Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson began the 2011 AMA Women’s MX championship with a convincing pair of wins at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, Ca. on Saturday, May 21. Posting such a strong effort in the opening round of the series puts the Star Racing/DNA Shred Stix YZ250F racer not only in the points lead, but also in a good position to defend her 2010 championship as the eight-round series moves forward. Meanwhile in AMA Pro ATV motocross action in Delmont, Penn. Thomas Brown flew his Yamaha YFZ450R to solid 3-2 moto finishes at Steel City MX to claim second place overall, his best result of the year so far.
| Motocross Results |
No racers entered. |
|
| Motocross Lites Results |
| 1 |
Blake Baggett |
(2,1) |
| 2 |
Dean Wilson |
(1,3) |
| 3 |
Tyla Rattray |
(5,2) |
| 4 |
Eli Tomac |
(3,4) |
| 5 |
Marvin Musquin |
(4/6) |
| 6 |
G. Swanepoel - YAM |
(9,5) |
| 7 |
K. Cunningham - YAM |
(8,8) |
| 8 |
Darryn Durham |
(10,9) |
| 9 |
Broc Tickle |
(13,7) |
| 10 |
Cole Seely |
(7,13) |
|
 |
| Standing after round 1 of 12 |
| 1 |
Blake Baggett |
47 |
| 2 |
Dean Wilson |
45 |
| 3 |
Tyla Rattray |
38 |
| 4 |
Eli Tomac |
38 |
| 5 |
Marvin Musquin |
33 |
| 6 |
G. Swanepoel - YAM |
28 |
| 7 |
K. Cunningham - YAM |
26 |
| 8 |
Darryn Durham |
23 |
| 9 |
Broc Tickle |
22 |
| 10 |
Cole Seely |
22 |
|
Women's... By taking the overall win at Hangtown, Patterson beat not only the top American women motocrossers but the world’s best as well, as her competition included two-time WMX champion Ashley Fiolek and double FIM world champion Steffi Laier. In the first of two seven-lap motos, Patterson grabbed the holeshot before opening up a big 12-second lead over Fiolek and Laier at the checkered flag. Moto two started much the same way, with Patterson leading until a fall dropped her temporarily back to third behind her rivals. But she picked herself up, put her head down, and charged back into the lead. “The track was gnarly, but that's what we train for,” she said. “I feel like I'm in better shape this year, and I have a lot of confidence right now.”
In the AMA Pro ATV series, Brown has gotten better every race this season, beginning with a top 10 in early April, breaking into the top five a few weeks ago, and now stepping onto the podium with a solid second overall. In the first of two Steel City motos, Brown ran fourth or fifth for most of the event before climbing to third with five laps remaining, which he maintained to the flag. In fact, thanks to a daring last-lap charge, he finished just 0.7 sec. behind second-place Chase Snapp. In moto two, Brown started fifth, advanced to second within a few laps, and ultimately finished just 2.4 sec. behind winner Joe Byrd at the finish. The 3-2 result vaults him to seventh in points with five rounds left to go in the series.
| Women's Class |
| 1 |
J. Patterson - YAM |
(1,1) |
| 2 |
Ashley Fiolek |
(2,2) |
| 3 |
Steffi Laier |
(3,3) |
| 4 |
Tarah Geiger |
(4,7) |
| 5 |
J. Strong |
(7,5) |
| 6 |
Tatum Sik - YAM |
(8,6) |
| 7 |
Mariana Balbi - YAM |
(13/4) |
| 8 |
Kasie Creson |
(10/8) |
| 9 |
S. Kaneshiro |
(9,10) |
| 10 |
E. Bash |
(14,9) |
|
|
| Standings |
| 1 |
J. Patterson - YAM |
50 |
| 2 |
Ashley Fiolek |
44 |
| 3 |
Steffi Laier |
40 |
| 4 |
Tarah Geiger |
32 |
| 5 |
J. Strong |
30 |
| 6 |
Tatum Sik - YAM |
28 |
| 7 |
Mariana Balbi - YAM |
26 |
| 8 |
Kasie Creson |
24 |
| 9 |
S. Kaneshiro |
23 |
| 10 |
E. Bash |
19 |
|
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