Brandon Clarke
Day 2 at the MotoPlayground Race at Ponca City, Oklahoma, kicked off with much better conditions than Day 1. A storm was predicted to roll through early and potentially push racing into the afternoon, but the moto gods said, “Not today.”
Moto and divisional races got the morning rolling, but it was the consolation races that brought the spice in the afternoon. With storylines starting to take shape and championship weekend on the horizon, let’s dive into five races that caught my eye on Day 2 as Ponca continues to deliver the action.
Girls 11-16
Hanna Jamison grabbed the early lead on the opening lap, but the freshly prepped track, with lines still developing, jumped up and bit her. Jamison washed out in a corner, allowing Raycin Kyler and Tinley McCoy to slip by.
Once Jamison remounted, she charged back to regain one position. Kyler and Jamison were clicking off pretty consistent lap times, but Kyler had already built a comfortable gap and would take the checkers.
Don’t forget, in a two-moto format, sometimes a second can be just as valuable as a first. I’m anticipating a heavyweight showdown between these two young ladies when they line up for Moto 2.
McCoy came across the line third, with Zoe Moore and Sienna Oleary rounding out the top five.
250 B
If your initials are DP in this class, there’s no doubt you know how to crack a throttle and rail a rut.
Darren Pine grabbed the early lead with Dane Pappas glued to his rear fender. On Lap 2, Pappas made his move and took over the top spot. For a moment, it looked like he might check out, but a costly bobble flipped the script. Pine and Colby Lesser slipped by, and Pappas suddenly found himself more than four seconds behind the leader.
That’s when the charge started.
Pappas regrouped, tracked down Lesser, and worked his way back into second. From there, Pine and Pappas were throwing down nearly identical lap times, but Pine had just enough breathing room to bring it home and take the Moto 1 win.
Your podium was Pine, Pappas, and Lesser, with Braxtyn Mes and Noxx Lewin rounding out the top five.
The DPs came out swinging in Moto 1, and now the stage is set for Round 2. Does Pine finish the job? Does Pappas clean up the mistake and strike back? Or does someone deeper in the top 10 crash the party and shake up the overall?
Super Mini (13-16)
This was arguably the race of the day.
Hanna Jamison shot off the line and grabbed the early lead, but Dylan Graham wasn’t interested in letting her get comfortable. Graham made his move on Lap 2 and took over the top spot, but his time out front was short-lived. A mistake opened the door, and Jamison wasted absolutely no time flying back by.
Then the dance started.
The race craft between these two was incredible to watch. They weren’t just following each other around the racetrack. They were changing lines, anticipating moves, and finding pieces of the track you’d expect to see from seasoned veterans.
Graham immediately got back on pace, and from there it turned into a high-speed chess match. The two swapped lines, swapped positions, and tried to outthink each other at every opportunity. Jamison was shutting down Graham’s preferred lines and forcing him to find another way through, while Graham continued searching the track for somewhere to make something happen.
With less than a lap to go, Jamison finally left the door cracked open. She committed to a line that allowed Graham to cut underneath with a tighter line through the corner, make the pass, and this time, make it stick.
Graham takes the win, with Jamison coming home second for the second time on the day. Something tells me two runner-up finishes are only going to add a few more horsepower and supercharge Jamison’s willpower when the gate drops on her second motos.
Max Daniels rounds out the podium, with John Everett Pastureau and Camden Scoggin completing the top five.
If Moto 1 was the chess match, I can’t wait to see what Jamison has planned for the rematch.
125 JR (12-17) B/C
The two-strokes sang off the gate, and Tucker McNeil wasted no time putting himself at the front of a ridiculously stacked field. McNeil came around the opening corner in P1 and did exactly what you want to do in a class this deep. He clicked off consistent laps and let everyone else fight it out behind him.
And there was plenty of fighting to be done.
Gage Brown and Chase Moynihan found themselves locked in a battle for second, and Brown saved his move for when it mattered most. On the final lap, he made the pass on Moynihan to steal P2 at the line, while Moynihan would have to settle for third.
Just behind them, Sawyer Geick quietly worked his way forward from fifth to fourth, while Maddox Temmermen bounced around the leaderboard before ultimately securing the final spot inside the top five.
McNeil gets the Moto 1 win, but take one look down this results sheet and you’ll realize nothing about Moto 2 is guaranteed. There are some serious names in this class, and while starts are always important, this field is deep enough that anyone inside the top 10 has the speed to turn the entire thing upside down.
65 Open – Consi 1
Yumena Berning had a rare mistake in her divisional race that kept her from qualifying straight into the second moto. So, she had to take the long way around, and she responded by putting on an absolute clinic. Berning grabbed control of the consi and never looked back, building a healthy gap on her way to the win.
But honestly, that’s not the only reason I wanted to highlight this race.
Rylie Gall came home second, giving the ladies the top two spots, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to give WMX its flowers.
Women’s motocross is inspiring an entirely new generation of young female racers, and we’re starting to see the results right in front of us. I’m a little fearful of how old I’ll be when it finally happens, but I can’t wait for the day we get to watch names like Berning, Gall, Hanna Jamison, and Raycin Kyler lining up and battling with riders like Lachlen Turner and Mayla Herrick.
That future doesn’t feel very far away anymore.
You can say, “Yeah, but it was only a consi.” I don’t care. When a privateer wins an LCQ and punches their ticket into a Supercross main event, we celebrate it. A win is a win, and watching Berning and Gall go P1 and P2 against the boys is pretty damn rad.
WMX has some serious talent coming. Remember these names.
Now, Bring on the Weekend!
That’s a wrap on my top five moments from Day 2 at Ponca.
Now the stage is officially set for the weekend. Second motos are on deck, championships are about to be decided, and just when you thought Ponca couldn’t get any faster, the Pro classes are getting ready to hit the track.
The storylines are taking shape, the pressure is building, and now it’s time to see who delivers when it matters most.
And as always, don’t forget to check out the Vurb Prospect App by downloading it FOR FREE on the App Store and Google Play for live race timing, past results, upcoming events, rankings, analytics, tracks to shred, and more.
