MAJOR Shakeups at Brick Mine, Alexander Wins | 2024 Rd. 4 Recap by Calafia Concepts

The fourth and penultimate round of the 2024 AMA CF Moto Motoclimb Super Series (MSS) took place July 5 th at the Express Pros Brick Mine near Wallhalla, North Dakota and featured new faces and names on the podiums in the Pro Stock, Pro Open, and Pro Mod classes. Heavy rains and thunderstorms during the week leading up to the event yielded near-ideal hill conditions with plenty of traction compared to the dry, loose soil of years past. This allowed the Eagle Ridge Motorcycle Club to make exciting layouts for all three classes on the 750-foot-long hill that provided a challenge to the riders and engaged spectators. The Pro Mod class started the day with a technical hill, featuring two near-vertical walls that challenged even the top contenders. Only five of the 26 racers crested the hill. Multi-time MSS champion, Logan Cipala, took the win aboard his Mueller Motorsports GasGas MC550F with a time of 20.637 seconds.
For the Pro Open class, a fast line was flagged to allow the high horsepower machines to show their true potential. The added moisture in the soil allowed more options for rear tire choices with many racers choosing to use a knobby motocross tire instead of specialized hillclimb tires, with large paddles or added metal, that are often used to gain traction. Logan Cipala put down a smooth ride of 17.476 seconds in the first round on his factory-backed Buell 1190 HCR. Tristan Alexander came close with a 17.879-second ride in the second round on his twin-cylinder KTM 1190. Payton Reimers rounded out the podium with a time of 18.728 seconds, riding his 1428cc inline four-cylinder machine. Cipala opted to ride the second round, where a crash sidelined him for the remainder of the day. The day ended with the Pro Stock class, in which four-stroke, two stroke, and electric bikes with stock length wheelbase and 250-450cc engines attempted to conquer the steep and technical hill. In Pro Stock qualifying, 12 of the 27 racers successfully topped the hill. The fastest
qualifying time of 20.768 seconds came from Dexter Hoenhause, a local, up-and-coming rider from Lisbon, ND on a KTM 450. Only 0.008 seconds behind was McCoy Molzahn on his Beta 300RX two-stroke. Third place was Nathan Prebe of Cannon Falls, MN riding a Beta 300RR. The Pro Stock Verticross main event featured close head-to-head racing, thanks to the
multiple lines in the top portion of the hill that opened up from qualifying and the other classes earlier in the day. The motocross-style bottom section allowed the more aggressive riders to gain an early lead, while the second half of the hill required technical skill and precise line selection to maintain momentum. The final race consisted of two local North Dakota natives: Mitchell Dahl of Hannaford, ND riding an electric Stark Future Varg and Chad Jelinek from Forest River, ND on his KTM 450. These racers were 15 th and 16 th seed in the bracket, based upon qualifying runs, which shows the exciting and unpredictable nature of the MSS Pro Stock class. From the gate drop, Jelinek grabbed the early lead as Dahl’s rear tire spun on the metal grate, but his motocross background and high-horsepower electric Stark motorcycle quickly made up ground and passed Jelinek near the 500-foot mark for the class win. Third place was Tristan Alexander.
The final round of the MSS will be held at the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally in Durango, CO on Sept 1.