Brock Fayle earns a
spot at Loretta Lynn’s
Former NSW Yamaha Junior
Development team rider Brock Fayle has just made his dream come true by
qualifying for the largest Amateur Motocross race meet in the world, the
29th annual AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, which is held
annually at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Tennessee.
The 16-year-old took on approximately 25,000 hopefuls from across America who have all spent the last four months attempting to qualify at various race meets across the country.
With things coming down to the wire Brock had one last chance remaining to qualify on his Yamaha YZ250F racing in the stock class at the famed Unadilla Motocross Track in New York last weekend.
His coach Colleen Millsaps, from the Millsaps Training Facility (MTF) said in the week leading up to the race, “Brocks riding had lifted to another level and he is flying.” Colleen was confident he would qualify.
Brock had another 61 riders at this meeting fighting for one of the the top seven qualifying positions in the 250cc stock class. He didn’t disappoint with a 3rd, 6th and 9th finish in his three moto's to make the grade.
With a top seven finish Brock took had his name on one of the prized 42 starting positions in his class and one of the 1386 total starting positions at the weeklong Loretta Lynn’s National Championship.
The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in. A win at the Amateur Nationals can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career. Most of America’s top professional Motocrossers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath have won AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn’s.
Brock has been living in the US since January training full time at Millsaps Training Facility in Georgia.
“It was the happiest day of his life," Brock said.
“It’s been tough living so far away from my family and having to do all the things myself, shopping, cooking, washing and maintaining my bikes. I never realised how much work mum and dad did for me. They are coming over to support me at the Nationals, which will be great. It’s defiantly been an amazing six months. I just love it so much," he enthused.
Things haven’t all been smooth sailing for Brock, back in April he was racing at the Texas Nationals where he crashed and suffered two fractures in his heel. This injury sidelined him for ten weeks, but instead of returning to Australia he decided to stay in the US and concentrate on his fitness. Over those ten weeks he would push through two gym sessions daily on one leg and gain a high level of strength and fitness which shone through last weekend.
Brock will have five weeks of intense training now at MTF in the lead up to the Nationals before heading off to Tennessee.