Patterson Wins AMA WMX Championship

2010-09-13 17:11
Aboard her 2010 YZ250F, DNA Shred Stix Star Racing Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson won her sixth career women’s motocross championship – and the first ever AMA WMX title for Yamaha – at Pala Raceway in Southern California on Saturday, Sept. 11. She also did it in great style, with 1-2 moto finishes against rival and championship runner-up Ashley Fiolek, who scored 2-1 finishes for the day. In fact, Patterson took the overall win at six of the eight events the women pro racers contested this year, much to the fans’ appreciation as WMX grows in popularity.

This year the WMX racers battled on eight of the same tracks as the AMA 250 and 450 Motocross competitors, only with shorter 15-minute motos. The new Pala track, completed just in time for this outdoor national, was fast and rough, and included some really big jumps. It hardly slowed Jessica down though, and she took the lead early in the first moto and held it straight through to the checkered flag, winning by a comfortable margin over Fiolek and wrapping up the championship for her team and herself in the process.

Patterson and Fiolek traded results in the second moto, with Ashley taking the holeshot and the win and Jessica enjoying her championship with a second-place ride – despite crashing and recovering mid-race. “My trainer, Ryan Hughes, has been awesome – he’s been super supportive in keeping me all mentally there,” she said. “The team has also been great – they have given me everything I need to win so I’ve got no excuses not to!” Yamaha motocross racing manager Jim Perry added, “I was glad to see Jessica give the YZ250F and the DNA Shred Stix Star Racing Yamaha team a national championship in the women’s class.”

Source: Yamaha Motor Corp

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