2013 AMA MAXC Racing Series Report: Round 1

Taking a break from the Grand National Cross Country Series, Walker Fowler picked up a win in the season opener of the 2013 AMA MAXC Racing Series in Canaan, Ind. at Monster Mountain XC.

Fourteen Pro AA ATV racers lined up to do battle at Monster Mountain. Among the lineup were many of the top ATV racers in the country, including Fowler, 2012 MAXC reigning Pro AA ATV Champion Ryan Lane, Kevin Cunningham, Taylor Kiser, Johnny Gallagher, Mike Pflum and Jay Humphrey.

Despite the lead changing hands many times throughout the seven-lap race, it was Am-Pro Yamaha’s #2 Fowler who crossed the finish in first aboard his Yamaha YFZ450R ATV. Fowler had a mid-pack start and made his way up from fifth place to first to earn the win.

“The track as awesome the parking lot was the muddiest spot except the creek bed we ran, it was pretty bad,” says Fowler. “You just had to play it smart but we had to submarine it a little bit and I think the motor is pretty much toast, but I had a blast doing it!”

On lap six, Fowler made the pass for the lead when Cunningham missed the faster line.

“That late in the race you just kind of have to press your luck and push one another. Either you’re going to crash or make the pass,” says Fowler. “Lately I’ve been crashing a lot and today I stayed on the bike the whole race, which was a first for 2013. We had good clean racing and Kevin (Cunningham) missed one line and I got around him. If he (Cunningham) wouldn’t missed the line he would of won the race.”

“We got off to a decent start and I tried to sit back and run with all the guys,” says Cunningham. “On the first couple laps we were trying to keep our pace and then we would try to make push at the end. I gave Fowler a little run there and I tried to as fast as I could the whole last lap and he ended up catching a better line than I did. He ended up getting around me and I stayed on his tail until the end, but we had a great time doing it!”

Despite some of the rumors that Kiser would be racing on a Suzuki LTR450 this year, he laid those rumors to rest when he showed up aboard a Ballance Racing backed Yamaha YFZ450R ATV. This year, Kiser has chosen to take a step back from GNCC Racing and race the AMA MAXC Racing Series full time.

When asked about any off-season training, Kiser stated that he hasn’t done much riding in the offseason, but it sure doesn’t look like he has lost much speed. He was able to lead two laps before falling back to third place before the finish earning the final spot on the AMA MAXC Pro AA Class Podium.

“We got off to a decent start, I was fourth or so and was to make my way towards the front,” says Kiser. “I started slipping back and these guys starting making some passes and I was just struggling because I haven’t rode much this winter. I was glad to get back out here and ride and get on the podium”

Placing fourth was 2012 AMA MAXC Open A Class Champion Brycen Neal. He physically crossed the finish in third; however, he was penalized with a two-minute penalty, giving him fourth place after adjusted time.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the Pro AA ATV Class was defending AMA MAXC Pro AA Class Champion Ryan Lane. Lane had a good run going and lead the race several times until he clipped a tree near the end of the race. Although Lane was uninjured, the crash did mess up his steering and slowed down his pace.

Taking top honors in the Open A Class was Dwayne Tuttle from Martinsville, Ind. aboard his Honda TRX450R. Placing second, just 12 seconds behind first place, was Andrew Stafford who is also from Martinsville. Rounding out podium was Stephen Ranard.

Paddock Transport’s Jacob Ripley would earn his first win of the season in the B (15-24) ATV Class on his Yamaha YFZ450R. Rounding out the B (15-24) ATV Class podium was Phillip Mitchko and #91 Eric Kroger.

C (15-24) ATV Class was also another large class with over twenty entries. Roger Todd took the C (15-24) Class win with Jon Mountford and Shane Keller placing second and third respectively.

The AMA MAXC Racing Series returns to Action on May 11 in Bloomfield, Ind. For more information on the series, visit www.themaxc.com.