Day one of racing at Loretta Lynn’s kicked off on Tuesday, with Yumena Berning securing an impressive second-place finish in the 65 (10-11) Limited class. The young American made a strong start to the week and has already established herself as a serious title contender.
Later in the day, attention turned to the opening moto of the Women’s class. Several of the country’s top riders were absent, including defending champion Lachlan Turner, who was recently crowned Australian Women’s Motocross Champion.
Hannah Hodges grabbed the holeshot, but Mayla Herrick quickly worked her way into the lead on lap three, moving ahead of Hodges and Piper Bell. Behind them, Jordan Jarvis launched an impressive charge through the field after a poor start, joining an intense battle that also featured Zoe Moore, Tinley McCoy, Callie Sutton and Kelsey Harris. Meanwhile, Lilly-Ann Pettus suffered a crash that dropped her well down the order.
At the front, Herrick appeared to have the race under control until she made a costly mistake on the final lap. After remounting, the SLR Honda rider came under immense pressure from the fast-closing Jordan Jarvis, who had recovered brilliantly from outside the top ten. Herrick managed to hold on, crossing the finish line just ahead of Jarvis in a dramatic photo finish.
Behind them, Hannah Hodges held off Piper Bell to complete the podium, while Zoe Moore climbed to fifth after an impressive ride through the field.
Callie Sutton finished sixth ahead of Kelsey Harris, while Nanami Honda gained several positions in the closing stages to claim eighth. Lilly-Ann Pettus recovered to ninth after her early crash. The Triumph rider showed the pace to challenge for a top-five finish before her mistake but limited the damage with a solid recovery. Shelby Rolen completed the top ten following an entertaining battle with several riders throughout the moto.
