Ryan Dungey captures his third consecutive Budds Creek 450cc win, and Blake Baggett also nets a third consecutive 250cc win at the GEICO Budds Creek National.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey slowed the roll of his teammate Ken Roczen by scoring a convincing second-moto win to land his third consecutive 450cc win at the GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National at Budds Creek MX Park, yesterday. In the 250cc class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett reinvigorated his championship hopes by scoring his third win at Budd’s Creek in three years, same as Dungey.
450cc Moto 1
Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Justin Brayton grabbed his first Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season in the opening 450cc moto. Brayton, who is racing himself back into shape after suffering an injury that sidelined him early in the season, led Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard and Dungey. Canard quickly passed Dungey for second place and, soon after that, passed Brayton to take over the lead on the opening lap.
While Canard opened up a small lead, Dungey lost another spot on the track, to Roczen. The German rider was flying once again, and he passed Brayton and then proceeded to cut into Canard’s lead in just few short laps. Roczen found an opening and passed Canard on lap four. Dungey made the pass on Brayton for third place and was also catch Canard and eventually take over second place.
With the Red Bull KTM riders once again running 1-2, Honda riders began to battle for the remaining podium spot, as GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac caught up to Canard. uo asserting themselves out front and pulling away, Canard fell into the clutches of GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac with the pair battling throughout the remaining stages of the moto. Canard would fend off Tomac to finish third in the moto.
Up front, Dungey appeared to be riding with much more confidence and control than he showed last weekend at RedBud, and closed in on Roczen as the first moto wound toward the finish. Dungey would pull to within a second of Roczen, but Roczen held him off for the win. Canard was third, with Tomac fourth, ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.
450cc Moto 2
Dungey aimed to capitalize on his first-moto momentum, and he did so in Moto 2 by grabbing the holeshot. With a clear track in front him, Dungey set a torrid pace in the early stages and opened up a big gap over the field. Roczen, meanwhile, had to work to pass Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Josh Grant for second place. After pulling that off, Roczen tried to up the pace and hunt down his teammate.
But there was no catching Dungey this time, as he never looked back and went on to complete his most dominant ride of the year. The two-time former Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion had led just nine laps coming into Budds Creek, but he nearly tripled his season total by leading all 17 laps of Moto 2. Roczen followed in second, but had to fend off a major threat from Tomac in the closing laps.
When all was said and done, the Red Bull KTM teammates finished the day with identical moto scores, but Dungey’s second-moto win broke the tie to net his second overall win of the year.
“It was tough after that first moto, but I got back, cooled down and was feeling good,” said Dungey, who also moved into third on the all-time total career wins list. “I thought this [the second moto] was my moment. I got a good start, which that was way, way key and just allowed me to ride my laps. It’s good to get this win; it’s been since round one. This is a good step.”
Amazingly, Roczen’s streak of finishing on the podium in every moto this season is still intact.
“We all have our days,” Roczen said. “I’m just happy to finish second and keep the points lead the same. That’s all I can ask for. I just wasn’t feeling it in that second moto, and it’s time to put that behind me. It’s all about preparation during the week, so I’m going to go back and get stronger.”
Tomac’s second-moto third-place finish helped him steal third overall (4-3) away from Canard (3-4). Soaring Eagle/RCH Racing Suzuki’s Weston Peick had an excellent day at Budds Creek, finishing fifth overall (6-5).
Roczen’s lead over Dungey in the 450cc class standings remains at 26 points. Canard sits third, 63 points behind Roczen. With three consecutive overall podiums in his first three career starts in the premier class, Tomac has already moved up to 11th in the points standings.
250cc Moto 1
While Yamalube/Star Racing’s Jeremy Martin and Cooper Webb, and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett have been grabbing most of the story lines in the 250cc class, it was no surprise that new faces emerged in the battle for the first 250cc moto at Budds Creek. GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle securing the Motosport.com Holeshot Award, edging out Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Christophe Pourcel, but as that duo jockeyed for position, Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson emerged as a player in the fight for the lead, passing Pourcel and setting his sights on Bogle. Neither Anderson nor Bogle had ever won a Lucas Oil 250cc moto in their career, and both men were going all out to end their dry spell. After going bar-to-bar with him on the opening lap, Anderson slipped past Bogle on lap two and began to pull away from the field.
