Spalliero (Kaw); 3. Luke Lybrook (Hon); 4. Troye Haas (Kaw); 5. Scott Winslow (KTM).
HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Troy Armstrong (KTM); 2. Brendan Crow (KTM); 3. Cody Patton (Hon); 4. Andy Vandenberg; 5. Andrew Puckett (Yam).
VET LIGHTWEIGHT BEG: 1. Charles Blagrove (Suz); 2. Josh Powers (Hsq); 3. Cassidy Fisher (Yam);
VET LIGHTWEIGHT NOV: 1. Ryan Anondson (KTM); 2. Matt O’Malley; 3. Dan Salver (KTM); 4. Jason Gerald (Yam); 5. Brian Vanderheide (Suz).
VET LIGHTWEIGHT INT: 1. Randy Gilbert (KTM); 2. Richard Carper (Kaw); 3. Mike Kuehnel (Suz); 4. Brian Tadeo (Hon);
VET LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Morgan Crawford (KTM); 2. Rowan Trefz (Yam); 3. Jason Trubey (Yam); 4. Robert Baehr (Hsq); 5. Matt Alexander (Yam).
VET HEAVYWEIGHT BEG: 1. Clayton Cummins (Hon); 2. Cody Rash; 3. Nathaniel Jandra (Yam); 4. Jason Baker; 5. Jim Oxford.
VET HEAVYWEIGHT NOV: 1. Brian Dufort (KTM); 2. Grant Walker (Kaw); 3. Charlie Van Bergen (Hon); 4. Jeff Kagan; 5. Travis Walsh.
VET HEAVYWEIGHT INT: 1. Keith Hamstreet (Yam); 2. Mike McGregor (Hon); 3. Michael Young; 4. Justin Iannalfo (Kaw); 5. Kent Watson (KTM).
VET HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Andrew Puckett; 2. Scott Putnam (Suz); 3. Steve Roberts (Kaw); 4. Nick McBride (Hon); 5. Bryan Denny (KTM).
SR LIGHTWEIGHT BEG: 1. Danny Eckersley (Hon);
SR LIGHTWEIGHT NOV: 1. Daniel Cheswick (KTM); 2. Mason Todd (Yam); 3. Robert Sean Stuckey (Hsq); 4. James Skjerve; 5. Steve Cameron (Yam).
SR LIGHTWEIGHT INT: 1. Eric Perez (Yam); 2. Jeff Laubscher (Yam); 3. Randy Winslow (Yam); 4. Murray Lantz (Suz); 5. Bill Waddell (Yam).
SR LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Robert Baehr (Hsq); 2. Craig Hunter (Yam); 3. Steve Nakamoto (Yam); 4. Brett Hoffman (KTM); 5. Rich Ellyson (KTM).
SR HEAVYWEIGHT BEG: 1. Bruce Thielbar (KTM); 2. Aaron Anderson (Bet); 3. Cliff Bartlett (Hon); 4. Dennis Ladd (KTM).
SR HEAVYWEIGHT NOV: 1. Joey Gardner (Hon); 2. Grant Walker (Kaw); 3. Mark Brubaker (Kaw); 4. Chance Alberta (Hon); 5. Charlie Van Bergen (Hon).
SR HEAVYWEIGHT INT: 1. James Henderson (Kaw); 2. Todd Carter (KTM); 3. Jimmy Rivers (Kaw); 4. Paul Merrill (KTM); 5. Rob Moore (BRG).
SR HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Paul Krause (KTM); 2. Scott Putnam (Suz); 3. David Glass (Yam); 4. Richard Pratt (KTM); 5. Frank Charolla (Kaw).
MAGNUM LIGHTWEIGHT NOV: 1. Ben Greenwood (KTM); 2. Monty Fishburn; 3. James Skjerve (Yam); 4. Joseph Nelson (Yam).
MAGNUM LIGHTWEIGHT INT: 1. David Tieskoetter (Hon); 2. Garrett Gesselman (Yam); 4. Pete Vetrano (Yam); 5. Kenneth Larson (KTM).
