All things youth moto…

Gage Linville wins the 4-6 AMA 2 title; Jackson Turpin’s tops in 7-8 AMA 1; Chase Sexton’s 3^rd in 65cc 7-11 Mod

(Photo Credit: Corey Bixby)

HILLSDALE, Mich., (Aug. 10, 2010) – The big news out of Hurricane Mills, Tenn., this past week was Cobra Motorcycles sweeping all of the 50cc titles at the 29^th running of the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, presented by AMSOIL, at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

But possibly the biggest news for Cobra as a company was the CX65’s first-ever 65cc overall podium at Loretta’s with Illinois’ Chase Sexton bringing home a 3^rd place finish in the 7-11 Modified class, going 6^th/3^rd/5^th.

“This is the first of many to come,” said Cobra President Sean Hilbert of what was also the first-ever podium finish as well for an American-made dirt bike in the 65 class at Loretta’s.

Sexton would go on to finish a solid 6^th overall in the 65cc 10-11 stock class as well. And Missouri’s Michael Hicks (8^th) and New Mexico’s Brandon Smith (10^th) would also put the American-made Cobra CX65 in the 7-9 Stock top ten overall scoring.

On the world-famous Cobra 50cc bikes, the reigning king of all mini bikes – Cobra’s King 50 – swept the entire 7-8 AMA 2 class podium. Georgia’s Jackson Turpin would take the overall title with some consistently fast riding (3^rd/4^th/3^rd), followed by third moto winner Parker Mashburn (Texas) in 2^nd place overall and Maryland’s Jack Rogers in 3^rd.

The AMA 2 class was not without drama as Cobra’s pre-race favorites, California’s Stilez Robertson and Missouri’s “Lightning” Lance Kobush both won motos – and both had troubles that would take them out of medal contention. Robertson, who went 1^st/2^nd in the first two motos (to Kobush’s win in the second moto), was poised to take the overall when he wrecked twice in the final moto and was only able to make it back to 11^th in the third and deciding race.

In the 4-6 AMA 1 class Georgia’s Gage Linville was the (little) Man – sweeping all three motos for the overall title. Linville was joined on the podium by Nevada’s Robert Hailey in 2^nd – and the two should have been joined by Ohio’s Vance Stiers, who placed 2^nd/2^nd in the first two AMA 1 motos. But Stiers ran into trouble on the start straightaway of moto three when he found himself at the bottom of a pile-up, ending his Loretta’s podium hopes for 2010.

“Again, congrats to all the Cobra racers and their families who qualified for 2010 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships. Cobra was proud to be there in full force with factory support and will continue to do so at all the major amateur nationals throughout the competition season,” added Hilbert. “Enjoy the rest of the summer and get after your schoolwork like you get after a motocross track. We’ll look forward to seeing you at the Mini Os in November.”

For more information on the 2010 AMA Amateur National Championships – including up-to-date scoring, link to the Loretta’s website at: http://www.mxsports.com

The race day kicked off with the 51cc 7-8 Class taking it to the track. Stilez Robertson pulled a nice holeshot followed closely by Lance Kobusch. Stilez, protecting his championship opportunity, battled with Lance for a few laps before letting him go. Lance ran away with the moto, and Stilez rode to a smart second place finish. Third place was earned by a hard-riding Grant Doolittle making his most impressive showing to-date on the national scene. Cobra mounted Jackson Turpin and Guage Keith rounded out the top five.

Overall podium points leaders for the LL 2010 50 7-8 Class Championship are 1^st Stilez Robertson (Cobra) 2^nd Jackson Turpin (Cobra) 3^rd Tied Jack Rodgers (Cobra) / Parker Mashburn (Cobra).

In the 51cc 4-6 class, Gage Linville pulled the holeshot and was challenged early on by Jaiden Taylor. At the start of Lap 3, Jaiden decided to jump to the inside of Linville for the pass, but instead he clipped Linville’s back tire and slid off the side of the track. Despite a late fall, Linville managed the moto win followed by  Vance Stiers and Robert Hailey. Going into moto three on Friday, the championship race is: 1^st Gage Linville, 2^nd Robert Hailey, and 3^rd Jaiden Taylor.

In Thursday’s 65cc 7-9 Stock Class, Cobra’s Aaden Vaezie nearly pulled the holeshot, and rode a great race until the heat got too him near mid-race. He finished a strong eleventh and was one of the highest finishing eight-year-olds in the race.

Chase Sexton once again rode an outstanding 10-11 Stock 65cc moto putting in a fourth place ride. Chase sits in a solid third place going into the final moto.

(Photo Credit: Corey Bixby of See How Big)

Cobra kicked off Loretta Lynn’s this year with an unveiling party to show off our 2011 lineup. We introduced all five bikes including the new CX50s and CX65 and our CARD King and CARD 65. Everyone loved them! Stay tuned for more details.

Racing kicked off Tuesday morning, and so far it’s looking like another successful year at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch as Stylez Robertson and Gage Linville both won their first motos in the 7-8 and 4-6 51cc stock classes. Backing Stylez and Gage up on the podium were Cobra mounted Parker Mashburn and Jackson Turpin (nephew of former MX star Keith Turpin) in the 7-8 class and Vance Stiers and Jaiden Taylor in the 4-6 class.

Later in the day, Cobra’s Chase Sexton had an impressive come-back in the 65cc 7-11 mod class where he recovered from three tip-overs to charge through for a strong sixth.

(Photo Credits: Corey Bixby of See How Big)