Brandon Clarke
Welcome to Championship Friday from the 2026 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s. We will be providing updates from the first day of racing all day. Will we have every class? No, no we will not. Will we have a bunch of classes? Yes, yes we will.
You can follow live timing and scoring on the Vurbmoto Prospect app (it is free, go download it). Download on the App Store or Google Play.
Note: This post will continue to update throughout the day.
65cc (7-9) Limited
Edwin Meyer was out front early, but Kameron Buckman didn’t let him enjoy it for long. Two turns after their first trip through the Ten Commandments, Buckman made his move and took over the lead as the two quickly started pulling away from the rest of the field.
Meyer wasn’t going anywhere, though.
He attacked Buckman over and over, trying just about every way he could to make a pass stick, but Buckman had an answer for every attempt. Meyer would finally land a blow and make his way around Buckman, and for a moment, it looked like he might be able to check out.
Meyer suddenly was gobbled up by a rut and went from leading the moto all the way back to ninth. Just like that, the entire running order and the overall podium, got thrown into a blender.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the motot was Mickey Fluhart. He had been running sixth before working his way up to fourth by the checkers, which was enough to lock down second overall in the class.
Jeffery Saathoff would capitalize on the chaos as well, moving into second in the moto, with Ezra Armbruster coming across in third.
Meanwhile, Buckman had the easiest math problem of anyone at Loretta’s. No calculators. No spreadsheets. No abacus required.
1-1-1. That’ll do it. Behind him? You might want to call your high school math teacher.
Meyer managed to recover from his trip into the Loretta’s abyss and bring it home seventh in the moto, which was still enough to salvage third overall in the class. Buckman gets the title. Fluhart gets second. Meyer gets third.
250 B Limited
Darrien Pine brought the smoke to the Ranch this week, and when all three motos were in the books, his 1-2-2 was enough to get the job done and crown him your 250 B Limited Champion.
As the moto kicked off, it was Braxtyn Mes out front early, and he looked to be in complete control. But Pine wasn’t exactly letting him breathe easy.
With nearly two laps to go on Lap 8, Pine had worked his way within striking distance of Mes’ rear wheel. Mes got the message, wicked it up and responded by laying down his fastest lap of the moto.
Message received.
At that point, Pine went into championship management mode. He didn’t need to win the battle to win the war, cruising it home to the checkers in second and putting the finishing touches on a 1-2-2 week at Loretta’s.
Colby Lesser grabbed third in the moto, while Rez Seeba crossed the line fourth, which was enough to secure the final spot on the overall podium.
Ryan Jaramillo and Jack Pullen rounded out the overall top five.
Mes gets the final-moto win, but Pine gets the one that matters most.
65 (10-11) Limited
Coming into Moto 3, the question was simple: Could Yumena Berning knock Levi Leddy off the top step of the podium?
That answer got a whole lot more complicated almost immediately.
Early in the moto, Berning went down and found herself buried deep in the pack. Just like that, the championship battle flipped on its head, and Leddy was out front riding virtually pressure-free.
At least for a while.
During the second half of the moto, Jax Baker started putting on a charge. Baker slowly reeled Leddy in, made his way around, and took over the lead on his way to the Moto 3 win.
Meanwhile, way back in the pack, Bearning, who I’m now calling “lil shark” went hunting.
Berning put her head down and started picking riders off one by one, making an incredible 22 passes to claw her way back through the field. She would eventually cross the line ninth, but that charge was enough to salvage third overall with 2-2-9 moto scores.
Up front, Leddy did exactly what he needed to do. He may not have gotten the final-moto win, but he got the bigger prize.
Leddy is your champion, Baker takes second overall, and Berning salvages the final spot on the overall podium.
Mini Sr 1 (12-14)
Drama from wire to wire, and technically before the gate had even dropped.
Moto 3 started with a two-minute hold as Landon Lee, Dylan Graham and Jax Lang all dealt with bike issues on the gate. Lee and Graham were able to get things sorted in time, but unfortunately for Lang, his day was over before it ever really got started.
Then the gate dropped, and somehow the drama only got worse.
Joseph Vicari went down early, ending his race and turning what had been a strong week into another case of Moto 3 heartbreak.
Up front, Whalyn Ballenger looked like he had the moto under control, leading for most of the race. But Mason Murdy had other plans.
Murdy kept Ballenger within striking distance and waited until the final lap to make his move. With the overall championship hanging in the balance, Murdy made the pass stick, grabbed the Moto 3 win and, more importantly, locked up first overall.
Behind the Ballenger and Murdy battle, things weren’t exactly calm either. Graham, Eidan Steinbrecher and Tim Lopes found themselves in the middle of an absolute dogfight as positions shuffled throughout the moto.
When the dust finally settled, Graham had worked his way into third, Steinbrecher crossed the line fourth, enough to cement second overall and Lopes rounded out the moto top five while grabbing the final step of the overall podium.
Junior 25+
Phillip Nicoletti was out front again, and for a brief moment, it looked like we were finally going to get the Zach Osborne vs. Nicoletti battle we’d been waiting for all week. Then Nicoletti lost focus. He entered Storyland, tucked the front and suddenly found himself buried deep in the field. He remounted, dusted himself off and began what would turn into an intense charge back through the pack.
