Before any Sunday – MPN Mini bike nationals

Article originally appeared in MiniMoto Magazine Issue 1 2004 photos by Carl Stone

During the 2003 AMA/Chevy Trucks National Motocross Championship, a phenomenon was set in motion. The MPN Mini Nationals pitted industry personalities against one another in three classes – 50cc, Mid-Size and Clutch – and they took place usually on either Friday or Saturday before eight of the Nationals and the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Championships. All you needed to compete was a bike that fit into one of the classes and a driver’s license that said you were over 18.

MPN Mini Nationals Revisited

Besides all of the tight racing, maybe the coolest part of the minis was the spectators. You see, although some of the riders were former champs, the names on the sidelines frequently read like a who’s who of motocross racing: Chad Reed, Ryan Hughes, Ernesto Fonseca, Grant Langston, etc. With so many of the riders now staying at the track all weekend in their custom buses, they found that watching some mini-racing was a fun (and funny) way to pass the time – although it definitely added to the embarrassment when one of these high-caliber riders commented on your ridiculous crash during the race.

At Loretta’s, James Stewart decided to come out and race his trick KLX110 – and promptly smoked everyone. No one decided to protest him for not being an adult until too long after the race was over. When MiniMoto questioned event organizer Rob Buydos about, he claimed Bubba had a fake ID.

Yeah, right.

Well, Bubba turns 18 in December, so he’ll be perfectly legal any time he feels like racing this year. Anyway, here are some photos from the 2003 season and the “Official” results for the 50s, Midsize and Clutch classes.