Lanesborough's Lepicier Heading to Motorcross Nationals
“The Amateur National at Loretta Lynn’s is the best of the best motocrossers in America and around the world,” said Tim Cotter, director of MX Sports. “Just being here makes you an elite racer and a top athlete. A solid finish at Loretta’s would you give you instant National recognition and a possible professional career.”
Most of America’s top professional motocross racers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Ryan Dungey, have won AMA Amateur National titles at Loretta Lynn’s.
Leipicier, 18, has been riding dirt bikes since he was 4 years old. He qualified for the national by earning a second- and sixth-place finish, out of a field of 55 riders, at the Northeast Regional qualifier that was held at Unadilla MX June 19-20.
With the help of sponsors such as BTR Suspension, Rick Nelson, Mickle Electric, Green Mountain Racing, Axford Brothers Construction, Spectro, FXR, Spy, ODI, ASV, Asterisk, DWR, DT1, PNG, and Mika Metals, Lepicier has had the opportunity to pursue his passion as he works toward his ultimate goal of going pro. He has won more than 150 races in his 14-year career, and competes each weekend locally, regionally, or nationally.
Lepicier will make the long journey to Hurricane Mills, Tenn., along with his family and some of his sponsors. Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as 4, all the way up to a senior division for riders over 50. There are also classes for women and classes for both stock and modified machines. In total, there are 36 different classes of competition. Lepicier will compete in the highly competitive 250B Limited and 250B classes.
The race action will be telecast live daily at www.racertv.com, Aug. 2-7, for a total of 40 hours of live coverage. In addition, highlight shows featuring the event will air on MAVTV in the fall.
The Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is the world's largest amateur motocross racing program. The national qualifying program consists of 51 area qualifiers (February through May) and 18 Regional Championships (May through June), hosted at select motocross facilities across the country.
The qualifying system culminates in the National Final (first week in August) hosted annually since 1982 at the home of country music star Loretta Lynn in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. Known as "The World's Greatest Motocross Vacation", the national event serves as a launch pad for some of the biggest names in professional motocross and supercross, including Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, and Ryan Dungey. The national program is produced by MX Sports, Inc., a West Virginia-based race production company and is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association. For information, visit www.mxsports.com.