Meanwhile, Osborne was absolutely gone. Once Osborne got out front, he checked out and set sail, clicking off multiple laps under the 1:50 mark and throwing down a blistering 1:48.6 as his fastest lap of the moto. Nobody had anything for him.
Behind Osborne, Jake Weimer looked comfortable in second with Brandon Haas holding down third. But late in the moto, the deep Loretta’s ruts finally reached up and grabbed Weimer. He tipped over and, let’s just say, there wasn’t exactly a ton of urgency getting back underway.
Haas didn’t need a written invitation. He slipped by and took over second. Behind Hass, Nicoletti was lurking and wasn’t done.
Phil kept slicing his way through the field. Fourteen passes in all, with the final one coming on Hass on the last lap to complete an impressive charge.
Osborne takes the win, Nicoletti with the 2nd and Hass rounds it out with a third. And conveniently enough, your Moto 3 top three is also your overall podium: Osborne, Nicoletti, and Haas.
125 Jr (12-17) B/C
The 2 strokes sang off the line as it was Saywer Geick pulled the holeshot and took an early lead. But Gague Brown would track him down from 3rd just before the halfway point in the moto. Hudson Vagele would exchange blows with Geick but would surround to him taking 3rd at the checkers.
Noxx Lewin would quietly take 4th which would be good enough to give him the 3rd overall. The two-strokes were singing off the line as Sawyer Geick grabbed the holeshot and jumped out to the early lead.
But for Gague Brown, it was hunting season. Brown started the hunt from third and slowly began tracking Geick down. Just before the halfway point, he finally closed the gap, made his move and took over the top spot.
Behind them, Hudson Vagele and Geick exchanged blows in a battle for position, but eventually Vagele would surrender the spot, leaving leaving Geick to take second at the checkers and Vagele third.
Geick to take second at the checkers and Vagele third. While all that was happening, Noxx Lewin quietly went about his business and brought it home fourth. It wasn’t the flashiest ride of the moto, but it was exactly what he needed to secure third overall.
250 B
Dane Pappas got off to a great start and looked in control of Moto 3. But Tristan Prueitt had other plans than to let Pappas run away with it.
He would track down Pappas and play a little game of cat and mouse before pulling away. On the final couple of laps it looked like he was riding it home but had to wick it up in the final few turns to punch that first place win in moto 3. With 11-1-1 scores he goes 2nd Overall
Dane Pappas would get 2nd and it would give him 3rd OA. McKayden Fitch would take 3rd in the moto.
The overall champion would be Tranner Dorman who didn’t get the best start in Moto 3 but he would make enough passes to have a cushion and ride a comfortable race to finish 4th which would be plenty enough to wear the crown of champion.
250 C
There was no shortage of fireworks in Moto 3.
Lincoln Green went wire-to-wire out front, completely unaware of the battlefield unfolding behind him.
Evan Witham charged from the middle of the pack into second, but had to go through Landon Schweiger. The two exchanged blows, banging into each other before eventually coming to a dead stop when they got stuck in the same rut together.
Schweiger appeared to have a bike issue during the chaos, allowing Witham to break free and take second at the checkers, which was enough to secure the overall championship.
Schweiger recovered to finish fourth and take second overall, while Green’s Moto 3 victory secured him the final step on the overall podium.
Womens
Mayla Herrick put together a phenomenal final moto, grabbing the holeshot and immediately checking out on the field. She was laying down laps at a blistering pace, running nearly a second faster than anyone else with a 2:02 flat fast lap.
Hannah Hodges looked like she might have something for Herrick in the opening laps as she settled into second, but Herrick quickly began to pull away. Meanwhile, Jordan Jarvis tracked Hodges down and made the pass around the halfway point.
Jarvis had one moment of terror when she tipped over working through lapped traffic, but quickly remounted and held onto second.
Jarvis’ runner-up finish secured second overall, while Hodges finished third in the moto and took the final spot on the overall podium.
250 Pro Sport
Ryder Malinoski pulled it off the hard way.
Malinoski hit the deck off the start, while Landon Gibson grabbed the holeshot and battled Carson Wood before eventually breaking away and checking out.
Wood had plenty of speed, throwing down the fastest lap of the moto with a 1:51, but behind them Malinoski was on a mission. He consistently clicked off heaters, carving his way back through the field and eventually fighting his way into third.
And third was all he needed.
Malinoski crossed the line third and secured the 250 Pro Sport overall championship. Gibson’s Moto 3 win locked him into second overall, with Wood taking third overall.
“I will never give up. It’s something I won’t do,” Malinoski said from the podium.
Behind them, Max Shane brought it home fourth in the moto, with Kade Johnson rounding out the Moto 3 top five.
Supermini 1 (12-15)
Easton Graves grabbed the holeshot and jumped out to an early lead droppiong some insane fast lap times.
Behind Graves was Jackson Vick, who settled into second. And for Vick, the math was simple: stabilize in second and ride it home.
Cooper Johnson had other plans.
Johnson began applying pressure late in the race, but as they came through the Thor sand section, you could hear Vick’s bike starting to sputter. Then, entering the Bermuda Triangle, disaster struck. Vick’s bike expired right in the rut, with Johnson running into the back of him just to add insult to injury.
Johnson popped out of the rut, rode away in second and suddenly had the championship handed to him on a silver platter.
Graves took the Moto 3 win, while Johnson’s second gave him the overall championship. Maddox Temmerman crossed the line third, which also secured him third overall on the week.
