Forkner, Fisher rule at Regional Millville, Minnesota - June 16-17 By Rolfe Otterness
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top five circulated at a rapid pace but they ended up strung out a bit at the flag. Tucker Maxwell apparently was getting used to the track and jumped out to an early lead in the next moto with Samuel Redman initially holding second. Cartwright and Kost were running strong and dropped Redman to fourth about halfway into the moto. Robin circulated the track at a very slow pace with a fouling plug, out of contention. Maxwell held on for a nice win while Cartwright wrapped up the overall with a second place finish. Kost led Redman across the line to take third and Miller took fifth. Robin managed to get 28th which was enough for eighth overall so he could qualify for the final in Tennessee. One class big enough for two divisions was 85 12-14 Mod. The aforementioned Mr. Forkner took the win in division one with
issouri’s Austin Forkner and Iowan Gage Fisher proved to be the most competitive riders as Spring Creek Park hosted the North Central Youth Regional, the last step on the way to the Loretta Lynn’s National Amateur Championship. Hundreds of riders were on hand to try to make the cutoff to the championship. Forkner and Fisher were able to each top the field in two classes, making them likely candidates for good finishes in the heat of Tennessee. Forkner took charge in the Mini Sr. 12-14 Modified and Super Mini 1 classes. He also placed well in Mini Sr. 12-14 Stock but Joey Crown took the overall there. Fisher put his track experience to use as he grabbed overalls in 65 10-11 Stk and 65 7-11 Mod. Minnesota riders took home gold in a couple of classes with Noah Nathe on top in 51 4-6 Stk, James Clough winning 51 4-6 AMA 1 and Toni Jahnz acing the Girls 9-11 class. Riders were lucky to have good track conditions both Saturday and Sunday as the threatening rain showers mostly stayed brief enough to barely wet the surface. The three moto format was used with some classes big enough to require two divisions for the first motos. Kirsten Raemisch was a dominant presence in the Women’s class. Schoolboy 1 was one of the most hotly contested divisions Joey Crown in second and Haydn Humphrey with the riders on 125 two strokes. Josh third. Division two was snapped up by AshMiller gated perfectly to pull the holeshot as ton Hayes followed by Scott Meshey and the pack hit the track in moto one. Local rider Hunter Sayles. Jerry Robin has been flying this year and took That set things up for moto two with all command early in the race, starting to edge the heavy hitters in one race. Kevin Moranz away from the battle over second which feastole the holey but Forkner was soon through tured Miller and Andy Kost. Josh Cartwright to claim the lead. Joey Crown slotted into worked his way into the mix, passing Kost second but his linkage broke or a bolt fell out and then taking over second when Miller boband his rear suspension mid-race. At the flag bled and dropped back to fourth on the last Forkner held on for the win but Hayes was lap. Robin held on for a solid win. closing in a bit. A gap back was Sayles for Kost jumped out front of moto two but third with Maxwell Markolf snatching fourth Robin was ahead by the end of the first lap. from Humphrey on the last lap. Tristan Charboneau bumped his way into secForkner assumed the lead early in the ond on the next lap after displacing third and final moto with Scott Meshey presCartwright and Kost. From there on out the suring him for the first couple of laps. 26
CYCLE USA, August 2012
Forkner went on for the win with Meshey settling for second. Hayes moved up to third by the end of the moto with Markolf fourth over Hunter Braun. Hunter Rhodes settled into the lead early in moto one of the 65cc 7-11 Mod class. Izaih Clark and Eddie Norred jumped in behind him and they set up a three-way battle for a couple of laps. Norred tried a pass on Rhodes for the lead and endoed big time going downslope at the bottom of the pro hill. Rhodes went on to lead Clark in for the win. Landon Rapp took third and Gage Fisher moved up steadily for fourth. Taylor Grall led briefly in the second moto but Fisher led by the end of the first lap. Fisher started to build a lead while a scuffle broke out over second with Josh Boaz and Rhodes as featured riders. At the checkered Fisher held on for a solid win with Boaz holding on to second despite pressure from Rhodes, who stalled out his bike on the last lap. Cameron Davis took over third and led Austin Painter and Clark in. Rhodes finished way back in 28th after getting his bike going again. Brayden Bruce was picking up the tricks of the track, improving from 15th to 7th in the first two motos. He stormed out in moto three jumping into second behind Rhodes and was looking for a good finish, then was gifted the win when Rhodes fell over in a corner late in the moto. Rhodes quickly recovered and was up and running to lead a fighting gaggle of riders consisting of Davis, Fisher and Painter in to the flag. Fisher’s 4-1-4 overall win showed that consistency is important with the three moto format. The Womens’ class featured some very strong performances by Kirsten Raemisch, who dominated with a 1-1-1 score. She jumped out front early in moto one to led Marissa Polencheck in to the flag. Kayla Solheid moved up to take third over Ashley Densow and Amy Mellinger. Moto two featured a nice holeshot by Mellinger, but Raemisch was soon by and she built up a big lead as the raced progressed. Solheid was on the gas and moved up from sixth on lap one to second on lap two. Those two pulled away out front but a battle raged behind them between Shayanna Wilson, Polencheck and Densow. The checkered brought an end to the race with Raemisch safely ahead of Solheid, Polencheck a bit back