photography:  John Parkinson / Ryne Swanberg

While yesterday’s lap times told the story of practice, they are nothing more than a bunch of jumbled up numbers on a useless piece of paper once racing starts. A select few heroes from yesterday made good on their fast laps in Tuesday’s race order, but a whole new crop of riders made their way to the top of the list as well.

Tuesday marked the first day of qualifiers, which, for all intensive purposes, separates the men from the boys. Put yourself on top of your division and you many find yourself walking out of the Whitney ranch with a title, don’t, and it could be curtains. Read on to find out who started off the week with a bang.

After a grip of solid practice times yesterday, Selbie Brittain was the strong starter in the Women 14+ class on Tuesday. She was able to handle the pressure put on by newly arrived Rock River Powersports Yamaha rider Alexah Pearson and escape with the win. Pearson looks to be Brittain’s biggest foe in this one and if these two find themselves battling for the lead in moto two, it won’t be one to miss.

Two relatively unknowns racked up wins in the division one and two of the 450 B class early Tuesday morning. Tyler Bereman put on a noteworthy performance when he showed the speed to get around Yamaha’s Bryce Vallee and fend of Suzuki’s Nick Paluzzi, while Preston Tillford (above) checked out from the battle between Tanner Krahenbuhl and Gannon Audette to take top honors in division two.

Stilez Robertson put up one of the fastest 51cc laps of the day on Monday, and proved that he can throw down for five laps once the gate dropped on Tuesday. He’ll have the #402 ride of Georgia’s Gage Linville to deal with in the main, but for now the headline belongs to Robertson.

With three divisions of Supermini taking from the gate it’s difficult to pin point a potential winner. Darrel White put in a solid ride in division one to take home the moto win, while Adam Cianciarulo tracked down Texas local Matthew Bisceglia to take the win in division two, and Zack Bell proved to be the man to beat in division three when he was able to work his way around holeshot winner Cooper Webb. This is going to be one of the best main events of the week come Saturday.

Dean Wilson didn’t finish out one practice outside the top five in lap times yesterday, but he didn’t finish out one with the best lap time either. So when the Scottish/Canadian implant rounded the first corner of the 450 A Prosport class in fourth behind Taylor Futrell, Shawn Rife and Lowell Spangler, he had his work cut out for him. But Dean impressed. Actually that’s an understatement; Dean dominated. He was able to put himself into the lead by the mid-way point and by the checkered had checked out to a football field size lead. He did the same in the 450A/Prosport and 250A class. It sure would be nice to see him match up against the absent Justin Barcia. Unadilla, here comes Dean Wilson.

Blake Green was one of the fastest 51cc riders we’ve ever seen, but due to few years of bad luck and injury we haven’t seen him as a consistent front-runner. That, however, may be about to change. He’s found a way to control his speed and looks faster than ever. Blake put it to the 9-11 stock class in his first moto of the week and looks poised to be on the podium after his last.

Mark Worth is one of the younger 85c 9-11 riders on the gate this year, but has proved early that he is a force to be reckoned with. Worth put it on the competition early in division two of the 9-11 Mod class with a win and then backed it up with an impressive third in the 9-11 Stock class. Look for Worth and Green to mix it up in the main event.

Twice Max Anstie has faced Jason Anderson, twice Anderson got the holeshot and twice Anstie ended up taking the moto win. Anderson would go down hard in their first match up while chasing the European import and would go down again while leading in their second face-off. While it appears Anderson’s week is over due to some minor injuries, it’s a fact that Max Anstie’s has just begun. Our own Andrew Campo spoke with the Anderson family late in the day Tuesday and was pleased to report that while Anderson will be sitting out the remainder of the week here at Lake Whitney, he will be returning to action at Oak Hill next week.

Nick Paluzzi consistently put his #17 Suzuki at the front of the pack all day and while he definitely didn’t find himself in the toughest divisions, his lap times were competitive with those of other division leaders. In his first moto of the day (450 B) he worked his way into a three-man battle with Bryce Vallee and Tyler Bereman. He was able to make his way around Vallee, but was unable to reel in the Yamaha of Bereman. In the 250 B class, Paluzzi ended up pulling of the win after leaders Kyle Peters and Lance Vincent collided and went down. He checked out from that point on and has thus set himself up nicely for at least two title runs.

With a win in division one of the 250 B Stock class and second in division three of Schoolboy 1 (despite a crash), Lance Vincent is proving to be as impressive on the big bike as he was last season on his supermini. Titles may be tough to come by once the main events start, but one thing is for sure, Lance Vincent has proven to be one heck of a strong starter this week.

With a 65 career that could match anyone’s in terms of success, Cooper Webb has seen his fare share of trouble finding his way to the front of the pack in the 85 class over the last year or so. But it appears as if all that nonsense is behind him. The Honda Redbull ride of Webb showed itself at the front of the pack numerous times on Tuesday. He holeshot and nearly won his division of the Supermini class and actually won his division of the 12-13 class. Webb is still enrolled full time in public school and is proof that motocross and education can go hand in hand. Look for Coop to make his much anticipated return to the podium this week.

To say that Texas native Matt Bisceglia has been a strong starter thus far would be an understatement. An insane battle with Adam Cianciarulo in the Supermini class early in the afternoon would leave Bisceglia with a hard fought second and a brilliant ride in his division of the 12-13 class showed that he’s definitely got what it takes to bring home titles. He’s one of the favorites in both classes this week and if he can carry his momentum into the rest of the week, you can expect to see him with a #1 plate once all is said and done.

There aren’t many 50 riders on the gate anywhere in the country as naturally impressive as Jordon Bailey. The kid absolutely rips. He is well beyond his years in terms of composure and race etiquette. When he gets out front off the gate, he’s a beast to track down and that’s just what the young Cobra rider did today in the 51 (6-8) class. We look forward to watching this kid ride for years to come.