For centuries, the Karens of RMRA keyboarded their opinions on how we raced IMI way too much in Colorado. Well, in true 2020 fashion, they finally got their way, as last weekend was the first AND last race at the IMI Motorsports facility in 2020.
Despite their claims, it’s been a long 329 days since we last lined up here and, overall, round two was solid. The free Gatorade was appreciated (thanks, 5th Gear Moto), the 800 entries were astronomical in terms of turn out, and the track looked to be prime. For the sake of providing our readers with facts, we asked an actual racer what he thought of the track. Lincoln from the 50cc class said, “The turns were super rutty and deep. The braking bumps were out of control. If you weren’t holding on tight and looking ahead, you would be bucked off your bike in no time.” Five-year-olds don’t lie, so we’re gonna roll with it and get going on our race report.
50cc E-Bikes
At the first RMRA round in Alamosa, only one 50cc E-bike rider lined up to race the never before seen class. But, history was made at IMI last weekend. For the first time ever, electronic bikes volted off the gate and battled in the state of Colorado. Sure there weren’t many of them, but it was a pleasant surprise for the ears of spectators. Young Cory Holmes, Honest Lincoln Difulvio, & Sr. Chance Ulburg took to the track and showed us what they’re made of. All of them placed in the top three, and are legends in our books.
50cc 4-8 open
Thirty-eight premixed machines screamed off the gate in this class and woah, was it loud. First moto gets going and it’s Deegan Miller who is out front quick. Steven Street runs second for a bit, but Chance Ulberg makes the pass and finishes in that spot. Miller grabs the win followed by Ulberg and Street.
In the last Class 4 moto of the day, it looked like Miller stole the holeshot and took off. Street would finish second and Ulberg third. Shoutout to Logan Quinn with a solid top-five finish in Moto 2. Before we move on from Class 4, we’d like to recognize Noah Luke for his huge improvement in the second moto going 27-13 on the day.
Your top-five:
- Deegan Miller 1-1
- Steven Street 3-2
- Chance Ulberg 2-3
- Cory Holmes 5-4
- Wyatt Edman 4-6
65cc 7-11 Open:
Still drunk on champagne, the Champ lined up with the Colorado boys over the weekend. The talent in this class was stacked, and we were anxious to see how the locals would par against the newly crowned 2020 Loretta Lynn’s Champ, Gage Dunham.
In the first moto, we saw Gage sneak to the inside for the holeshot. He would soon make a rare mistake and allow Mason Brown and Jett Kellogg to take over the top two positions. Jett kept Brown on his toes for the entirety of the race, but it wasn’t enough for the Moto 1 win. Oh, and there was a top-three finish for our dude, Finn Shaw.
The gate drops for the second moto and, once again, Dunham finds himself up front early. Brown pressures Gage for the lead, but falls short. It doesn’t matter though, as Mason goes 1-2 for first overall on the day and takes over the points lead. Shoutout to Mason Green for finishing in the top-three second moto , followed by Kellogg and Little Fitch.
Sr. Mini 85cc 12-15
It was the battle of the delivery services this past weekend, as the top-three were hauling the mail in this class.
Aden Finely delivered quickest, providing same day shipping, pulling a holeshot and going 1-1 for the day.
Amazon prime should hire this kid, as Chase Brown gave it his all that first moto and battled Finley until the end. It took him two days to deliver, but second place is not that bad.
UPS Ground’s very own, Jace Hinrichs did his job this weekend and delivered on time with a third place overall, going 3-4 for the weekend.
Jr. Mini 85cc 9-11
The second moto in this class was nuts, and was easily the best moto of the weekend.
After finishing third in the first moto, Luke Carns flies through the first corner and takes the early lead. First moto winner, Jett Kellogg, follows in second, but Collin Clark manages to sneak by. Jett would pass Collin back and the pair would catch up to Carns and battle until the checkered flag. Our notes state Carns first, Kellogg second, and Clark Third. But after the race, we found out Kellogg passed Clark on a yellow and was docked a lap. Flag rules seem to be inconsistent track to track, race to race, so it was quite the learning experience for him.
The Cs | Top 3 Moments
With a combined 100 riders between the two classes, each class had a pair of heats, an LCQ, and a “Main event”. The Mile High Mouth gathered the masses and explained to them what was about to go down. We took a step back, and watched from a far, as 40 of the fastest novice riders in the state flew down the start straight into turn one. Believe it or not, according to our photos, all 40 of them made it out on two wheels during all four motos.
Here are your top three moments in a very specific order.
1. Did you see that nose wheelie across the finish by John Douglas during the second heat? Dope, dude.
2. Junktown boy, Dawson Fay, gets the jump and runs up front for a bit during the Main Event.
3. Kaleb Hale, Koree Green, & Raice Hernandez are your top-three in 250 C.
Giving Props:
Before we sign off, we’d like to tip our hats to the people who make it all possible.
• The Promoters
Although it’s always a risk putting on a race, attempting to throw a race in 2020 is no easy task. Thank you to RMRA and the whole IMI crew for going the extra mile and making it happen.
• The Score Keepers / Referees
With a plethora of stacked classes, it was long day for these hard workin’ folks. Let’s thank them for all that they do.
• The Media Dudes
Let’s give it up to the photographers who pay the $12 gate fee to shoot you on two wheels.
That’s a wrap, we’ll see ya when we see ya. ✌🏼