The new season is finally officially underway with round one of the amateur series in the books. The “U-G” offered a perfect setting for the world’s most prestigious ATVMX Championship Series. Riders from all over the nation, and world, converged on the dirt at Underground MX in Kemp, Texas. The track was prepped to perfection with nearly every inch of the 40-foot wide track being used, and had it not been for the much unexpected rain showers Saturday the weekend may have reached a perfect status. Even with the rain the track was more than ideal Sunday, which set the stage for a monumental season kickoff to the ProX ATV Motocross National Championship presented by CST Tires, an AMA National Championship.

As far as the AMA Pro ATV and Pro-Am racing goes, Ken Hill covers it a little later on. The amateur side though presents a big obstacle for us to break down more than any other side. There were so many pleasant surprises and great battles that waged on all weekend. The hard part is where to start, so I am going to try and bundle a few things this week and let it all process. I honestly have to say that I’m still a little overwhelmed at what I witnessed, but it was indeed a great first round.

In the 70 Shifters class there were some great battles. Tristan Evans is back as one of the big guns in this class, but he has some big competition in one little guy named Ian Juica. Tristan found out firsthand that this is going to be a big year as the entire field came ready to get the season going. Kazin Vanfossan may be another name to keep an eye out for. He scored third behind those two, but he showed more speed and hunger than his results yielded. All three got out of Texas with good scores.

Another eye-catching class this weekend was the 90 Open Sr. (12-15) class. Trevor Thatcher and Lance Walker seemed to have picked up where they left off last season. They also battled in some other classes too, but this one in particular squares them up head-to-head. If you remember from the junior days a couple of years ago it was the same way and the levels these two boys push each other has been amazing and knowing we get to watch it again this year is really exciting from the fans standpoint. From a mom and dad standpoint it is going to be a hectic year as these will likely swap wins back and forth till the final rounds.

The 90 Shifter (12-15) class may be another interesting one. Zack Decker, Jake Zapolksi and Kobe Van Fossen led the way as far as the top three, but this class is still extremely stacked. This class may be as talented as the Youth All-Star or any class as far as that goes. If you look at the results from moto one to moto two you can see there are some major differences at round one. The reason likely being was the Saturday afternoon rain showers, but it gave a true opportunity for these children to shine in both bad and good weather conditions. The level on this class may very well escalate this year to become another one of those “you don’t want miss this one” races.

Speaking of Youth All-Star, this class is once again stacked with the division’s top talent. Troy Hill is a rider we have been watching for the past couple of seasons and though we have seen some speed out of him, this year may prove to be his real breakout year. Then Brandon O’Neil picked up where he left off and took a couple of steps forward in the process. Troy and Brandon will have their hands full though as Peyton Zimmerman struggled in moto one, but he showed his expected speed in moto two. It was just the opposite for Ford though as his problems came in moto two. Regardless of luck, each rider showed their potential and set the stage for what will be one the most contested championships across the board.

Another class that cannot be overlooked in this nutshell approach during this week’s contribution is the Girls (13-17) class. Niamh Shaw led the way, but it was obvious that this may be her year with the biggest competition coming from Aubre King, Keirsten Keane, Johanna Vossman and Cassy Warwick. Shaw won both motos, but that does not necessarily mean it will be an easy championship to win. King and Vossman both showed amazing speeds, and both Keane and Warwick had some good speed too. Once we get to some of the eastern tracks we may see any one of these girls capable of taking a win on any given day.

That’s the way I see it in a nutshell for the Youth division and there are really more, and I could go on for days about each class. However, I will leave it at that and let you come see for yourself what I am talking about. If you didn’t catch the Joel Hetrick and Nick Moser interview on Quad Radio this past Friday we did with Gloop at Rip It Up Films. Check it out here.

That’s it for me for now. Let’s check in with Gloop’s Loop and with Ken “Quick Draw” Hill. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

In The Loop with Gloop:

Check out these updates off Instagram from Calen McGinty and 5th Line Racing on their time in Texas!

Keeping up with Ken Hill:

If you were not on the fence at Underground MX for round two (or 1 if you’re an amateur racer), you missed out on some insane racing throughout the weekend! The pro event was good as always with some excitement in both motos. Mother Nature sure put the whammy on moto two with the not need track watering but those guys tackled the conditions and still managed to put on an exceptional race. Be sure to check out RacerTV and share what they are putting out so you can see or relive all the action! Other than seeing everyone come off the track healthy, I was most grateful the rain held off and just impacted moto two. What was interesting was how closely the results mimicked much of last year, but they do not fully tell the story I saw. 

Yes, Chad Wienen was out front as most had expected him to be especially with Joel Hetrick still not 100 percent after his vicious wreck at Daytona. John Natalie was on the podium again. The top three was fairly easy to predict with Thomas Brown being the wild card even though he did not end up making the podium, he showed he has found some speed because even after issues he stomped his way back to the front. Rastrelli was right where I thought he would be and I have no doubt he and Brown are going to find podium finishes all season long. 

I am reading what I am writing and thinking I could be talking about most of last year and that is boring, but this year still seems way different. That difference is the speed that Rastrelli has found and that follows up to Ronnie Higgerson and Nick Gennusa. Higgerson needs some luck and if he can keep his quad running it should be a real battle this year as he makes his way into the mix. That would put him with Rastrelli and Gennusa, who himself has really made the step up not only in speed but his endurance as well. Gennusa just looked sharp every time I saw him, and that included a never give up attitude when he lost his seat at the start of the second moto. I also think given time, David Haagsma is going to be a player, so we indeed have some serious racing that will be taking place behind the top three that is going to make it great for the fans and for the TV coverage. 

If the Pro racing wasn’t enough for you, the Pro-Am race Sunday was another intense race that saw some great motos with Cole Sepesi, Westley Wolfe and Parker Wewerka all getting tons of time out in the front. Brett Musick seemed to always be right there in the heats and let it loose in the main as he cruised to the win marking a big victory for the Koster Racing team. All in all it was some of the best racing all weekend, and from a fan standpoint the heat races kept the day flowing and very exciting!

You also should have noticed the new look to the podium backdrop and starting gate as we welcomed ProX and CST Tires to the mix. It was a great weekend of racing as their logos adorned the huge Underground MX track. The track itself is huge and I had my work cut out trying to get action shots that still showcased the banners but in the end it worked out. I was surprised at how rough the track got more so than last year, but that just kept things honest. You could easily see who has their set up on point as they tackled everything with relative ease versus those who looked to be beaten nonstop by the conditions. 

That’s all from me this week as I prepare for the Big Buck GNCC in South Carolina. I am looking forward to hitting Muddy Creek for ATVMX round three. It is one of my favorite tracks to shoot at and it can get brutal for the racers, so get your equipment dialed in! Big kickers, hard pack and high speeds are in store for all those who will be looking for good finishes! Be safe, God bless and see you all soon!