MXPTV picks out the 10 riders who had the best week at the Loretta Lynn’s dude ranch.
Who stood out at last weekend’s MAMA round at Tomahawk? Check out the riders that flew in West Virginia!
MXPTV points out the most impressive rides at last weekend’s Freestone pro national round in Texas.
MXPTV lays out the most impressive rides from last weekend’s Hangtown Classic. Find out to see who stood on top!
MXPTV caught some fast riders at Evansville last weekend. Check out this week’s Top Riders feature to see who made the list.
Who stood out amongst all the mud and slop at Doublin Gap’s MDRA 7 round last weekend? Check it out!
MXPTV scoped out the weekend’s top riders from MAMA’s Easter weekend event at Budds Creek!
MXPTV picks out 8 riders that stood out at last weekend’s race at Hurricane Hills. Did you make the list?
This past Sunday while MXPTV was filming and shooting away, we kept our eye out for the best riders of the day to be featured in this week’s Top Riders feature. Here’s what riders (we thought) stood out on the day at the opening round of the Northeast Classic and Xtreme Motocross Series at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.
Photos by Katie McKenna/MXPTV
New York pro Jay Weller kicked off his 2011 season at Raceway Park on his Kawasaki KX450F with a strong showing in the Open A class grabbing the 2-1 overall win over fellow New Yorker Sal Calamita. The 2 had some battling going on during their motos until Sal DNF’d his way out of the 2nd Open A moto but Weller seemed more in control and consistent throughout his motos and leaving everyone else way behind.
New Jersey native Mike Pettit was another top rider making his start on the 2011 season at Raceway Park. Pettit competed in the Schoolboy classes and ended up sweeping the Schoolboy 12-16 2 stroke class. But in the Schoolboy 14-16 4 stroke class, Pettit placed runner up with a 3-1 as New Yorker Kevin Tompkins threw down a 1-2 to earn the overall. Pettit looked very fast on his home track and looks forward to a fun 2011 season.
Probably the most exciting rider to watch all day long was Long Island’s Sal Calamita. Calamita has shown great speed at Raceway Park in the past and this time, he sure brought it with him thanks to a lot of riding during the off season. Calamita, who I’ve seen in the past to be very fast on the 2 stroke machines, had a “not brand-new” Honda CR250 to contest in the 250 A and Open A classes. Calamita swept the 250 A class 1-1 with no problem but with an already under-powered machine and one of the fastest Northeast privateers (Jay Weller) to go up against, Calamita had his hands full for sure. Calamita ended up battling with Weller during the first moto for a couple of laps before pulling a small gap at the end to win the moto straight up over Weller. In moto 2, Weller had the holeshot and Calamita was dicing through riders left and right and caught up to Weller. As Weller kept his head down, Calamita put everything he had in the first few laps which ended up tiring him out late in the moto as he made a series of mistakes and even hopped off the track at one point. Then, with a couple of laps to go, Calamita made a mistake at the end of the finish line rhythm section that saw him fly off his bike and land on another rider’s bike that was pulled over to the side. Calamita got up but didn’t finish the race. Despite that, keep your eye out for the #301 wherever you go.
New England export Jacob Beaudoin has been hopping around the country catching all the amateur nationals the past few years. So, unlike Weller and Pettit who put in their first races of the year, Beaudoin was already warmed up and ready to roll. Beaudoin took the win in the 85 (9-11) class with a 1-1 sweep and a second overall in the Junior Mini (9-13) class behind Pennsylvania’s Schae Thomas. Jacob’s brother, Justin, was also racing as he trailed Jacob the entire day with a two 3rd place finishes in the 85 (9-11) and Junior Mini (9-13) classes.
Just two weeks ago at the LL area qualifier at Raceway Park, New Jersey’s Jeremy Smith was the most dominant rider and once again, he does the same by sweeping the 85 (12-15) and Supermini (12-16) classes at this weekend’s Northeast Classic and XMS race. Smith is easily the rider to beat in these classes. Smith also raced the Schoolboy (14-16) 4 stroke class on his Honda CRF150 and finished 2-2 behind the fast Mike Pettit.
Nick Desiderio put in another usual day at the office at Raceway Park sweeping the 250 B class ahead of Jesse Pierce, Jason Astudillo, and the rest of the fast group of B racers. With the B class staggered with the A class, Desiderio caught up and past most of the 250 A field in his motos. Desiderio is more than capable with his speed to do damage in the A class but it’s all about Loretta Lynn’s for the 5-7 this year.
Young George Doherty swept the 65 7-9 class with ease at Raceway Park. Solid speed and control was all he needed to get the win. Plus, George was running some MXPTV stickers on his bike so he’s automatically a top rider to us!
Yes, Barry Carsten dominated the Vet classes at Raceway Park. Is that a shocker or what?
