The first ever AFMXA Amateur Freestyle Motocross contest went down at Pala Raceway over the weekend and it was a huge success! Amateur FMX riders traveling from all around the United States, with some coming for as far as Canada and even Japan, made it to Southern California, the Mecca of the FMX industry, for their chance to shine on a big stage. The big stage being a FMX course built with the safety of up-and-coming riders in mind, and the once rare opportunity to show their skills to a judging panel of FMX legends.
The judges were Ronnie Faisst, Blake “Bilko” Williams, Nate Adams, Ronnie Renner, Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, and Mike Metzger. You couldn’t even begin to count the X Games medals collectively hanging from these guys’ walls! With that star-studded panel judging your ever jump and trick, it’s safe to say the pressure was on for these amateurs, who for most it was their first time competing in a contest.
The best of 2 run qualifying round narrowed down the 18 riders to the top 9 for a 1 run final. Top qualifier Rob Sakai of Japan rode his momentum into the finals where he tied for 1st place with Jimmy Hill out of Bakersfield, CA. Rob and Jimmy both agreed that they don’t like ties and the only way to settle it was with an old school run-off! Jimmy won the coin flip and decided to go first. Unfortunately for Jimmy, a dead sailor really cost him in the judges scoring. Rob followed up with a near flawless run that made it obvious that he was the winner.
Congratulations to Rob Sakai on the win, Jimmy Hill in 2nd and Bryce Hudson 3rd!
After the amateurs tore up the course it was on to the Pro-Am division. The Pro-Ams are the guys that have ridden in paid demos, have some sponsors, and some can backflip, but they’re still new or little known in the sport and haven’t competed in any pro level contests. It’s a fine line between Pro-Ams and the real Pros, but you can bet some of these guys will be competing in the big leagues real soon.
Lance Coury came out on top of the Pro-Ams. With a bag full of big tricks, and some solid backflip tricks to boot, Coury rode smooth and consistent, all things the judges love to see. Very close behind Coury in 2nd palce was Destin Cantrel, who has some of the best tricks in the game but is not backflipping. To pull off second place without the backflip in a field of guys with the backflip says a lot for the quality and extension of Cantrel’s upright tricks. Rounding out the podium in 3rd was Keith Sayers of Butte, Montana.
Here are the full results:
Amateur Final Results:
1. Rob Sakai
2. Jimmy Hill
3. Bryce Hudson
4. Kyle Demelo
5. Andy Bakken
6. Edgar Corona
7. Rob Haslam
8. Matt Halmark
9. Nick Gore
Pro-Am Final Results:
1. Lance Coury
2. Destin Cantrell
3. Keith Sayers
4. Nick Dunne
5. Wes Agee
6. Greg Schaffe
7. Jesse Jolson
8. Luke Dolin
9. Garrett Ahlf
10. Steve Haughelstine
Check out the full photo gallery from the Amateur Contest and the AFMXA Awards right here!
On November 14th, 2009 the newest member of the 
