“The biggest thing is I never had the opportunity to race here as an amateur, so I wanted to try to put that to fruition and give that opportunity to amateurs today,” said Carmichael. “Hopefully they can understand what this place means to all of racing, all of motorsports racing, whether it’s four wheels, two wheels… It’s definitely special. It’s definitely grown into something I never thought it would be today. So, I’m excited for that. I’m aware that it wouldn’t be possible without the great partners that we have and everyone here that is participating in racing. So, thank you very much. I hope everyone has a safe and fun day, and enjoys themselves.” 

Riders from all over the world, including some of the biggest names in amateur motocross, battled for RCSX Championships and AMA number 1 plates in 34 classes, from youth riders on 50cc bikes all the way to Golden Masters (60+). 

When it comes to amateur racing the A classes are the cream of the crop, and the RCSX had its share of top pro prospects. 

Team Green Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker grabbed the holeshot in the 250A division, but went down in the second turn, handing the lead to Yamaha’s Colin Park. Hammaker got going again in last place, as Kawasaki’s Jack Rogers followed Park out front.  

Park continued to hold a safe lead over Rogers, while Hammaker, amazingly, started working the field, making passes right and left as he made his all the way up to second by the end of the race, passing Rogers with two laps to go to finish second.  

The win was Parks first championship.

“I came out of the gate actually pretty good today,” said Park. “Yesterday I was struggling with gate picks and wasn’t coming out good. I came out second and I think Seth went down in the second turn, and I led the race from there. I just tried to ride a smart race. The lappers were really bad, so I just tried to be smooth and pick my lines smart and ended up with the win.” 

Hammaker was disappointed, but happy with his charge through the pack. 

“I got the holeshot,” said Hammaker, “and in in the second corner before the wall jump, I just washed the front end going up. I caught traction at the top and it spit me off. So, I was dead last and then put on a good charge to come back to second. The leader was pretty far out, but it was all right.” 

Hammaker returned to win the 450 A division, leading flag to flag to beat out Park in second and Suzuki’s Corey Carsten in third.

Hammaker got a measure of redemption by winning the 450A division, although he had to work for it. Hammaker got a good jump off the line but got pushed wide while exiting the first turn and came out in sixth. Logan McConnel on a KTM got the holeshot, with Colin Park in second.

Hammaker was up into fourth by the end of lap one and into third on lap three, while Park moved into the lead. A few turns later, Hammaker was around McConnel and into second, with an eye on Park. Park rode tough and held Hammaker at bay, but with three laps to go, Hammaker forced Park into a mistake and the Yamaha rider went off, handing Hammaker in the lead and the race was all but done. Suzuki’s Corey Carsten finished third. 

In the Super Mini class, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green riders Ryder DiFrancesco and Gavin Towers made it an all green affair. 

DiFrancesco grabbed the holeshot in the Super Mini 1 final, followed by KTM teammates Rider Maddox and Daxton Bennick in second and third, while DiFrancesco languished back in fourth. From the first lap, DiFrancesco turned on the afterburners, quickly passing Maddox and Bennick and began starting to reel in Towers. 

With two laps to go, DiFrancesco had pulled to within striking distance of Towers and started showing Towers a wheel from time to time. On the final lap, the two riders collided, with DiFrancesco going down and dropping to an eventual ninth, while Towers took the win.

“That was a big win, it feels amazing.” said Towers. “I got off to a great start and I ended up getting past Dax Bennick pretty early. Then around halfway, three laps to go, I started making some silly mistakes. Ryder came in close a few times but ended up almost washing it out, and then I ended up hitting his back wheel and causing him to go down. I didn’t mean to do that, but I’m just pumped I got the win.” 

DiFrancesco was in agreement on the incident. 

“I was right on him,” said DiFrancesco. “I could have made a move a couple laps earlier, but I waited too long. He made a mistake and came into me. I think I learned to start trying to pass sooner and not let mistakes happen like that.” 

Bennick finished second, while Jayden Clough (KTM), Julien Beaumer (Suz) and Dakota Aldredge (Hsq) rounded out the top five. 

In Super Mini 2 class, Towers and DiFrancesco met again, but this time they traded places, with DiFrancesco getting out to the lead early with a clean holeshot, while Towers got a bad start and was back in sixth on the opening lap. KTM’s Daxton Bennick held down second behind DiFrancesco for a few laps, as DiFrancesco built his lead to four seconds. Towers started making his move on lap three, moving into fourth behind a battle between Bennick and Jayden Clough (KTM). Bennick finally went down, dropping back down the order, as Towers moved around Clough and into second. At the finish, DiFancesco took the easy with, with Towers second, Clough second and Julien Beamer, who took advantage of Bennick’s crash, to claim fourth. 

This was DiFrancesco’s third race of the day, as in the first race of the day, the Team Green rider moved up to with the big boys, making his first ride in the Schoolboy 1 (12-17) division, riding his 85 against 125s with bigger wheels, finishing an impressive fourth behind winner Ayden Shive (Hsq), Gage Stein (KTM), and KTM’s Preston Bosepflug. 

“Racing against the bigger bikes with the smaller bike is obviously hard, but I’m feeling comfortable and getting better every weekend we race,” said DiFracnesco. “Coming back from an injury is tough, but racing the bigger class is going to make it better. Just sticking it to them out there.” 

In the 450 B Limited class, Tyler Evans won his first championship, finishing ahead of Honda’s Blake Hazen and Kawasaki’s Dylan Cunha. 

“It was my first major championship ever, so pretty cool, but I had to work for it,” said Evans. “I didn’t get a good start, but made some passes pretty early on and checked out.” 

Evans was thrilled to riding the same course the pros race Saturday night.

“It’s really cool,” said the 18-year-old from North Carolina. “You get to watch it Saturday night and all the pros battle it out. They try to leave the track pretty similar. The dirt is exactly the same, so it’s really cool. Really cool experience.”