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KILPATRICK
KAEDEN AMERINE
Kaeden Amerine made drastic improve- ments last year at the Ranch, finishing inside the top five for the first time in his career with a fourth place finish in the Mini Sr. 2 (12-14) class. The Rides Unlimited KTM rider utilized his career best result at Loretta Lynn’s as a building block to the 2017 season and has really stepped his game up at the majority of the major na- tional events. The Kansas native has made the move down to Underground MX to do the majority of his training, consequently allowing him to work more closely with his mechanic, Kyle Regal. Regal, a former
AX champion is a big part of Amerine’s program on the race weekend, bringing an extra level of confidence to his riding. He started off 2017 with a couple of exception- al performances in the Nitro AX tour as well as a victory in the AMSOIL AX Supermini Dominator class. He won his first major national championship of the year at the Daytona RCSX in the Mini Sr. 2 class, beating some of the nation’s most promis- ing amateur talent in the process. The Rides Unlimited KTM Rider continued with consistent performances throughout the middle of the season, most notably grab- bing a third place finish in the 85cc (12-14) class at JuniorMotoX. Amerine laid down the law in Texas at the end of May during the Underground MX Youth Regional, earn- ing the overall victory in the Mini Sr. 2 class as well as a pair of third place finishes in both Supermini classes.
HUNTER CROSS
In the seven classes that Hunter Cross has contested at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, he has only finished outside of the top ten on one occasion. The Californian has collected two podium finishes in Hurricane Mills, the most recent rostrum coming in 2015 in the extremely competitive 85cc (9-11) class. The Yamaha rider missed the Amateur National Championships last year, but his results throughout 2017 have shown that he hasn’t lost any of his previous speed
in the year that he spent away from the Ranch. Cross has scored multiple overall victories throughout the Road to Loretta’s, establishing himself as one of the top riders in both Mini Sr. classes in the process.
He was able to carry that momentum into the breathtaking landscapes of Mammoth Lakes, California, for the fiftieth annual run- ning of the Mammoth Mountain Motocross. He took advantage of the local crowd and found himself at the front of the Mini Sr. class yet again on multiple occasions, scoring two third place overall finishes as well a second place in the Mini Sr. 1 class. Considering the Yamaha rider took the overall win in the Mini Sr. 1 class at the Washougal Amateur Regional, it’s quite likely that he’ll find his way back to the podium at Loretta’s.
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