Rocco Landers
2019 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion Rocco Landers was one of the many riders in attendance at the first annual running of The Invite presented by Dunlop. The teenager from Oregon made the stop in Oklahoma on his way back from the tenth and final round of the MotoAmerica season at Barber Motorsports Park and put on a clinic in the smaller displacement categories, sweeping all eight races that he contested, subsequently grabbing the number one plates in the 300 & 400 (14-24) class, 400 Expert, and 300 & 400 Shootout classes. Landers was seemingly on track all weekend long with the number of classes that he participated in and he seemed to improve his lap times in one way or another each time he hit the track, eventually breaking Hallett Motor Racing Circuit’s 400cc lap record on multiple occasions in order to post a new record of 1:20.04 on the final day of racing. The teenager qualified first on the grid in the all three of the divisions that he entered and was unmatched in speed by any of his competition on Saturday and Sunday. Landers consistently set times that were nearly on lap-record pace despite feeling a little bit under the weather throughout the weekend and he was clearly the rider to beat in the smaller displacement categories as he further solidifies himself as one of the most promising young road racing prospects in the country. There weren’t too many weekends throughout the season where the Kawasaki rider wasn’t getting seat time on his Ninja 400 and it was more than apparent throughout the weekend at The Invite presented by Dunlop as Landers left on Sunday with a trio of number one plates to his name.