Pennsylvania’s Schae Thomas has been at it at the local races in the PA, NJ, and NY area for some time. He’s also been to the ranch at Loretta’s before and this year, he’s looking faster than ever with great starts (great call Mr. Veety) and just fast all the way around. Thomas beat out national caliber rider Jacob Beaudoin in the Junior Mini (9-13) class at Raceway Park, which was not a shock but a surprise win for Thomas. With a new number this year, it could be a new and improved Schae Thomas for 2011.
MXPTV takes a look back at the top riders of the MAMA season opening round at their home track at Budds Creek MX Park in Budds Creek, Maryland. There were top racers at Budds Creek last weekend but these riders were always seen out front and have been looking to up or continue their game for the 2011 MAMA season. Check out the riders that stood out from the rest at Budds!
Maryland native Tyler Kirschner was clearly on another level all weekend long at Budds Creek. With RNB Racing, One Industries, MXS, and Rogue Media backing this young rider, Kirschner won every moto he contended in the 80A 12-15 and Supermini 12-16 classes on Sunday and pulled a 2-2 finish in the Schoolboy 1 class on his Supermini bike behind a very fast Scott Clark, who was on his KX125, on Saturday. Kirschner has established himself as a national caliber rider with multiple appearances at Loretta Lynn’s and numerous other amateur nationals the past number of years and looks to continue that into 2011.
Maryland pro Gregg Duffy made an appearance at MAMA’s first race of 2011 at Budds Creek to put on a dominating show in the A classes but also to teach new riders in a special free riding clinic MAMA set up during Saturday’s practice sessions for any new, young motocross riders who wanted to learn some tips from the pros. Along with Duffy were some of Maryland’s top pro riders such as Stephen Stella and Eric McKay and top Women’s class MAMA riders Kara Groves and Amanda Brown (who is slated to make her WMA debut after Loretta Lynn’s this year). Duffy swept all 250 and Open A motos on Sunday as well as the Collegeboy motos on Saturday. He plans to do some nationals this year but he’s faced with a new challenge this year as he will have a new kid on the way for later this year.
Legendary New Jersey pro Barry Carsten brought his son, Cory, down to Budds Creek once again for another MAMA race and of course, Barry was out there once again doing what he does best with a full sweep in the Senior Open and Super Senior Open classes. His wins didn’t come easy as fellow Maryland vet Tom Welch had some good battles during the day on Saturday (which is when the Vet classes run) but Carsten was able to edge out Welch each moto during the day.
MAMA’s own Amanda Brown has been involved with MAMA ever since she swung her leg over a dirt bike and now, she has become a role model for many young girls and women riders in MAMA as she plans to make her WMA debut right after Loretta Lynn’s this year. Brown easily cruised to an overall win in the Women’s class on Saturday.
2010 MAMA 250 B and Open B champion Brandon Newman is continuing his dominating ways for 2011 as he went for the 1-1 sweep in Open B for the overall win. In 250 B, Newman took the 1st moto win but a 15th in moto 2 ruined his chances for an overall win and instead, earned a 7th. Bad starts plagued Newman in Saturday’s Collegeboy class going 9-6 for 7th overall but he was always a rider working his way through the pack during his motos.
Young Seth Walker was a top rider last year in the MAMA series bringing in the #1 plate for the 50 Oil 7-8 class with an undefeated season. For 2011, Walker moved up to the competitive 50A class threw down a dominant overall win. Also, Walker made his 65cc debut ride for 2011 with a 7th in 60C. This kid can turn it up on the track and with a dad who is always a top 5 finisher in the Vet classes on Saturday, youth Seth can easily follow in his dad’s footsteps as he continues to impress each and every MAMA weekend.
I don’t want to be giving out best improvement awards already in March but Kenny Hadry is definitely one of those riders this year. Last year, Hadry was in his first full of year ever racing motocross and had his issues (like many do) in the C classes. (Note: Just watch his helmet cam run from last year’s MAMA finale at Tomahawk to see.) Thanks to the help from the professor himself, Gary Bailey, Hadry won 2 overalls in the 250 C and Open C classes with dominating rides for most of the motos as local MAMA fast kid Fabian Toye topped him in the final Open C moto but Hadry had the overall locked in. Follow it up with a 3rd place ride in Schoolboy 4 stroke on Saturday and Hadry is having a great start to 2011.
The Rodbell brothers of Andrew and Justin have been MAMA regulars and always seen on top of the results week in and week out. For older brother Justin, he’s been to Loretta Lynn’s already in the 50cc class and put a stomp on the 60A and Junior Mini 7-11 classes with 1-1 finishes. Younger brother Andrew did what he can on his 50cc machines and pulled out an overall win in the 50 Shaft/PW 4-6 class at Budds Creek. These two brothers have been lighting up their classes the past year and look for them to be on top for 2011!
