The first day of racing in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul National Final on Saturday showcased the rising talent of some of America’s leading youth racers.
Riders raced two legs on Saturday and will race two more on Sunday on a different track layout at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex to determine the overall class champions. Saturday was a day of sweeps with all five winners scoring wins in both legs of their races in windy conditions.
There was some exciting action Saturday, on and off the track. In the GP 190 class leading qualifier Mahdi Salem almost missed race one, and it was just by the luck of a red flag that he was able to race.
Salem’s machine blew a motor in qualifying, and his father installed a new engine and had it ready just before the drop of the green flag.
Unfortunately, the bolts on the cylinder head were not completely tight and oil was seeping out of Salem’s bike and onto the pavement. On the grid, MotoAmerica officials made him pull off to the side of the track, and the race started without him. But Lady Luck was on Salem’s side. There was a red flag that stopped the race, and Salem’s dad was able to tighten the loose bolts, and he made the restart.
After taking the lead, Salem pulled away to a convincing victory over Kensei Matsudaira. Salem also won the second leg, this time with little drama, to take a big points lead going into Sunday’s action.
The most exciting race of the day was Stock 50 race two where brothers Chase and Cooper Jazikoff battled for the lead in the middle laps of the race. Little brother Cooper made a mistake and nearly crashed in the closing laps, but recovered to finish fourth. Chase won and was later seen trying to cheer up his little brother.
Other winners on Saturday included Jase Dill, who scored two wins in GP 160, Gabriel Datis doubled in Stock 110, and Cameron Jones did the same in Street GP.
Racers are competing this weekend for AMA National Championships in five different classes – Stock 50, Stock 110, GP 160, GP 190, and Street GP.
Tomorrow’s action promises to be hot and heavy, and you can tune in to watch it on MotoAmerica Live+ with live streaming and video on-demand for Sunday’s race action with commentary from MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Roger Hayden and current Mission King Of The Baggers star James Rispoli. MotoAmerica Live+ will start streaming at 1 p.m. (central time) on Sunday and will conclude at 4:30 p.m. (central time).
For full results, visit: MiniCup Results | MotoAmerica Registration