MAGNUM LIGHTWEIGHT EX: 1. Mark Davenport (Yam); 2. Rick Lundin; 3. Steve Nakamoto (Yam); 4. Bill Boyer (Hon); 5. Ron Lawson (Yam).
MAGNUM HEAVYWEIGHT NOV: 1. Dominick McCormick (KTM); 2. Jeff Leonard (Hon); 3. Bob Gilbert (KTM); 4. David Lindner (Hon); 5. Kent Wilson (KTM).
MAGNUM HEAVYWEIGHT INT: 1. Todd Carter (KTM); 2. Steve Lucero (Yam); 3. Alan Anderson (Kaw); 4. George Broshihan (KTM); 5. Terry Sabadin (KTM).
MAGNUM HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Paul Krause (KTM); 2. Jerry Black (Hon); 3. Ron Hofer; 4. Frank Charolla (Kaw); 5. Greg Binder (Hon).
EVOLUTION INT: 1. Scott Hisey (Hon); 2. Patrick Cook (Hon).
EVOLUTION EX: 1. Tim Tarry (Yam); 2. Kevin Hatfield; 3. Richard Cruz (Kaw).
REVOLUTION NOV: 1. Dylan Carter (Hon); 2. Art Castruita (Kaw); 3. Joey Castruita Jr. (Hon); 4. Philip Solenberger (Yam).
REVOLUTION INT: 1. Matt Pastor (Hon); 2. Todd Rooney (Hon); 3. Craig Hatfield; 4. Pete Vetrano (BRG); 5. Cody Hilliard (Hon).
WOMEN NOV: 1. Leticia Porche (Yam); 2. Trisha Holland (Hon); 3. Amanda Morgan (Yam); 4. Kalie Holder (Hon); 5. Melissa Caughey (Hon).
WOMEN INT: 1. Kylie Hart (KTM); 2. Danielle Crawford (Kaw); 3. Hana Hintz (Hsq); 4. Laura Ferguson (Yam); 5. Kim Divine (KTM).
WOMEN EX: 1. Amanda Boyer (Hon); 2. Sarah Kritsch (KTM); 3. Stacy Doerksen (KTM).
60+ MASTERS: 1. Mike Sixbery (Kaw); 2. Robert Koch (Yam); 3. Steve Bebeck (Kaw); 4. Cordis Brooks (KTM); 5. Danny Sanchez (Hon).
70+ LEGENDS: 1. Dennis Tooman (Yam); 2. Don Voyer (KTM); 3. Daryl Deinhard; 4. Lee Olson (KTM); 5. Jay Wickers (Kaw).
CLASSIC NOV: 1. Lon DeYoung (BRG); 2. Mike Curtis.
CLASSIC INT: 1. Michael French (Yam); 2. Eric Perez (Hsq); 3. Garrett Gesselman (Yam); 4. Andrew Davis (Yam); 5. Juan Rodriguez (Hon).
CLASSIC EX: 1. Anthony McElhenney (Hon); 2. Dwayne Scrivnor (Hsq); 3. Kevin Rezende (Suz); 4. Jerry Stevens (Hon); 5. Myron Lapka (Hsq).
VINTAGE INT: 1. James Jacks (Yam); 2. James Mooney (Hon); 3. Rick Brown.
VINTAGE EX: 1. Daryl Hambleton; 2. Lawrence Klein; 3. Raymond Wildman; 4. Rod Wheeler (TM); 5. Robert Dunlap (Yam).
WCGP 200 INT: 1. Logan Tweet (Yam); 2. Matthew Williams (KTM); 3. Joey Schoeningh (KTM).
WCGP 200 EX: 1. Ryan Karell; 2. Trevor Hunter; 3. Garrett Lilly (Suz).
WCGP 250 INT: 1. Troy Vanscourt (Yam); 2. Kaden Lehne; 3. Ryan Newby; 4. Zachary Vogt (Yam).
WCGP 250 EX: 1. Jesse Vanhoy.
WCGP HEAVYWEIGHT INT: 1. Stephen Benny (KTM); 2. Tyler Frank (Hon); 3. Thomas Spalliero (Kaw); 4. Conner Steel (Yam); 5. Michael Birchfield (Hsq).
