Image: Supplied.

Mother nature was the story of the day on Thursday at the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms forced an extended delay in action at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch.

When racing eventually resumed, racers were greeted with a wet and challenging racetrack, which resulted in an unpredictable afternoon of competition.

The lone class of the day not upended by the rain was 250 B Limited, which opened the morning ahead of the storm that initiated the weather delay. NSA Yamaha Amateur Factory Team rider Leum Oehlhof entered the second moto as the rider to beat, but was led by KTM Orange Brigade’s Jeremy Fappani. Third came Grayson Fair (KTM).

All eyes were on Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Casey Cochran as the 250 B field lined up onto the starting gate for the second time. Cochran came into the day undefeated and had yet to be seriously challenged in a moto in his quest for a pair of class titles.

In the end though, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green duo Krystian Janik and Drew Adams went 1-2, with Logan Best (Yamaha) third. Behind this, the complexion of the hunt for the title took a dramatic and unexpected turn when Cochran, who was running sixth, was spotted on the side of the track, seemingly favoring his right arm.

One of the more unexpected outcomes of Thursday’s action came in Mini Sr. 1, where KTM rider Jayce Wolf, Husqvarna rider Vincent Wey, GasGas rider Jonathan Getz and KTM rider Cole Blecha all figured to be factors in the battle for the win. Instead, a rider who didn’t even finish inside the top 10 in moto one stole the spotlight.

Wey did what he had to do to open the moto as he put his Husqvarna out front and raced to the holeshot. However, the slippery track conditions caused him to lose traction and go down in front of all his rivals and dropped him to the tail end of the field.

That opened the door for KTM rider Dakota Baker to take control of the moto. Baker, who finished 15th in the first outing, was exceptional in his ability to navigate the conditions. His most emphatic moment of the moto came on the penultimate lap when he posted the fastest single lap of the race to help his advantage surpass 20 seconds.

Baker was in a class of his own out front and captured a surprising moto win over Carson Wood (Kawasaki), who himself never factored in the opening moto battle. Completing the moto podium was another shock Austin Camden (GasGas). As a result, the battle for the now has four riders within three points of one another heading into the deciding third moto on Friday.

Given the talent in the class and the less-than-ideal track conditions, the rider who emerged with the best start in the second Supermini 1 moto would have a tremendous opportunity to parlay that into a victory.

Husqvarna rider Deacon Denno was the one who seized the moment with the holeshot and he went on to win from Landen Gordon (Kawasaki) and Canyon Richards (KTM), who held off a late charge from Seth Dennis (KTM).

Detailed results