Horton, Kloptowsky, Licastro Take Two at Megacross

 Mendota, IL – June 20

By Nikki Dixon

Round five of the Megacross Shootout Series logged another solid turnout, with 320 entrants.  Roy Horton topped the stacked A classes after battling with Travis Sewell, Derek Whitney, and a hay bale cover in two exciting main events.  Other double class winners were Jason Kloptowsky in +25A and +30A, Cory Catalani in Supermini and 125cc, Colin Licastro in 14-25 and 250B, and Seth Kuss in 250C and Open C.

 Sewell (86) grabbed the holeshot in the 18-rider 205A class, with Whitney, Andrew Tyrrell, James Garrett, and Horton in the hunt.  Garrett moved into the third spot early in the race, with Horton closing in.  The race unfolded during an action packed lap three.  First, Horton charged past Garret for third, then caught Whitney as they entered a rutted left hand turn with multiple lines.  Whitney went inside, but Horton railed a rut in the middle to pass Whitney for second.  But Whitney took the position back a few turns later, only for Horton to answer back with an inside line pass after the whoops, and securing the deal with a fist pump over the step up.  Leader Sewell was just in front of the action, but stalled his bike in the tight turns before the finish, as he was completed lap three.  Horton took over the lead, and threw up another fist pump over the finish line tabletop.  The new running order on lap four was Horton, Whitney, Garrett, Daniel Sanders, and Sewell.  On the final lap of the seven lap race, Sewell tried to go inside on Sanders in the big bowl turn but took out Sanders’ front tire, with both riders going down, moving Justin Kelly and Jonathan Six into the top five.  Horton captured the win, over Whitney, Garrett, Kelly, and Six.

 In Open A, Sewell led the 13-rider field through the first turns, chased by Horton, Whitney, Dylan Martin, and Sanders.  The top three launched over the big double, with Horton putting the pressure on Sewell.  On the beginning of lap two, Horton worked the inside lines, eventually getting by Sewell for the lead.  Whitney also stuck a pass on Sewell, with the two going bar-to-bar over the big double, and rubbing some plastic through the berm turn.  Horton, Whitney, and Sewell stayed close, chased by Garrett, Martin, and Kelly.  On lap three, leader Horton’s rear tire grabbed a hay bale cover, which wrapped around the brake side of his rear wheel.  It was the Megacross version of Josh Grant going for his first win at Anaheim 1, with smoke coming from Horton’s rear tire as he continued to charge to the checkered flag.  The bike held on, with Horton celebrating over the jumps as he took the win.  Whitney edged out Sewell for second, with Garrett and Martin rounding out the top five. 

Jeremy Beetz had a solid night in Quad A, winning the heat-race, and going wire-to-wire in the main event.  Jason Wehrli and Neil Hambly chased Beetz around the first turn in the main event, but Beetz stayed out front for the win.  Wehrli secured third, whith John Biddle taking the third spot at the checkers.

 Quad C has 11 riders, with Charles Torres picking up the holeshot, followed by Tyler Hackman, Shawn Papart, and Joseph Vinachi.  James Rumple quickly moved into the top three, but had problems late in the race, resulting in a DNF.  Torres sprinted to the checkers, followed by Hackman and Papart.  Kody Graham finished fourth after a bad start, and Hackman wrapped up the top five.

Dean Holmstrom proved that he could win in the Thumper class with or without a seat.  In the heat race, Holmstrom lost his seat early in the race, but kept charging to take the win over John Conley and AJ Waggoner.  In the main event, Holmstrom went the whole race with his seat and the lead.  Conley stayed close to Holmstrom, and made a last lap attempt for the win, but crashed in the final set of whoops before the finish, handing Waggoner to take the second spot.  Conley remounted for third, and Dylan Broll reeled in his brother Nicholas Broll, as they completed the top five.

 In 65 Senior, Danielle Grigoletti (741) was the early leader, trailed by Nicholas Lorenz, RJ Mackenzie, and Vinny Cragin.  Lorenz passed into the lead mid-race, and stayed out front to the checkers.  Grigoletti carded the second spot, followed by Mackenzie, Keagan Cook, and Jackson Jeffery, who charged through the pack after a bad start.

 Chase Sexton (486) led from start-to-finish in the 12-rider 65 Junior class.  After starting second drop behind the 65 Senior class, Sexton sliced through the pack to finish first out of the combined classes as well.  Anthony Wallace captured the runner-up spot, followed by Dylan Boyd, Robert Copenharve, and Jarred Berggren. 

In 50 Senior, Tyler Evensen grabbed the holeshot over the 12-rider field, trailed by Nick Harris and Shawn Thompson.  On the first lap, Thompson took over the lead, chased by Evensen, Harris and Shane Reilly.  Robert Copenharve was on the move, as he caught up to the leader Thompson by the second lap, eventually taking over the lead.  Copenharve collected the win, with Thompson, Evensen, Harris, and Reilly completing the top five.

