WOW! Â That’s about all I can say about our first regional experience. Â Byron Motosport Park turned into mud bogger’s dream event. Â After two great days of practice at Byron rain started to fall on Friday night and continued throughout the day on Saturday. Â This was a weekend of first for us…our first regional…first mud race…and so on.
I really have to give it to the staff and crew at Byron. Â They stuck with it and got Saturday in. Â The flaggers and track crew had their hands full all day. Â How they did it I will never know.
Many of our Mid-South riders had made the trip up to Byron in hopes of racing to qualify for a trip to Loretta’s. Â They wound up just fighting to survive Saturday for a chance at racing in better conditions on Sunday.
Shiftonephoto provided this excellent video of Saturday’s action, Shiftone also has a great photo gallery of images from Saturday:
Local Rider Report
50cc Riders
#48 Maddox Owens – Maddox finished 13-24-9 for 19th overall in the 50cc 7-8 Class.  Keep your eye on this guy.  He made it to Loretta’s last year and did very well in the 4-6 class.  He still has another year on 50s, and I definitely expect to see him back at the ranch.
#419 Alex Rose – Alex finished 5-13-32 for 20th overall in the 50cc 7-8 Class. Â Not sure what happened in the last moto, but Alex is one fast dude. Â He is moving up to the 65cc class full time. Â You can probably get a great deal on 50cc Cobra if get with Bill.
65cc Riders
#51 Cody Fortenberry – Cody finished 2-8-5 tied for 6th overall in the 65cc 7-9 class. Â Cody lost the tie breaker for the guaranteed spot to Loretta’s, but is the #1 overall alternate and should get his chance to race Loretta’s. Â Congrats to Cody and his family, he is a super kid and I couldn’t be happier for him. Â He had some bad luck last year that knocked him out of a trip to the ranch, looks like he will get his chance this year.
#835 Kiefer Martin – Kiefer didn’t finish his qualifying moto on Saturday. Â He got a great start (3rd) and went out of sight for a while. Â His bike quit somewhere out of view. Â A track worker got it going again, but it died on the second lap and they couldn’t get it going again. Â They hauled it in on a mule and his weekend was over. Don’t worry though he is probably more determined than ever to make it to the ranch.
#87 Brent Allgyer – Brent had a rough go in Byron as well. Â He went down in his qualifying moto as well. Â Everyone knows Brent is one of the fastest kids around, and he just had a bad weekend at Byron. Â I am sure he will bounce back strong. Â His previous regional weekend at Gatorback shows that he can race with anyone.
#142 Sage Lewis – Sage finished 5-11-9 for 9th overall in 65cc 7-9. Â Sage also has an 8th overall finish at the Southeast Regional at Gatorback. Â Sage has come a long way in the past couple of years and he is right there. Â I hope we are watching him race at the Ranch this year.
#10 Kimble Jett – Kimble finished 14th overall in 65cc 10-11. Â Kimble came to Byron hoping to get a ticket in a second class. Â He had already qualified 65cc 7-11 Class.
#11 Landon Hulbert – Landon finished 13-16-20 for 19th overall in the 65cc 10-11 class. Â Landon has continued to work hard and get faster. Â I am sure that they will try to reach the ranch again next year.
#221 Ben Rose – Ben raced in the 3 classes at Byron going 11-33-DNS in 65cc 10-11, he also finished 32nd in 85cc 9-11 Limited, and 26 85cc 9-11. Â The 85 classes were stacked but Ben did a great job at Byron. Â He’s got to be one of funniest kids around. Â No doubt he will be a big star in life no matter what he does.
85cc Riders
#77 Palmer Neely – Palmer went 3-4-6 for 3rd overall in the 85cc 9-11 Limited Class. Â Palmer had already qualified for 85cc 9-11 and 65cc 10-11. Â I think he has decided to retire the 65’s and move on to the 85’s full time. Â Congrats Palmer!
#22 Mack Carney – Mack finished 22 in the 9-11 Limited Class and 24th in the 9-11 Mod class. Â I know Mack wanted to make a return to trip to the ranch this year, but he really ran great and will definitely be in the running next year. Â He jumped up to the 85 class this year and has really been riding well.
85 Senior Riders & Supermini
#140 JJ Long – JJ didn’t get the finishes he hoped for at Byron, Saturday’s mudfest knocked him out of any chance on Sunday. Â I am sure this won’t slow him down and we should be looking for him to make the ranch next year for sure.
#2 Bryce Grissom – Saturday wasn’t to Bryce’s liking either and it really kept another one of our really fast local riders from showing his true potential.
#361 Skyler Whatley – Skyler finished 10th overall in the Supermini I class. Â He had finishes of 8-10-11. Â He was really riding great coming into the regional and kept it up despite the weather conditions.
Schoolboy Riders
#828 Matthew Weakley – Matthew is another Mid-South rider that really shined despite the rain and mud.  He put down finishes of  6-8-5 for 4th overall in School Boy 1.  Can’t wait to see him ride at the ranch.  I know he is really training hard right now.
Girls and Women Riders
#71 Aspen Neely- Aspen already had a ticket to the ranch in the Girls 12-16 class but came to Byron in search of getting one in the Women 14+ class as well. Â She finished 6-11-14 for 10th overall. Â I know she is keeping her fingers crossed to make it in on the alternate list.
If I missed anyone please let me know. Â I can say that I learned a lot at this regional for sure. Â I can promise you that all these guys and girls have nothing to be ashamed of. Â They put in a lot of hard work just to make it to the regional level. Â This was a regional that you really had to earn a spot in, they actually had a lot of classes that had 62-63 riders in.
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