Brandon Clarke
Welcome to Wednesday 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.
Schoolboy 1
Chase Moynihan came out swinging, ripping an aggressive holeshot and immediately putting daylight between himself and the rest of the field. For the first few laps it looked like he might disappear, but on lap four Noxx Lewin reeled him in, made the pass, and never looked back. Once out front, Lewin settled into his rhythm, stretched the gap to about two seconds, and cruised to the moto win.
The real fireworks came behind him. Gague Brown and Chase Moynihan were locked in the best battle of the race, swapping momentum as Brown hunted down the second spot. He finally made the pass, only for disaster to strike a few corners later when his bike expired, ending what had been one of the strongest rides of the moto.
That misfortune opened the door for Hudson Vagele, who quietly put together one of the rides of the day. After starting back in 11th, Vagele carved through the field to fourth in just four laps before inheriting the final podium position when Brown’s bike gave up.
Sawyer Geick kept things clean and consistent from start to finish to secure fourth, while Jace Baker rounded out the top five with a solid, mistake-free ride.
Schoolboy 2
I don’t really know how we top the excitement level of this one.
It all started with Ryder Skodras grabbing the holeshot. But just like a gnat at a barbecue, Tanner Dorman was all over him from the drop of the gate. The two traded passes in an all-out fight for the lead while Grayson Townsend quietly stalked them from third, waiting for his opportunity.
That opportunity came… and disappeared just as quickly.
As Townsend closed to Dorman’s rear wheel, he tucked the front and went down, creating some collateral damage behind him in the process. By the time he remounted, he had fallen all the way back to 10th.
The chaos opened the door for Tristan Pruitt, who slipped through the incident untouched. It didn’t take long for him to make quick work of Dorman, setting up a showdown with Skodras that had everyone watching. When Pruitt finally made the pass for the lead, he immediately laid down a string of blistering laps, looking like he had finally broken free.
Not so fast.
Skodras refused to go away and was glued to Pruitt’s rear fender as the laps wound down. Then came the defining moment of the moto. With just a couple laps remaining, Pruitt had a massive bobble, both feet off the pegs as he nearly tipped over in a rut. Somehow, he wrestled the bike back underneath him and kept it upright, getting back on the gas with Skodras just inches away from stealing the lead.
Pruitt survived the scare and held on for the victory, adding a little extra flair with a celebratory gesture as he crossed the finish line. Skodras settled for a hard-fought second, Dorman completed the podium in third, Kannon Hargrove finished fourth, and Dane Pappas, who charged through the field from deep in the pack to round out the top five in fifth.
65cc (10-11)
Ryder Annison wasted no time taking control of this one. He grabbed the early lead, never put a wheel wrong, and rode a nearly flawless race to the checkered flag, finishing more than eight seconds clear of the rest of the field.
But while Annison was checking out, the real show was unfolding behind him.
Jax Baker, Shannon Tarnow, and Abshur Hall were locked in a three-rider battle that looked like it would decide the remaining podium spots.
But someone forgot to tell Yumena Berning that Shark Week ended last week, because she smelled blood in the water. She started circling her prey, and picked off the boys one by one.
Just when it looked like she’d make another clean pass to take over 2nd, things got a little spicy. Tarnow nearly punted her off the track heading into the corner before the Ten Commandments, but Berning wasn’t about to back down. She squared him up, pulled alongside, and the two doubled through the Ten Commandments side by side.
When they emerged on the other side, Berning chose the smarter line, shut the door on Tarnow, and stormed into second. From there she attacked every corner with that unmistakable Eli Tomac “rocking the baby” head bobble.
Behind that battle, Jax Baker made his move to steal third from Tarnow, while Abshur Hall rounded out the top five.
Supermini 2
Hey, hey… what do you say? Easton Graves came to play.
If there was any question about who the rider to beat is in Supermini 2, Graves answered it in Moto 1 with a statement ride. He was simply in a league of his own, riding a flawless race and crossing the finish line more than 12 seconds ahead of the field.
Behind him, Jackson Vick had to work a little harder. After a busy opening lap and a couple of small mistakes, Vick settled into second and did exactly what championship contenders do, riding his own race. With nearly a 12-second gap to Graves and another 13 seconds back to third, Vick spent most of the moto on an island, cruising home for a solid runner-up finish.