 Burton Lavens grabbed the holeshot in the 12-rider +30A class, chased by Jason Kloptowsky and Joe Roberts.  Lavens led the opening laps, but had problems on lap two, while Kloptowsky and Everett Dalhberg  (520) moved into the front runner spots.  Kloptowsky sprinted to the checkers, while Lavens reeled in Dahlberg for second.  Chad Stanko and Steve Perkins wrapped up the top five. 

Kloptowsky went wire-to-wire for another win in the 12-rider +25A class.  New +25 rider Brian White and long-time +25 rider Lavens followed Kloptowsky on the first lap.  Kloptowsky aired it out over the big double, while Lavens stayed on White’s rear fender.  On lap three, Lavens went inside on White through a berm turn, and they sailed bar-to-bar through the three tabletop section.  Lavens took White high in the bowl turn at the end of the straightaway, to make a clean textbook pass into second.  Kloptowsky carded the win, over Lavens, White, Dalhberg, and Paul Gerke. 

In +35, Lavens (763) led the 11-rider field around the first turn, with Dahlberg and Andy Cole in tow.  Perkins moved into third on the opening lap, until Stanko took over the spot a lap later.  Perkins held off Cole, while Scott Holmes rallied into the top five with a lap to go.  Lavens and Dahlberg finished a solid one-two, followed by Stanko, Perkins, and Holmes. 

In the 16-rider +30B class, Troy Quest and Ryan Moss were side-by-side through the second turn, but Quest and Jeffery Evensen tangled, with both riders going down.  Moss escaped and opened up a quick lead, trailed by Shawn Christen, Scott Siebert, JR Zollers, and Brian Goodin on the first lap.  Behind Moss, there were tons of position changes, with Siebert and Goodin moving into the top three mid-race.  Moss checked out for a huge win, while Goodin got around Siebert for second.  Quest charged through the pack to catch Siebert on the final lap, but couldn’t make a pass and had to settle for fourth, followed by Zollers and Christen. 

Cory Catalani (304) led the 12-rider Supermini class around the first turn, with Tanner Porter, Joey Fortune, and Logan Skaggs in tow.  After a lap, Skaggs and Jordan Mackiewicz moved into the top three, behind leader Catalani, while Porter, Tyler Simpkins, and Fortune diced for fourth.  Catalani checked out for the win, followed by Skaggs, Mackiewicz, and Fortune, who reeled in Porter mid-race. 

Mackiewicz started out front in the 13-rider 85 Senior class, chased by Skaggs, Fortune, and Simpkins.  On the opening lap, Skaggs went inside through a berm turn to move into the lead, but Mackiewicz took it right back.  Skaggs then made a mistake, allowing Simpkins and Fortune to move into the top three.  By lap three, Skaggs snuck inside on Simpkins through an off camber turn, to move back into the second spot.  Mackiewicz held on for the win, trailed by Skaggs, Simpkins, Fortune, and Trent Poska.

 In the 14-rider 85 Junior class, Nick Wallace started out front, trailed by Josh Siebert, and Justin Carr.  Anthony Wallace reeled in Siebert for second after two laps, with Dylan Boyd also on the move.  Nick Wallace kept out front to the checkers, over Anthony Wallace, Boyd, and Siebert.  Nicholas Lorenz edged out Jarred Berggren and Jacob Wehn in a close race for the fifth spot. 

April Roper had a good jump out of the gate in the 15-rider Women’s class, followed by heat-race winner Shelby Miller and her sister Whitney Miller.  Jennifer Kenyon, Kim Chandler, and Hannah Keith mixed it up for the fourth spot, trading positions several times during the race.  Roper never looked back on the way to the checkered flag, followed by Shelby Miller and Whitney Miller.  Kenyon edged out Keith for fourth, after swapping the position on the final lap.   

Collin Licastro grabbed the holeshot in the 11-rider 14-24 class.  On the first lap, Licastro, Tyler Knowleton, Jody Walker, Stephen Stocklen, and Reid Janson were running top five.  Licastro ran away with the win, while Kyle Entwistle was on a mission, coming from outside of the top five to finish second across the checkered flag.  Knowleton, Stocklen, and Janson wrapped up the top five.

 In 250B, Licastro led the 12-rider field around the first turn, followed by Erik Utech and Stocklen.  On the opening lap, Stocklen tried to go inside on Utech, but couldn’t make the pass.  Entwistle had another bad start, but moved into the top five by lap two.  Licastro checked out, with Utech holding onto second, while there was a four-way battle for third, between Stocklen, Allen Marugg, Entwistle, and Denny Morsch.  On the final lap, Entwistle secured the third spot, followed by Morsch, Stocklen, and Marugg at the finish. 

Utech picked up the Open B holeshot, with Jesse Keith and Morsch (396) in tow.  Zeno Molteni reeled in Keith after a lap to move into the top three.  Morsch kept Utech honest, staying within striking distance the whole race.  The last couple of laps, Morsch tried to make something happen by going inside after a step-up, but couldn’t stick a pass.  Utech captured the win, with Morsch, Molteni, Brendan Parks, and Keith rounding out the top five.