Summer might be cooling down, but the fiery competition that continues to be displayed within the RMRA Supercross series sure isn’t—and this past weekend in Greeley, Colorado for Round #4 of the series proved it! Those who were lucky enough to attend bore witness to a few of the best battles of the season along with a healthy dose of F-U-N, courtesy of the legendary tire, pit-bike, and tandem races! Such an event deserves a hearty recap, so let it begin!
Pro’s:
At the last RMRA Supercross race in Kiowa, CO, the rider turnout for the pro classes was underwhelming to say the least. Thankfully, Round #4 marked a comeback, as we saw far more riders lining up on the gate and the war-stories to show for it! Of course, the local A-class regulars like Mitchell Gifford, Todd Bannister, Chris Flesia, and Cody Gray all lined up to bang bars as they do most weekends, but, much to our delight, the man, the myth, the legend, Derek Anderson came out to play again, too! Of all the classes, the one that produced the most exciting racing to watch was undoubtedly Open Pro/Non Pro.
In the heat, Anderson immediately marked his territory on the track with a clean holeshot. His reign wouldn’t last long, however, as Gifford made his move for the lead early on in the race. Meanwhile, riders further back in the field found themselves in heated battles of their own! Dawson Newby and Todd Bannister rode a tight race in the beginning, that is, until Bannister made the pass and ran with third. The back and forth continued even further in the pack between Jaylend McCarty and Ryan Zawacki. The pro-rank rookie and still current B-rider went at it til McCarty decided he’d had enough, running Zawacki high two corners before the finish, resulting in a crash for the #14 and a solid fourth place finish for the #X.
The main was even more eventful—so much so that we’d be willing to call it the best race of the night! Anderson would find himself out front once more with an impressive holey, but, to no one’s surprise, Gifford would be right there with him yet again! It looked as though Gifford might be able to steal the lead like he did in the previous moto, but a crash after the second set of whoops would allow the entire field to get around him. This bumped Gray up to second and Bannister and Newby trailed close behind to put the pressure on their competitor. Before we could blink, however, Gifford had worked his way back inside the top five! A three-way battle ensued between Bannister, Gray, and Gifford, until the clearly quickest rider of the night (#311 ring a bell?) initiated the most iconic pass of the weekend through the rhythm section where he sent triple-triple-single to secure second. While Bannister and Gray duked it out for third, and Anderson sat up front on a ride in the park by himself, Gifford silently reeled in the CO pro legend to take a stab at the lead. Right as he found himself up there alongside the front runner, ready to make his move, he crashed on the finish line heading into the white flag lap. Gifford’s almost-comeback sure was impressive—the dude was on fire all night long. But, as Anderson crossed the checkered in first, he proved that smooth and steady really does win the race!
Supermini:
The young supermini riders who lined up to throw down at this race brought the same quality battles to the track as their idols did in the above mentioned pro classes! The first time the superminis took to the track, Treyton Padilla acted as the Alpha dog, starting off with the lead and winning the whole thing with dominance! Behind him, Caden Gordy and Kade Crowther would round out the top three. Moto two played out a little differently, with Crowther grabbing the holeshot and Padilla following close by, hungry to steal the lead early on. Before long, Padilla made the pass, reclaiming the dominance he proved in moto one. The riders at his back would all ride a tight race, breathing down each others’ necks lap after lap. As Gordy put the pressure on Crowther for second, he was challenged for third by Greeley resident, Parker Gentry. In the end, it was Padilla, Crowther, and Gordy who came away with the top three spots!
65cc Open 7-11:
The 65cc Open 7-11 class stayed true to the theme of epic rides for the night. To put it in perspective, the racing here was so back and forth that not one rider inside the top five walked away with consistent moto finishes all night! In moto one, Ryan Hadley would start off strong out front, but it wouldn’t last long, as Zach Redd and Beau Leach made quick work of the leader. The position switch-ups wouldn’t stop there, as Payton Aragon and Jett Kellogg found themselves up there in the mix by mid race, too. At the checkered flag, it was Redd, Hadley, and Aragon who would land podium positions. You guessed it, moto two followed the same manic pattern! Your leaders off the start were Kellogg, Redd, and Aragon… that is, until Leach decided to get in on the action and make his pass for third before lap one even came to a close. On the second to last lap, Redd crashed after the second set of whoops, leaving Leach to pick up his second place position. Kellogg snatched the W, Leach grabbed second, and Redd slid into third. After all the inconsistent moto finishes, the overall looked like this: Redd first, Kellogg second, Leach third.
50cc 4-8 Open:
Everybody gets a kick out of watching the little guys zip around the track at these supercross races (and, let’s be honest, everybody gets a kick out of watching the parents out on the track, too)! In moto one, Wyatt Kemble—who ripped at Loretta Lynn’s earlier this month—showed up on the line to bring his best with a nice holey, but his lead would be cut short when Riley Ward made a pass to steal the number one spot late in the first lap. Meanwhile, the #211 of Steven Street tirelessly worked his way through the pack after a near dead last start. By the end of the moto, he was able to earn an impressive third place. Moto two got off to a great start, til the race was red-flagged. On their second time out, the holeshot went to Kash Cain, out of Amarillo, TX, and Street and Ward trailed behind. Kemble challenged Ward for third, but couldn’t make it happen. The overall results read Ward in first, Street in second, and Kemble in third.
This RMRA race in Greeley displayed just about every factor that makes supercross, well, supercross. Great battles and impressive speed left everybody in the stands craving more! So, lucky for us, there’s still one more round left of the supercross series in 2019. Head out to Brush, Colorado on Sept. 7th for the finale of RMRA’s first supercross season! Here comes the checkered flag on this one, see y’all out there next month!
Photos by Erin Malcolm.