Elliot Bowsher rounded out the podium, and honestly, he looked like he was out for a Wednesday afternoon cruise. He started third, ran third, and finished third. No drama, no panic, just a smooth, consistent ride to lock down the final podium spot.
The real story of the moto, though, might belong to Maddox Timmerman.
After getting buried off the start in 12th, Timmerman went on a charge, slicing his way through the field and climbing all the way to fifth. Then disaster struck. He tipped it over twice in the same lap, dropping back to ninth and looking like all of his hard work had been erased.
Instead of packing it in, Timmerman went right back to work. He mounted a second charge in the closing laps, fought his way back to fifth, and salvaged an impressive finish.
The speed is there. Now it’s just a matter of putting together the starts and consistency to match it.
Shout out to Cash Anderson in P4 who rounds out your top 5.
85cc (10-12)
Jaydin Smart launched out front, found creative lines all over the ranch, and looked completely at home as he flowed around the track. Nobody had an answer for him, and by the time the checkered flag flew, he had another moto win in the books to back up his Moto 1 victory. He’s now sitting pretty with a perfect 1-1 score heading into the final moto.
Behind him, Nolan Cobb kept things clean and consistent. He crossed the line seven seconds behind Smart and spent most of the race comfortably in second before Beckham Smith started turning up the heat late. The pressure came, but Cobb never cracked, hanging on to the runner-up spot while moving into 11th overall.
Smith put together another strong ride of his own. After starting fourth, he made the pass into third and spent the closing laps chipping away at Cobb’s advantage. He got close enough to make things interesting but couldn’t quite close the deal. Even so, Smith leaves Moto 2 sitting second overall and well within striking distance.
Rounding out the top five were Anderson Waldele, who currently sits third overall, and Braxton Roth, who leaves the day fourth overall.
250 Pro Sport
The biggest question heading into this one wasn’t who would win, it was whether Ryder Malinoski would feel the effects of his brutal Open Pro Sport Moto 1 crash earlier in the day.
We got our answer right away.
Cole Forbes was credited with the holeshot, with Malinoski alongside him through Turn 2. But before the opening lap was over, Carson Wood sliced past both riders, determined to erase his fourth-place finish from Moto 1.
It took Malinoski a few laps to work around Forbes, but by then Wood had already checked out. Laying down a race-best 1:52.7 lap, compared to Malinoski’s 1:53.7, Wood built a comfortable five-to-six second cushion and never looked back.
Forbes deserves credit for putting himself in the fight early. After grabbing the holeshot and running inside the top three, he eventually gave way to Jesson Turner and Landon Gibson before slipping back to 11th.
Gibson would work his way into P3 before the mot was over overtaking Turner who took 4th with Max Shane rounded out the top five, and the championship picture is far from settled.
Kade Johnson had an impressive comeback from 22nd to 6th as he carved through the field. It’s an impressive salvage job, but still not the kind of motos he came to Loretta’s expecting. The speed is there but the starts just haven’t been.
The class doesn’t race again until Friday, but with Malinoski, Wood, and Gibson sitting 1-2-3 overall, Friday night is shaping up to be must-watch racing.
250 B Limited
Darrin Pine looked like he was about to pull another disappearing act.
He grabbed the early lead, but unlike yesterday, Braxtyn Mes wasn’t about to let him ride off into the sunset. The two immediately broke away from the rest of the field and gave us the battle of the moto, trading momentum and ripping through the Ten Commandments side by side lap after lap.
Both riders had sections where they looked unbeatable, but it was an unforced mistake by Pine that finally opened the door. Mes pounced, made the pass, and never gave Pine another shot. Once out front, he stretched the gap in a hurry, turning a close fight into a 22-second victory by the time the checkered flag flew.
Behind them, Ryan Jaramillo rode a quiet but solid race to third and now sits third overall. Res Seeba finished fourth, with Jacob Hauck rounding out the top five.
The battle for the win was worth the price of admission. Behind it, everyone settled into their own rhythm, with third through fifth separated by six to eight seconds for most of the moto.
