Shan Moore | March 15, 2023
The 14th annual Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Presented by Quad Lock ran its course, March 5-7, at the historic Daytona International Speedway on a similar track that the pros competed on the night before (March 4), putting to bed two days of intense amateur racing in addition to one day of exciting vintage action.
The Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross saw a record turnout of racers this year.
Photos by Rob Koy
The event, considered the world’s premier amateur supercross event, not only attracts the top racers in the country but also riders from all over the world, this year tallying over 1400 entries in 36 classes, a record for the RCSX event, all of whom were hoping to draw attention from potential factory sponsors on the Ricky Carmichael-designed course.
Sunday consisted of qualifying for the amateur classes, while the main events took place on Monday. The Daytona Vintage Supercross (DVSX) filled out Tuesday’s program, featuring classes from Vintage (thru 1974) to Revolution (thru 2008). This year’s Vintage racing also included a new “King of Daytona XR200” division to the lineup, thanks to input from Blake Wharton and Jordan Lake.
Perhaps the weekend’s premier event was the 250cc A Road to Supercross Futures, a steppingstone to the big leagues designed to develop elite-level athletes while preparing them to make the next step into racing with the world’s fastest professional riders. The winner of this year’s event was KTM’s Julien Beaumer.
Julien Beaumer was the big winner in the 250cc A Road to Supercross Futures final.
Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki’s Carson Wood and GasGas’ Landon Gibson each had big weekends, with both riders winning two titles, Wood taking championships in the Mini Sr. 1 (12-14) and in the Mini Sr. 2 (13-16) divisions, while Gibson took home number-one plates in the Supermini 1 (12-15) and Supermini 2 (13-16) classes.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s Tony Lorusso won three Senior titles: SR (40+); SR (45+) and Masters (50+).
Among the standouts in the “A” classes was Open A winner Patrick Murphy, having also finished second to Beaumer in the 250 A Road to Supercross Futures class. Baumer was leading Murphy in the Open A-class race but eventually fell and handed the win to Murphy.
In the Supermini 1 (13-16) race, Landon Gibson took the win. The GasGas-backed rider jumped into the lead and never looked back. Kelana Humphrey (GasGas) came through the field to take second and Jonathan Getz (GasGas) third.
Carson Wood was the Mini Sr. 1 (12-14) and Mini Sr. 2 (13-16) Champion.
In the Supermini 2 (13-16) race, Nicholas Stefancik (KTM) led Gibson (GasGas) and pulled away from the pack, battling for the lead position, while Carson Millikan (KTM) ran in third. Gibson passed Stefancik for the lead and went on to take the win with Humphrey taking second and Stefancik slipping back to third.
In the Schoolboy 1 (12-17) final, Thomas Wood came from outside the top five to pass early leader and fellow GasGas rider Nathan Jeffery. Wood rode off to victory, while Klark Robbins (KTM) passed two riders on the last lap, including Jeffery, to take second.
Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki’s Krystian Janik stood out in the “B” classes, winning the 250cc B class and finishing third in the 450cc B division. Janik also won the Schoolboy 2 (12-17) final.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Tyler Mollet led the 250 B Limited class from start to finish. Orange Brigade KTM’s Diesel Thomas took second over Yamaha rider Sage Lewis.
Drew Adams and Krystian Janik jumped out front early in the Schoolboy 2 (12-17) as the Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki teammates broke away from the pack. Janik, with the help of a lapped rider, got around Adams and held on for the win. Diesel Thomas (KTM) was third.
Landon Gibson took home number-one plates in the Supermini 1 (12-15) and Supermini 2 (13-16) classes.
Casey Cochran (Husqvarna) was leading the 450cc B class when he clipped a tuff block, stalling him just enough for Adams to get by him. Adams took over from there and took the win over Cochran and Janik.
Orange Brigade KTM’s Wyatt Duff was a double winner in the 85cc divisions, topping fellow KTM riders Tayce Morgan and Sawyer Gieck to win the 85 (10-12) Limited division. Duff then returned to take the top spot in the 85 (10-12) class, beating out Chase Moynihan (KTM) and Gieck.
Orange Brigade KTM’s Easton Graves won the 65cc (7-11) class ahead of Joseph Vicari (KTM) and Jaydin Smart (Cobra). Smart later won the 65cc (7-9) class, ahead of Kade Nightingale (Yam) and Aiden Held (GasGas).
GasGas’ Whalyn Ballenger took top honors in the 65cc (10-11) division ahead of KTM riders Brody Bircher and Vicari.
Hannah Hodges topped the Women’s class.
In the Minicycle classes, Cobra-mounted Carter Holmes won the 51cc (7-8) Limited class, with Abshur Hall (Cobra) and Tate Brush (Cobra) in second and third.
Cobra riders filled out the podium in the 51cc (4-6) Limited division, with Boone Lloyd, Kameron Buckman and Barrett Counts going 1-2-3.
The electric bikes got lots of attention at Daytona with Levi Leddy (GasGas) winning the Mini-E (4-8) class ahead of Buckman and Husqvarna-mounted Lorenzo Alves.
Team Green Kawasaki’s Kyleigh Stallings led GasGas’ Hannah Hodges early in the Women’s class, but Hodges made an aggressive pass for the lead and rode off with the victory. Stallings, however, didn’t give up and pressured Hodges. But Stallings had an encounter with KTM rider Jamie Astudillo, with both riders going down. KTM-mounted Viviana Contreras, who was running fourth, said thank you very much and inherited second where she would finish. Stallings settled for third.