WCGP HEAVYWEIGHT EX: 1. Brendan Crow; 2. Cody Patton; 3. Day Dal Seglio (Kaw); 4. Mason Partain (KTM); 5. Richard Cruz (Suz).
WCGP PRO: 1. Colton Udall (Hon); 2. Blayne Thompson; 3. Justin Seeds (Kaw); 4. Ryan Reina; 5. Mark Samuels (Hon).
WCGP PRO II: 1. Rowan Trefz (Yam); 2. Trevor Stewart (Yam); 3. Mitch Anderson (KTM); 4. Nicolas Garvin (Hsq); 5. Ben Meza.
WCGP VET INT: 1. Mike Rozier (Yam); 2. Matt Brown (BRG); 3. Steve Herstad (Kaw); 4. Jason Beck.
WCGP VET EX: 1. Bryan Denny (KTM); 2. Steve Roberts (Kaw); 3. James Justin Shultz; 4. Brandon Wright (Kaw); 5. Nathan Rogers.
WCGP 200 BEG: 1. Brandon Benton (Yam); 2. Lance Holmes (Hon); 3. Stryker Lane (KTM); 4. Brandon Dorf; 5. Dominick McCormick Jr. (Yam).
WCGP 200 NOV: 1. Hayden Hintz (Hon); 2. Carson Moore (Hsq); 3. Dylan Carter (Yam); 4. Evan Downs (KTM); 5. Keaton Opteyndt (Hon).
WCGP 250 BEG: 1. Andres Arango; 2. David Owen (Yam); 3. Kamron Hacker (Hon); 4. Matt Saunders; 5. Jeremy Buckley (KTM).
WCGP 250 NOV: 1. Chase Brubaker (Kaw); 2. Hunter Oakley (Yam); 3. Tyler Walent; 4. Sam Capt; 5. Mikey Vogt (Suz).
WCGP HEAVYWEIGHT BEG: 1. Jeffrey Saenz (Hon); 2. Edward Burdeno (Hon); 3. Les Holland (Hon); 4. Joe Tralongo (Hon); 5. Christian Aguilar (Hon).
WCGP HEAVYWEIGHT NOV: 1. Mitch Hamm (Hon); 2. Zack Siedschlag (KTM); 3. Mike Sixbery Jr. (Hon); 4. Cory Rash (KTM); 5. Johnny Degen.
WCGP WOMEN NOV: 1. Trisha Holland (Hon); 2. Leticia Porche (Yam); 3. Melissa Caughey (Hon); 4. Amanda Morgan (Yam).
WCGP VET BEG: 1. Rich McCoy (KTM); 2. Mark Dorf; 3. Harold Gaoanez; 4. David Riley (Kaw).
WCGP VET NOV: 1. Chance Alberta (Hon); 2. Mark Brubaker (Kaw); 3. Chris Burroughs; 4. Alex Hernandez; 5. Clint Darrow (Suz).
QUAD NOV: 1. Brock Pennington (KTM); 2. Tony Wilson (Hon).
QUAD INT: 1. Eli Madero (Hon); 2. Mark May (Hon).
QUAD EX: 1. Steven Albert II (Yam); 2. Richard Cruz (Suz); 3. Tyler Henschel (Hon); 4. Tyler Wesolowski (Yam); 5. Cody Moore (Yam).
QUAD VET NOV: 1. Brad Adams (Yam); 2. Mark Fredrickson; 3. Travis Walsh (Hon); 4. Greg Rangel (Yam); 5. Mike Noland (Yam).
QUAD VET INT: 1. Ray Aldama (Yam).
QUAD VET EX: 1. Derek Lanier (Hon); 2. James Donoho (Yam); 3. Lynn Prosser (Yam); 4. Tim Gillespie (Hon); 5. Vallen Harris (Yam).
SIDECAR: 1. Seth Abrahamson (Hon); 2. Michael Burns Jr.; 3. Mark McDade (Hon); 4. Randy Langosh (KTM)