Last Update: 28 October 2021
Held in conjunction with the 2016 Thor Winter Olympics, the final round of the Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX) took place at Gatorback Cycle Park in Alachua, Florida. Hannah Hodges took home the overall win where she dominated both motos, coming out with a 1-1 moto tally.
Hodges’ Team Green Kawasaki teammate Kylie Fasnacht, who was still feeling the effects of the ACL injury that forced her to miss the previous round in New Jersey, clinched the Women’s Motocross Championship series title with a conservative 7-7 performance. The win was Hodges’ second of the season, having also gone 1-1 in her only other appearance in the series at round two at Wortham, Texas’ Freestone Raceway.
“It was really good to finish off the season with another win, especially since this year was my first on a big bike,” said Hodges. “I hurt my wrist during the 250 B Limited race at the earlier this week and it was still sore for the WMX race, but I was able to tough it out and get the win. I only did one other round this year so it was good to be able to just hop in and go 1-1.”
Since Hodges was outside of the top 10 in the standings heading into the Florida round, the Kawasaki rider had one of the last picks on the starting gate for the first moto. Hodges was not fazed as she still managed to exit the first turn in second behind Stone/Fly/Scott/Cycle Shack North Yamaha’s Kaitlyn Morrow. Hodges took the lead before the end of the opening lap when she passed Morrow heading into the famed ‘Gator Pit.’
“My wrist was pretty tight on the first lap, so I just tried to ride steady most of the race and I was able to get the lead and pull out to a pretty good gap,” said Hodges.
At the finish, Hodges took a comfortable win over Morrow, with MCS Racing Suzuki/Obermeyer’s Mackenzie Tricker rounding out the podium. Kawasaki’s Shelby Rolen just missed the podium in fourth. Riding with the confidence from her first moto victory, Hodges grabbed the holeshot in the second moto and immediately started to pull away from the pack, while Morrow and Tricker battled over second and third.
Moto two was pretty much a mirror image of the first moto, with Hodges getting the easy win with Morrow and Tricker rounding out the podium. Rolen was fourth with KTM Canada’s Eve Brodeur in fifth.
Defending champion Fasnacht came into the race needing only 11 points to clinch her second straight title, but could barely bend her leg due to her injury. Wearing a knee brace, Fasnacht fought through the pain and came away with a pair of sevenths, which was more than enough to give her the championship.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be on the bike, but I needed to race in order to win the title,” said Fasnacht. “I couldn’t even bend my knee so I had to stand up in most of the corners and it hurt pretty bad when I landed from the jumps.”
Hodges took the overall with her clean sweep of the two motos, while Morrow’s 2-2 put her in second overall ahead of Tricker’s 3-3 moto scores. After factoring out the “throw-away” rounds, Fasnacht finished off the year with 361 points for the title, with Tricker grabbing the runner-up position for the season with 334 points. Morrow was third on the year with 330, while Markelon (297) and Rolen (271) rounded out the top five.
Congrats to all the WMX women and a special congrats to Kylie!
WMX Results
- Hannah Hodges (KAW) 1-1
- Kaitlyn Morrow (YAM) 2-2
- Mackenzie Tricker (SUZ) 3-3
- Shelby Rolen (KAW) 4-4
- Eve Brodeur (KTM) 5-5
- Amanda Brown (HON) 6-6
- Kylie Fasnacht (KAW) 7-7
- Nicole Gaudern (KAW) 8-8
- Grace Payne (YAM) 9-9
WMX Series Points Standings:
- Kylie Fasnacht (361)
- Mackenzie Tricker (334)
- Kaitlyn Morrow (330)
- Marissa Markelon (297)
- Shelby Rolen (271)
- Eve Brodeur (268)
- Amanda Brown (234)
- Lauren Woods (184)
- Grace Payne (176)
- Nicole Gaudern (165)
About Women’s Professional Motocross Championship (WMX)
The Women’s Professional Motocross Championship (WMX), an AMA National Championship, features the world’s fastest female outdoor motocross racers. The 10-round series begins with the Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross at Daytona International Speedway in March and concludes with the Winter Olympics in November. It includes stops at premier motorsport facilities across America, with events in Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Maryland. These top female pro racers compete in a two-moto format on machines ranging from 125cc to 250cc. The WMX is managed by MX Sports Pro Racing, a West Virginia-based company and industry leader in power sports event production.
