Before any Sunday – MPN Mini bike nationals

Article originally appeared in MiniMoto Magazine Issue 1 2004 photos by Carl Stone

During the 2003 AMA/Chevy Trucks National Motocross Championship, a phenomenon was set in motion. The MPN Mini Nationals pitted industry personalities against one another in three classes – 50cc, Mid-Size and Clutch – and they took place usually on either Friday or Saturday before eight of the Nationals and the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Championships. All you needed to compete was a bike that fit into one of the classes and a driver’s license that said you were over 18.

MPN Mini Nationals Revisited

Besides all of the tight racing, maybe the coolest part of the minis was the spectators. You see, although some of the riders were former champs, the names on the sidelines frequently read like a who’s who of motocross racing: Chad Reed, Ryan Hughes, Ernesto Fonseca, Grant Langston, etc. With so many of the riders now staying at the track all weekend in their custom buses, they found that watching some mini-racing was a fun (and funny) way to pass the time – although it definitely added to the embarrassment when one of these high-caliber riders commented on your ridiculous crash during the race.

At Loretta’s, James Stewart decided to come out and race his trick KLX110 – and promptly smoked everyone. No one decided to protest him for not being an adult until too long after the race was over. When MiniMoto questioned event organizer Rob Buydos about, he claimed Bubba had a fake ID.

Yeah, right.

Well, Bubba turns 18 in December, so he’ll be perfectly legal any time he feels like racing this year. Anyway, here are some photos from the 2003 season and the “Official” results for the 50s, Midsize and Clutch classes.

MPN Mini-Bike National Points Standings

Presented by: MPN MotoBusiness Off-Road Expo and Motonews.com

50’s Mid-Size Clutch
Pos Rider Pts Pos Rider Pts Pos Rider Pts
1 Guy Cooper 88 1 Rob Buydos 150 1 Jay Mitrowitz 90
2 Kevin Harshman 60 2 Tom Carson 100 2 Craig Andredas 70
3 Joel Murphy 56 3 Steve Dye 70 3 Sam Martucci 68
4 Freddie Timberlake 54 4 John Kuzo 48 4 Jeff Stanton 40
5 Mike Farber 50 5 Steve Bruhn 39 5 Todd Hicks 38
6 Ken Johnson 38 6 Jeff Stanton 36 6 Trent Bartolotti 34
7 Greg Crater 28 7 Billy Farmer 31 7 Steve Dye 34
8 Jeff Frick 26 8 Denny Stephenson 28 8 James Stewart, Jr. 20
9 David Jones 24 9 Jay Hershey 28 9 Brian Crowe 20
10 Chris Reisenberg 22 10 Travis Wicks 24 10 Ron Rothkranz 18
11 Jarred Hanebrink 20 11 Jeremy Riesenberg 21 11 Judson Linder 18
12 Duane Evans 20 12 Todd Mitchell 20 12 Bill Ursic 18
13 Brent Mamoni 20 13 Gary Keagle 20 13 Rick Pence 16
14 Alex Ewing 18 14 Gary Semics 20 14 Jim Jarrett 16
15 Nelson Marsh 18 15 Joel Albrecht 18 15 P.J. Dylewski 16
16 Mark Klien 18 16 Jason Stevens 18 16 Denny Stephenson 16
17 Dan Krick 18 17 Michael Habe 18 17 Tony Whaley 16
18 Randy Lawrence 16 18 Alex Ewing 18 18 Duane Fisher 14
19 Ian Runyun 16 19 Kevin Gnapp 16 19 Brandon Mueller 12
20 Fish 16 20 Cameron Brown 16 20 Mike Payne 12
21 Mark Wundrack 16 21 Jeff Freck 16 21 Ken Burton 10
22 Steve Brewer 16 22 Mike Boggia 16 22 Dick Burleson 10
23 Andrew Trousdale 16 23 Trevor Vines 14 23 Tony Wenck 10
24 Dave Guans 16 24 Tim “Korky” Tyler 14 24 Bobby Wagner 8
25 Tallon Vohland 14 25 Kevin Glenn 14 25 T.J. Markowitz 8
26 Randy Richardson 14 26 Jeff Canfield 12 26 Tim “Korky” Tyler 8
27 Steve Wheeler 14 27 Adam Walters 12 27 Trevor Houck 8
28 Mike Ruffner 14 28 Shelly Harens 12 28 Matt Davis 6
29 Andy Donahue 10 29 Tim Olson 12 29 Mike Kozma 6
30 Steve Cox 10 30 Robert Marley 12 30 Pablo Torebio 4
31 Jay Currier 10 31 Fish 11 31 T.J. Hieatt 2
32 Jordan Baldrige 10 32 Terry Beal 10 32 Rupuert X 1
33 Shane Gould 9 33 Steve Bauer 9
34 Ron Bush 8 34 Luke “Yamaha” 8
35 Mike Kim 7 35 Mike Farber 8
36 Andre Ahrens 6 36 Jason L 8
37 Brian Pryor 6 37 Donny Weatherbolt 6
38 Jason Weigandt 5 38 Junior 6
39 Ryan Picard 2 39 Bryan Lepley 6
40 Damon Conkright 2 40 Doc Bodnar 1
41 Matt Walker 1 41 Dave Langram 1
42 John Feket 1 42 Buel Sears 1
43 Matt Miller 1
44 G.W. Hall 1

 

 

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