With Anderson out front, the battle for the podium intensified as Martin caught up to Bogle and Pourcel. Martin passed Pourcel for third on lap six and ten dogged Bogle for three laps before taking over second place on lap nine. With all the battling going on up front, Baggett fought his way forward from a seventh-place start, moving into fourth place on lap nine and then passing Bogle for third on lap 11.
Baggett began to put pressure on Martin for second, and their spirited battle pushed them to within striking distance of Anderson, whittling down his 8-second lead to mere bike lengths on the last lap. Anderson managed to maintain his composure and hold off Martin to claim his first career Lucas Oil 250cc Pro moto win. Baggett was third, and Bogle was fourth with Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb coming from 11th-place to finish fifth.
250cc Moto 2
Martin gained the upper hand to start the second moto by securing the Motosport.com Holeshot Award with Pourcel in second and Anderson third. Baggett, who started fourth, soon began to make his bid for the lead. It started with a pass on Anderson for third. As Martin tried to pull away out front, Pourcel and Baggett engaged in a close contest for second place. By the time Baggett finally made the pass on Pourcel, seven laps were in the books.
Baggett was more than 5 seconds behind Martin at that point, but he Baggett rode smoothly to cut Martin’s lead down to just a few bike lengths in a race of supreme importance; with Martin second and Baggett third in the opening moto, the better finisher in moto two would be the class winner. Baggett put clean pass on Martin on lap 11, and Martin had no answer for him. Baggett pulled away, taking the moto win and securing the overall victory.
“I definitely hope we can keep chipping away towards this championship,” said Baggett, whose third straight win at Budds Creek was also the ninth consecutive for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki at the track. “All that matters is that I have the points lead at the end of the season, even If we have to wait all the way to the last moto then that’s what we’re going to do. We’re not going to stop fighting until then.”
Baggett’s 3-1 finishes edged out Martin (2-2) by one point when the final totals were tallied. Anderson’s first moto win helped him land third (1-7), with Pourcel fourth (6-3) and Webb fifth (5-4).
“I got off to a great start [in the second moto] and tried to put on a charge there for a little while and got away a bit,” Martin said. “But then we hit some lappers and I could see Baggett was right there closing in on me. He was riding really good and congrats to him today. I’m just having fun and trying to win as many races as I can. I’m getting to do what I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
Martin lost just one point to his lead in the 250cc class standings, with Baggett moving into second, 27 points back. Webb sits third, 33 points back.
The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with the Spring Creek National at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, on July 19.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National
Budds Creek MX Park
Mechanicsville, Maryland
Results: July 12, 2014 (Round 7 of 12)
450cc
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM/2-1
2. Ken Roczen-KTM/1-2
3. Eli Tomac-Hon/4-3
4. Trey Canard-Honda/3-4
5. Weston Peick-Suz/6-5
6. Josh Grant-Yam/9-6
7. Andrew Short-KTM/8-7
8. Brett Metcalfe-Kaw/7-11
9. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/12-8
10. Matt Goerke-KTM/11-10
Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Point Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen-327/4 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-301/2 wins
3. Trey Canard-264
4. James Stewart-212/1 win
5. Brett Metcalfe-192
6. Josh Grant-186
7. Weston Peick-162
8. Andrew Short-161
9. Chad Reed-132
10. Malcolm Stewart-128
250cc
1. Blake Baggett-Kaw/3-1
2. Jeremy Martin-Yam/2-2
3. Jason Anderson-KTM/1-7
4. Christophe Pourcel-Yam/6-3
5. Cooper Webb-Yam/5-4
6. Justin Bogle-Hon/4-5
7. Justin Hill-Kaw/13-6
8. Cole Seely-Hon/10-9
9. Anthony Rodriguez-Yam/9-10
10. Marvin Musquin-KTM/8-14
Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Point Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-294/3 wins
2. Blake Baggett-267/3 wins
3. Cooper Webb-261/1 win
4. Justin Bogle-225
5. Christophe Pourcel-211
6. Jason Anderson-206
7. Marvin Musquin-201
8. Cole Seely-166
9. Justin Hill-150
10. Jessy Nelson-144
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