Press Release | December 11, 2018
Christmas Grand Prix and Team Race
2018 AZOP Series, annual Christmas Grand Prix and Team Race, December 8, 2018
This is a race report provided by AZOP/Story and Photos by Kelly Zimmer…
Arizona Offroad Promotions hosted its final event of the season in Peoria, Arizona at Canyon Motocross Park. Presented by RideNow Powersports and Kennedy Air. It was a perfect day in the green desert; it rained the two days before, which made excellent conditions for the track. Riders and fans came out in Christmas outfits to the one-day event to celebrate the year-end of the racing series and to celebrate the holidays.
In the PeeWee Bikes, two boys had a tight battle: Ian Sichmeller took the first-place finish in the 65cc C class with Cooper Skersick taking second. When it came to the 50cc 7-8 Year-Olds, Kaycee Curley took first place by a few seconds. Liam Gillespie, 50cc 4-6, also took first by a few seconds.
The Mini Bikes and Quads was a great race for the riders. Marley Kuhn took first for 65cc B and Colton Skersick won in the Open Mini class. In the 80-150cc A, Sam Campbell came with the race win, with Keegan Hardy following behind with the second trophy.
For the 80-150cc B, Jacob Jewell battled against Porter May and won his place in first, with May taking second. In the 80-150cc C, Jaxon Steel clinched for first. Wyatt Rock took the first-place finish in the 1-300cc 10-15 Year-Olds.
With the Big Bikes, Joe Joe Kalous took first overall and in his class, Open B. Jarren Atwater took second for Open B behind Kalous. In Open C, Jacob Place came home with a first-place finish, while Jacob Kelly took second. For 125-250cc B, Tate Van Voorst won first place.
With the 125-250cc C class, Daniel Hill clinched for first as he battled with Steven Hill, who took second. The riding veterans came in and put on a great show with Jay Jewell taking third overall out of 33 and first in his class, Senior 40+A; Clay Adams took fourth overall with a first in his class, Vet30+B; Zack Greenfield with sixth overall and first in the Senior 40+B; in the Senior 40+C, Todd Foster took first. Lastly, Super Senior 60+ took eight overall and first in his class.
During the Bike Team Race, the spectators got a race to remember, with riders dressed to their best in holiday spirits, including Santa, Elf, and some reindeer. Team Da8 took first in Team Expert. In Team Sportsman, Team Ho Ho Hopefully Not Last did not take last, but Team Maniac Moto came home with first, and Team Tna fought hard for their second place. Team A & J trailed 6 seconds behind and took third.
In Team Vet 30+, Team Santa Cruz took home first and Team Rsmc got second. In the Ironman, Ironman Dman took first with Ironman Hartbraek a minute behind taking second. With the last class, Team Family, Team Gordon took first with Team Gillespie fighting hard for second place.
The final event of the 2018 AZOP series was a great way to celebrate the ending to a great year. Racers from all over the state ended it with a bang! Next year, AZOP will be coming back with 16 races stretching out from the Southern Arizona Desert to the Northern Arizona Mountains, including New Mexico and California. For more information, check out AZOPracing.com. See you next year!
