Rain Doesn’t Stop Echo Valley Brookston, MN - June 24 By Samantha Laderer & Kristen Ty Hanson
T
hey say reality is where you are supposed to feel real, well this is our reality. Riders from all over Minnesota and Wisconsin, even including a few from Canada traveled to this race. Echo Valley has been on the D23 circuit and running races for fourteen plus years. They host several races each summer along with a regular schedule of practices. The track itself is a little over a mile long and consists of all the must haves for a motocross track; from whoops to a ninety foot table top, to uphill doubles and nice long holeshot stretch. The track is set on forty rolling acres with a great view, and plenty of parking along with camping spots. Although the northern part of Minnesota was flooded due to heavy rains, this didn’t stop Teri Lund, owner of Echo Valley, from hosting another race. Lund and her truly amazing track workers spent many hours just to get the track prepped and ready to ride on Sunday. Though the track was slightly slick for the morning, it didn’t stop riders from getting out there for some
good old racing. By midmorning, the sun had decided to come out which helped the track to dry up just enough. Connor Ahlers, a very frequent rider at Echo Valley, took charge on his KTM in the 125 2stroke class, finishing with a good lead on Aaron Lindell in both motos. “First moto the track was wet and a little mushy in spots, but other than that it was good. Second moto the track was perfect which made for an easy, and really fun race,” claims Ahlers. Though both motos held the same results, it was almost as if they raced a different track because of how much the weather conditions had changed. Tommy Coon made his way through the pack in 14-24B after battling with his good friend Jacob Holm and Tim Rasmusson during both motos. The three kept trading positions before the finish. The battles continued in each lap as they nicely took turns in first place throughout both motos. Though Coon took first overall, Rasmusson got his first win of the season during the second moto. “It is always a blast out there battling with my friends, it’s like a non-stop laughter because of how much fun we are having,” says Holm. Casey Hultgren also led a lap on
Connor Ahlers out front in the 125 2-stroke.
Tim Rasmusson leading the 14-24B class.
his KX450F during the first moto, but collided with Coon in one of the corners. In the end it was an excellent race with plenty of entertainment for the crowd. New this year, the track started a Northern Series that consists of five races, which are also district races. They will be hosting a banquet at the end of the season with many prizes and awards. A brand new Yamaha dirt bike will be given away at the final race. “I would like to thank all of the riders for coming out to ride, and thanks to my crew for all their hard work to get the track in order,” Lund proudly stated after the weekend was over. “No matter the condition, this is motocross.” Results: 250A: 1.Eric Kowalik 2.Connor Ahlers 3.Chas Kadlec 250B: 1.Boden Smetana 2.Kory Buckman 3.Jacob Blanshaw 250C: 1.Stephen Morgan 2. Dylan Maki 3.Jordan Adams 4.Sean Scott 5.Tyler Gravening +50: 1.Mike Mineheine 2.Pete Norick +45B/C: 1.Ralph Feld 2.Craig Cherrington +45A: 1.Dan Illies 85cc 9-11: 1.Austin Aspros 2.Justin Berttunen 85cc 12-15: 1.Zach Berttunen 2.Evan Hills 3.Jaysen Breitzman +30A: 1.Rob Irving 2.Warren Hanninen 3.Kyle Love +30B: 1.Harold Kibbe 2.Matt Hills 3.Darren Hedlund
+30C: 1.Adam Coon 2.Jeffrey Fielder 3.Jeffrey Jones Micro 4-6: 1.Griffin Kinney 2.Jacob Mcpherson 3.Travis Illies Micro 7-8: 1.Brandon Nelson 2.Tyler Lamourea 3.Matt Lamourea 14-24A: 1.Josh Virnig 14-24B: 1.Tommy Coon 2.Timothy Rasmusson 3.Jacob Holm 4.Boden Smetana 5.Kaleb Dallmann 14-24C: 1.Connor Smith 2.Brady Miska 3.Jake Still 4.Mason Kozicky 5.Matthew Wacek Supermini 12-15: 1.Zach Berttunen 2.Evan Hills 3.Justin Berttunen 65cc 7-11: 1. Austin Aspros 125 2-Stroke: 1.Connor Ahlers 2.Aaron Lindell 3.Alex Buckman +40A: 1.Warren Hanninen 2.Rob Irving +40B: 1.Darren Hedlund 2.Ralph Feld 3.Craig Hultgren +40C: 1.Donny Hill 2.John Novotny Micro Oil 4-8: 1.Griffin Kinney 2.Hudson Bajari 50cc 4-8: 1.Brandon Nelson 2.Tyler Lamourea 3.Matt Lamourea +25A: 1.Eric Kowalik 2.Chas Kadlec +25B: 1.Jay Stevens +25C: 1.Tony Mctavish 2.David Minter 3.Jeffrey Jones 125Jr. 14-16: 1.Stephen Morgan 2.Alex Timmer 3.Max Walburg 65cc 10-11: 1.Austin Aspros 85cc 9-12: 1.Noah Mcpherson Open A: 1.Eric Kowalik 2.Connor Ahlers 3.Josh Virnig Open B: 1.Timothy Rasmusson 2.Jacob Holm 3.Alex Buckman Open C: 1.Dylan Maki 2.Devin Smith 3.Alex Skelly Multi 4-8: 1.Griffin Kinney 2.Hudson Bajari 3.Cooper Abbett Schlby 2-Str: 1.Aaron Lindell 2.Brady Miska 3.Alex Timmer Women: 1.Marissa Polencheck 2.Susan Voss 3.Amber Vargo +55: 1.Geral Krueger 2.Craig Cherrington CYCLE USA, August 2012
7