Cobra Motorcycles and Ryder McNabb Score Big At the Mini Olympics

HILLSDALE, Mich. – The final major amateur national of the 2014 competition season wrapped up this past weekend with the 43rd running of Thor Winter Olympics, presented by Pro Circuit, at Florida’s famed Gatorback Cycle Park. And American-made Cobra Moto bikes were again the class of the 51cc races, capturing the majority of the MX and SX titles on the week, including podium sweeps in the premier MX and SX 7-8 Limited classes on the industry-leading CX50SR.

Wrapping up his illustrious career on Cobra Moto bikes, with three class wins (two MX, one SX) at Gatorback, was California’s Ryder DiFrancesco. Certainly one of the all-time greats coming out of the legendary champion-producing Cobra Moto factory program, DiFrancesco captured the 51cc 4-8 Limited and 51cc 7-8 Limited MX titles, along with the 51cc 4-8 Limited SX title.

“We can’t say enough about what a pleasure it was to work with Ryder and his family over the years—he’s definitely one of the few riders to come out of Cobra Moto with an impeccable competition record during his tenure here,” said Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra Moto. “We wish Ryder the best with his racing in the years to come, and look forward to closely following what should prove to be a very successful pro racing career.”

Also coming up big at Gatorback for Cobra Moto was Canada’s Ryder McNabb. With a 51cc 7-8 Limited title in SX and podium finishes behind DiFrancesco in 51cc 4-8 Limited SX (second) and 51cc 7-8 Limited MX (third), McNabb was Cobra Moto’s second-highest scoring racer at the Mini Os. And joining McNabb with a first-place podium finish in the 51cc 4-6 Limited SX class aboard Cobra Moto’s CX50JR was Pennsylvania’s Kyle Born, who was joined on the podium in an all-Cobra Moto/Pennsylvania sweep by Will Canaguier (second) and Luke Fauser (third)! New Mexico’s Evan Woody added the 51cc 4-6 Limited MX title for Cobra Moto, with Cobra CX50JR racer Danilo Pinheiro (Mass.) in the runner-up spot.

And on the 65s Cobra Moto was led by New York’s Reed Cooper, who placed a solid fifth in the 7-9 SX class.

Cobra Moto Podium Results from the 2014 Thor Winter Olympics

MX                                                                                   SX

51cc 4-6 Limited                                                             51cc 4-6 Limited

1^st – Evan Woody, N.M.                                                  1^st – Kyle Born, Pa.

2^nd– Danilo Pinheiro, Mass.                                          2^nd – Will Canaguier, Pa.

3^rd – Luke Fauser, Pa.

51cc 4-8 Limited                                                              51cc 4-8 Limited                              

1^st– Ryder DiFrancesco, Calif.                                      1^st – Ryder DiFrancesco, Calif.

2^nd – Krystian Janik, Ill.                                                   2^nd – Ryder McNabb, Canada

51cc 7-8 Limited                                                              51cc 7-8 Limited

1^st– Ryder DiFrancesco, Calif.                                        1^st– Ryder McNabb, Canada

2^nd – Noah Geyer, Va.                                                      2^nd – Jay Covert, Pa.

3^rd – Ryder McNabb, Canada                                         3^rd – Jett Burgess, Ill.