OAK HILL CHAMPIONS: PART 2
	Author: Brent Stallo	Features | Monday, 23 March 2009 15:07

It’s over…Done…Finished. What’s been called the gnarliest two weeks of the amateur motocross has finally come to an end. While Lake Whitney struggled successfully to make it through one of the wettest nationals in recent memory and Oak Hill was forced to deal with some of the most widespread drama since the Allessi/Villopoto era everything ended up on a positive note. All in all the last two weeks were some of the most EPIC we’ve ever experienced. Dean Wilson placed himself as the heir to the pro class throne while Kade Walker racked up enough wins to set himself atop a very talented up and coming 65cc class.

 

For the Vurb crew it’s back to the grind. We’ll be heading north to Oklahoma to shoot with Trey Canard on Tuesday, and then make the trek to New Mexico to drop off the truck and huck it up to Cortez, Colorado for a private shoot with none other than Eli Tomac. After that we’ll head to the left coast to finish up filming for our new movie, EPIC. This is our final run across the country before heading back down to the dirty south to finish up the edit and design process. It’s going to be a brutal trip, but one we are sure will put the finishing touches on what our small group of hard core photographers and videographers feel will be the best movie release in the history of the world.

 

But enough about the movie, this one is all about the champions. The ones who sacrificed more, dug deeper and put it all on the line just to call themselves the best.

We’ll start this show with Christian Craig. After an uncharacteristically tough run at Whitney Craig put in one of the most consistent main event days of anyone in the pro class last Sunday. He racked up a title in the 250 Pro class, a second in 450 A and 250 A Mod and a third in 450 Pro. He didn’t finish off the box one time at Oak Hill. We can’t wait to see what this kid does at Unadilla.

 

Taylor Futrell made it onto our Stud list the other day due to his unwavering ability to find the front of the pack. He did it again on Sunday with a 250 A Mod title, a second in 450 A Pro and a third in 450 A Mod.

 

After putting in one of the most impressive runs of anyone at Oak Hill in 2008, Kyle Regal looked determined to put himself on top of the box once again in 2009. While he wasn’t able to do it as often as he did the previous year, he was able to take home the 450 A Mod title. Kyle has been known as a rider that gets faster as the track gets rougher, and after watching him over the past two weeks we couldn’t agree more. This kid should be able to shine once he starts running 30 minute motos on the roughest tracks in the country.

 

Despite dominating his heat races early in the week, Dean Wilson wasn’t able to duplicate his four title run from Lake Whitney. Deano was, however, able to claim gold in the 450 Pro class, which, when coupled with a silver in 250 Pro and a bronze in 250 A Mod, ain’t that bad. The question on everyone’s mind now is which team this standout will land on when he turns pro after Loretta’s. We’ll keep snooping around on this one and be sure to let you know as soon as we find out anything.

 

Lance Vincent’s final results at Oak Hill weren’t the most impressive of his class, but he won a championship, which is something 99% of his class can’t say. Lance’s speed was there all week. He mixed it up with class frontrunners Max Anstie, Jason Anderson, Nick Paluzzi and Ian Trettel on a regular basis, but untimely crashes and mistakes hurt the young Honda of Houston rider. He should be able to correct on this over the next few months and find himself more consistently at the front of the pack by Loretta’s. For now he’ll be basking in the glory of a 250 Int Stock championship trophy.

 

In what turned out to be almost back to back main events, Nick Paluzzi turned out to be the man to beat. As scheduling came down to the wire the 250 Intermediate Mod main and the 450 Intermediate Stock main ran only two races apart from each other, but apparently that’s the way Nick Paluzzi likes it. It seems as if Nick’s training with Arenacross icon Buddy Autunez is paying off. Congrats to Nick on a job very well done.

 

New Mexico’s Coby Adair has been running the amateur national circuit for as long as anyone and while he’s experienced his fare share of successes, he’s found himself on the losing end more often than not. After an eye opening run at Mini Os, Coby Adair showed great potential throughout both Whitney and Oak Hill. And while we were aware of Adair’s new found speed, we never thought it would lend itself to his first big bike title in the 450 Intermediate Stock class. Keep a look out for this kid in Vegas. He proved at Mini Os that he can roll on a supercross style track and he’s a specialist on dry west coast tracks.

 

You’ve heard of Eli Tomac’s successes throughout the last two weeks. He’s been off the charts in terms of natural ability and speed on the bike and he proved it once and for all with two titles in the 250 4-Stroke Mod and Schoolboy Stock classes at Oak Hill. The Vurb crew will be heading west to Colorado for a private shoot with Eli this week, so keep on the lookout for more EPIC footage coming your way soon.

 

Lake Whitney and Oak Hill will definitely not be viewed at Jason Anderson’s most dominating run of his amateur career. He was caught in the middle of the KTM situation, was forced to sit out Whitney due to early week injuries and rode with a busted ankle for the entire week at Oak Hill. Despite emotional and physical stress Anderson was able to overcome and walk away with a hard fought Schoolboy Mod title. We’re unsure what the future will hold for this rising KTM star, but will be sure to keep you in the loop as things unfold.

 

After one of the most heartbreaking throw aways of the week on Friday, Zach Bell bounced back Sunday in a huge way by earning the top spot in the Supermini class. There is an extremely bright future on the horizon for this young Team Green rider.

 

Matt Bisceglia may look like the Jolly Green Giant on his 85, but somehow he makes his tall stature work for him against riders half his size. He can’t afford to miss a beat when battling with the likes of Cooper Webb and Adam Cianciarulo and, as fate would have it, he didn’t. Bisceglia brought two titles back to the Lone Star state, which included the 85cc 12-13 Stock and 85cc 7-16 Open. We have a feeling this will be the last time we see Bisceglia on an 85 in Texas.

 

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Red Bull/Honda’s Cooper Webb atop the podium. The 65 standout had a few off years but made his name known once again over the last two weeks. He faced off against the likes of the fastest 85 riders in the country and came out on top numerous times. After all was said and done Webb would make his way back to the Carolina’s with a 12-13 Mod title and a second in 85cc 7-16 Open as his best overall finishes. Welcome back, Coop.

 

Nevada’s Jesse Sanchez put in some of the very notable results. Blake Green has been pinned as the top of the 85cc 9-11 class, but Jesse put in his due diligence to let everyone know his name deserves to be looked at in the same light as Green’s. Sanchez was able to capture the title in the 85cc 9-11 Stock class, while finishing a close second to Green in 85cc 9-11 Mod.

 

As mentioned, Blake Green reclaimed his spot atop the 9-11 class over the last two weeks. His consistency still isn’t where he may want it to be, but when he’s up and running, his speed can be matched with anyone’s.

 

 

Kade Walker won every 65 title he lined the gate for and place fifth in his lone 85 class. This kid is one bad dude.

 

Jordan Bailey has been no stranger to our coverage over the last two weeks, and he made himself known one final time on Sunday at Oak Hill by winning the 50cc Open class in convincing fashion.

 

 

Brad Allison took three out of four Novice titles and solidified himself as one of the fastest novice riders in the country, if not the fastest. Intermediate class, here comes Brad Allison. Brad’s only mishap came in the 450 Nov main when he played bridesmaid to Khylar Sizemore.