Jeremy McKie Wins The 2020 Rookie Of The Year

Even though this was a shortened 2020 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series, it certainly didn’t lack excitement or exceptional performances by our rookie class of riders. The three rookie riders that stood out this summer were Jeremy McKie, Ryder McNabb, and Jacob Piccolo. All three had some great rides in the MXTour Series, with Piccolo’s 4th overall at Round 4 being the best of the group. It was a lot of fun watching these young riders battled against the seasoned veterans in the 250 class. Sure, all three made some rookie type mistakes at times, but they all showed us that they’re capable of challenging for a championship in the near future.

Now, with McNabb not officially being considered a rookie rider in 2020 (because he technically raced as an Intermediate) that left McKie and Piccolo battling for Rookie of the Year honours. As I mentioned above, Piccolo did have a few motos where he finished not only inside the Top 5, but he also scored a couple of second-place finishes. However, overall McKie was the more consistent rider when you compared apples to apples in the MXTour Series. McKie also had a third-place moto finish in the mud at Walton Raceway so he not only showed a lot of consistency this summer but also some serious speed of his own. It was a pleasure watching all three of these riders in 2020 and congratulations to Jeremy McKie on winning the Rookie of the Year Award.

As we move onto 2021 it will be interesting to see which of these riders can handle the pressure of expectation the best? It’s been proven time and time again in all sports that an athlete’s sophomore season can be their most challenging. So as the pressure to do well builds and the competition only gets greater, these young riders are in for a big test. As long as they trust the process and fall back on their support team for guidance, they all should be fine and we should them at, or near the front of the pack in 2021.