SOUTH EAST AMATEUR REGIONAL
Author: Kaelyn Sheedy	Features | Wednesday, 03 June 2009 10:12

The cards were stacked this weekend at Mill Creek and many of the riders agreed it was one of the roughest Amateur tracks we’ve seen in awhile. The two previous weeks of rain the track absorbed, coupled with tilling and track prep made for some gnarly ruts and huge breaking bumps. The racing that took place in the Alabama heat was a roller coaster ride to say the least and a handful of riders put themselves in the spotlight.

In the 450 B Stk and Mod classes it was Gannon Audette who prevailed and took both overalls. Justin Starling was a heavy hitter this weekend scoring himself a division win, a win over Audette in moto three of the Stk class and a handful of seconds. Nick Desiderio, while struggling to have a consistent weekend, pulled off a moto win in the Mod class, but that would not help his overall score as he finished just inside the top 15. Ryan Zimmer and Jesse Braden (right) each had impressive top 5 finishes. Kory Keylon, Jonathan Foskey, Bo Partin, David Hagins, and Heath Harrison were also amongst the top 7 to qualify.

In the 250 B Mod class we saw Jonathan Foskey (left) and Grant Ransdell on 2strokes as they both won their moto 1 Divisions. These two-strokes gave them the upper hand against the natural up and down hill terrain while the rest of the pack fought to gain every second they could elsewhere. Foskey would go on to take the overall in Mod and finish out the Stk with a first moto win and two DNS. With Foskey out of the picture, Audette went on to beat out Ransdell and James Justice who held down the second and third overall spots for the win. Joey Savatgy made an appearance this weekend although he wasn't here to qualify, he wanted some practice going bar to bar with some of the top Amateur riders in the country, and he did just that. He went on to only race the first two motos and after that he was packed up and gone. Zack Freeberg, while running towards the front of the pack in his first moto,  went down hard and was hauled off the track. Zack later showed up back at the line but his attempt to race his second moto fell short when he could barely complete one lap. He was rumored to have re broken his femur...this is NOT the case, as of right now he's very sore and should be back for the NE Amatuer Regional in a few weekends.

On to the A classes, let's just say there wasn't one guy who wasn't in the mix all weekend. We saw the likes of Decotis, Engle, Trettel, Rogers, Robbins, Stewart, Drake, Smith, Rossi, Hall, Futrell, Lipanovich, Coley and Rife all have their moments this weekend.

In the 250 A class we initially saw Shawn Rife take the first moto win but his DNF that followed was due to a hard crash that left him a little shaken up. His decision to sit out the remainder of the weekend was unfortunate as we saw him grab some great starts on Saturday and apply pressure to the entire field.

Jimmy Decotis (left) opened some eyes, grabbing a holeshot or two, he inherited the over all for the 250 A class and earned a second in 250 A Pro Sport. We have always seen Decotis perform well at the ranch, and he's always been one for grabbing good starts. We'll just have to wait and see if he has what it takes to win Loretta's. Ian Trettel, the underdog this year in the A class, seems to have his feet headed in the right direction. Proving on multiple occasions already this year that he has the speed to run with the top guys. Once he has a chance to gain a little more experience he'll have his act entirely figured out.

Joey Rossi aboard his KTM, a wild card of the weekend and one of the two riders representing the West Coast in the Alabama state, finished with a 5-4-2 taking second overall. Kyle Engle has been training at MTF for those who didn't know and his addition to the East coast hype has made for some great racing. We saw Engle grace the top three, even lead for a moto, but was unable to keep it on two wheels. He was able to finish strong the rest of his motos and still remain a threat.

It was no surprise this weekend to see Taylor Futrell ride flawlessly to the end of six checkered flags and take both overalls in the 250 and 450 Pro Sport classes. Regardless of the episode that unfolded this weekend I will say with confidence, the kid is a talented rider and when push comes to shove he will let his riding speak for itself for the remainder of the year. Futrell also went on to finish with a 1-2-1 in the 450 A class, losing one moto to Kawasaki rider, Les Smith. Les rode smart all weekend and would go on to finish 2nd overall to overall winner of the Four Stoke class, Malcolm Stewart (left) who settled into third. Derek Hall would finish 4th overall and Sunny Drake, having his best showing of the weekend, would finish 5th.

Jim Neese and Kevin Walker (right) put on a good showing in the Junior 25 Plus class and Vet 35 Plus class but it was Walker who was victorious in taking both overalls. Chad Murphy went on to win the Vet B/C 30 Plus class, Trampas Parker took charge in the Senior 40 Plus class with the Tallahassee favorite, Earl May, finishing in 2nd and Johnny Borders finished strong with three moto wins for the overall in Masters 50 Plus Class.