2021 Race Report: Derby City National

As per tradition, the BMX community migrates to Louisville, Kentucky for some Labor Day racing! This event dates back to the NBL days where the Grand Nationals were held. The tradition continues and the Supercross family followed. 

It was a big weekend for the team with our pros ripping the 8-meter hill, the amateurs seeking late season NAG points, and the recent release the VISION F1 Chassis! We unveiled our latest creation from the #Secretlabs this weekend with Annabella, KJ, and Cam displaying the platform’s potential on track. To read more about the VISION F1 Chassis kit, click here.

Now on to the racing!

Mikey B, Back From The Shadows

How could this not be the highlight ride of the weekend? It was so great to see our man Mikey B (Mike Swearingen) out there ripping the Fun Machine in the Vet Pro class!

For the newer fans, Mikey B is a long time factory rider and a former AA Pro. You can tell by watching Mikey ride that he’s got some veteran skills. This was his first national back with the team so we were pumped to have him under the tent. He went on to make both mains in the vet pro class duking it out with the top dogs.

He’s already committed to Grands via IG post, so we look forward to having Mikey back with us and showing the competition that steel is still very real!

Justin Perkins Scores Two More Wins

Derby City was another successful weekend for Mr. Perkins as he went 3 for 3 on podiums. Friday and Sunday saw Justin take it home in commanding fashion, leading the boys wire to wire in both mains. He got out clean and took off from there!

Saturday looked like Justin would have a flawless weekend, but he got shuffled back at the exit of turn 1. This wasn’t the end, as he charged forward picking off riders down each straightaway. Justin would make it into the 2 spot and put on a charge for the win down the last straight. A little bit more track and perhaps Justin would get. He ended up with a respectable P2 for Saturday. 

Consistent starts and strong main event showings seems to be something we can expect from Justin. Another great weekend for the kid as he racks up a boatload of points!

Supercross Boys Take on The 8-Meter

Factory Pros, Jonnie Vance (left) and Cameron Moore (right) tried their luck at some big hill racing. They both showed some serious speed and signs of improvements. 

Cameron Moore, upon his Icy Blue VISION F1 displayed that the bike is ready for the big leagues. Cam looked extremely quick in motos edging out some big names and nearly winning stacked rounds.

Thanks to his early effort, Cam secured a spot into the Semi. As the gate dropped and they charged down the hill, another rider unintentionally cross jumped into Cam’s line. In an effort to avoid crashing, Cam stuck his foot out and smacked his heel onto the ground. This incident would end Cam’s weekend early.

He’s currently recovering and plotting his comeback for the Grands. The big show is just around the corner and he hopes to be back in time. Can is always a threat at the Grands so we look forward to seeing him rip it up as per usual. 

Vance tucks his RS7 into turn two with some steeze! It was a pretty good weekend for the kid all things considered. This was his first attempt at big hill racing and Friday was a strong showing for him. Vance pulled a few P4s in round one and three. The kicker came in round two where he went for a move on the 5th place rider and ended up 7th after failing the maneuver. He was just one spot shy of making the semi. More consistent rides in the future should get him into the later rounds.

Saturday was a bit of a struggle, but to make it out of a SX race uninjured and lay down clean laps is a win in itself. Steady improvements and small gains are what adds up to making it in this class. Jonnie is working on doing just that!

Crazy Cam Scores Another Dub

Cam Bramer rode the wheels off his Red Rocket BLK 2 scoring another win on Friday. He was in the fight for most of the weekend and continues to be a threat for the win on any track. He looked comfortable and aggressive out there. 

The 17-20 class has proven to be one of the toughest amateur classes in the world. With a boatload of domestic talent and even a few international talents, the main is always stacked across the board. Above, Crazy Cam get’s on the gas early to edge out the competition into turn 1. 

In this class you never know what’s going to happen. Your spot in the main is never secure. During the semi on Saturday, things got a little hectic as some fast guys went out early with Cam being one of them. 

