Page 20 - MPG-AUGUST

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
NICHOLAS
Out of the six years that Nick Romano has competed at the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross Championship, he has only finished outside of the top five on two occasions. The New Yorker snagged his first number one plate at the Ranch back in 2014 in the 51cc (7-8) Limited division and he’s still on the hunt for his second. He came close last year as he scored a third place overall
in the 85cc (9-11) Limited class, finishing all three motos on the podium. Romano hasn’t kept an overly busy schedule throughout the 2018 racing season, keeping himself fresh
for the big dance. The Team Green Kawa- saki rider dominated the Monster Energy Amateur Supercross in Tampa, scored two second place overall finishes at the Daytona RCSX, and an additional podium finish at
the JS7 Freestone Spring Championship. Romano continued to stamp his authority on the competition at the Loretta Lynn’s Mideast Regional Qualifier in Millfield, Ohio. The Team Dunlop Elite rider finished in first place in both Mini Sr. 1 and Mini Sr. 2 as well as the 85cc (9-12) class. It’s safe to say that he’ll be one of the top guns in both of the classes that he decides to contest at the Ranch, vying for his second career Amateur National Cham- pionship.
PIERCE BROWN
Coming into the 2018 iteration of the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship as a multi-time title winner in recently impressive form, Pierce Brown is one of the riders to watch this year at the Ranch. The Utah native earned a number one plate in Hurricane Mills in 2012 in the 65cc division as well as 2015 in the Mini Sr. 2 division, but he’s also accumulated an additional four overall podiums there throughout his amateur career. The Orange Brigade rider has been one of the main standouts in the
B class throughout the 2018 season -- it started at the end of the 2017 season with a second in Schoolboy 2 at Loretta Lynn’s, a second at the Monster Energy Cup, and multiple titles at the Thor Winter Olympics. Brown continued to impress with a pair of championships at the Daytona RCSX and the JS7 Freestone Spring Championship, just before sweep- ing all four of his classes at the California Classic. Brown captured a pair of first place results at the Southeast Amateur Regional at WW Ranch, but his most impressive performance of the season thus far came at Mammoth Mountain Motocross. The KTM rider landed on
the top step of the overall podium on three occasions and trapped a couple of big bears, setting lap times that bested the top competitors in the A class while doing so.
ROMANO
20 MPG • AUGUST • 2018