An area 16-year-old is taking his motocross talents to an event in Tennesee.
Stephen Persing Jr. of the Mendon area is to compete in the 38th annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills.
More than 22,000 competed for a chance to qualify for the event; Persing was one of 1,446 that made the cut. Persing is a junior at Mendon High School. He has been racing since the age of 7. He started out on a bicycle that looked like a dirt bike with shocks, then went to a battery-powered Hot Wheels. His mom Kim, who works at PNC Bank in Vicksburg, then gave him with a real dirt bike and he was off to the races.
“The Amateur National at Loretta Lynn’s is the best of the best motocrossers in America and around the world” said Tim Cotter, director of MX Sports which produces the event. “’Just being there makes you an elite racer and a top athlete. “A solid finish at Loretta’s would give you instant national recognition and a possible professional career,” he said.
Persing has had help from sponsors, including G. Persing Plumbing and Heating, Lang Tuning, SC4 Racing, 100% Goggles, Slick Products; Acerbis, R Moto Perfected, Vortex Racing O’Neal, Mustang Sally’s, Raise the Bar Performance Horses, Blue Ray Beach Tanning, Beck’s Hybrids, John and Jenni Hayward and Wilss Barber Shop.
Persing will be racing in the Schoolboy 2 class (12-17). He is an alternate in two other classes. The race action will be broadcast live daily at http://www.RacerTV.com, through August 4 for a total of 40 hours of live coverage. In addition, two highlight shows featuring the event will air on NBC Sports Network in the fall.