Fortunately, Cam gathered himself for Sunday and found himself back in the main event! With a good shot out of the gate, it looked as though Cam would get the advantage into turn 1. However, two riders managed to slid underneath the Red Rocket and Cam found himself in P3. He chased the leaders down looking for any inch of free track. The leaders played nice with each other and Cam wasn’t able to make it around settling for a 3rd. 

Still a great weekend for the Cam as he showed resilience through backing up Saturday with a podium on Sunday.   

Ryder Merki Showing Some Style

Our little man Ryder Merki was ramping up the second straight all weekend long! It was so rad to watch him boost the doubles while leading the pack during the qualifying rounds. As you can see from the picture above, he was also throwing a bit of style on it as well! #TurnbarTuesday

Ryder looked really strong in the early rounds and found his way into the main everyday. It looked as though Ryder would be able to snag a holeshot but he was stuck with some outside gates almost every time. 

Still, the kid looked strong and definitely has some serious speed and style for his age! He ended up with 4th, 5th, & 5th in his 20 inch classes. Great work LegoMan!

Bella’s Golden VISION

With the debuet of the VISION F1 chassis kit, Bella had to come out and show off her Golden VISION! For those who didn’t get to see it in person, the paint work was spectacular! The Golden metallic flake with matching accents really made the bike standout from anything else on the gate.

It wasn’t all about the bike this weekend. Big B laid down some good laps and was banging bars with the 15-16 Expert Ladies. She found her way into the main event all three days and even took home a podium on Sunday. she did all of this while keeping that beautiful paint job safe from damage. I think her and KJ might have a battle brewing for best looking bikes on the team!

KJ Shows The 26-35 Experts His VISION

After a full day of work, KJ came home to a package from SX HQ. Like a kid on Christmas morning, KJ ripped open the box to reveal his Mystic Prime VISION F1. He pulled an all nighter building it up and getting videos for the fans. The very next morning, KJ hopped in the car and drove 7 hours towards Kentucky to break in the new ride. 

Between all the vlogging, chatting with fans, and reminiscing about the ole Pro days, KJ snagged himself a win upon the new bike! He went straight to the trophy truck from the finish line, grabbed his trophy and was ready to get back to the wife and kids. Talk about a successful business trip!

Donkey Kong Hunts for a Win

Formally known as PJ O’Brien, he was looking more like ‘The Secret Agent’ with that blacked out helmet and google combo. PJ is about as cool as they come always looking calm and collected on-track. But don’t let his chill demeanor fool you. It may look like PJ is just cruising along, but he’s doing it at an extreme pace. 

PJ was hunting down the leader all weekend and with each main event it looked as though he had a shot but just wasn’t quite close enough. But podiums 2 out of 3 days is nothing to complain about! Strong rides from the Kong, we’re proud of his efforts.

Hayes Twins Send It

The Lady Pros, Emily & Ashely Hayes were sending it and going big off the high speed jumps in Louisville! The girls looked strong in practice and comfortable on the track displaying their jumping skills by giving the pro set a go!

Things did get a little rocky for the twins as the motos went on. Ashley Hayes went down hard going for a pass by taking the pro set. She came up short on the first jump which sent her right over the bars. She’s currently back home talking with the doctors to workout the extent of her injury. we wish her the best as nobody wants to see someone walk off the track this way especially when it’s a teammate of yours. 

Emily would also experience a crash of her own after tangling up with another rider over the first SX jump. Fortunately, Emily wasn’t seriously injured and is just a little sore. 

Both Ashely & Emily would be done after Friday’s racing. It was a rough one for the twins, but BMX Racing is a series of highs and lows. We know they’ll both be back soon and faster than ever. Wishing speedy recoveries for them both!

Thanks For Reading!

Thank you again for taking the time to read through our race report. Be sure to check out our other articles on the site. We have everything from past race reports, to tech helps, and even pieces explaining the performance benefits of various components.

Stay tuned as we’ll be back next month to recap the racing action from the Houston National. With it being another big hill race, there’s bound to be tons of drama and success to report back here with! 

- Written By, Jonnie Vance