Ryan Dungey and Christophe Pourcel both had reasons to celebrate at the Red Bull Unadilla National.
Anyone questioning whether or not Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey would lose the momentum he had gained prior to the one-week break in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship schedule had that question answered at the Unadilla Motorsports Complex today.
During round 10 of the series at the legendary track in New Berlin, New York. Dungey inched ever closer to evening up his 450cc class points deficit to teammate and rival Ken Roczen by posting 1-2 scores to land the overall win. Meanwhile, despite failing to bring home an overall win in the 250cc Yamalube/STAR Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin also edged closer, closer to his first career Lucas Oil Pro Motocross title by putting together a 3-1 day for second overall, behind an overdue winner in Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Christophe Pourcel of France.
Dungey’s win marked his fourth overall win of the year, but more importantly it was his third win in the last four rounds, and he is now just seven points behind Roczen—far from an insurmountable gap—with with two rounds remaining. Pourcel’s win was his first in AMA racing since 2010, and he became only the fifth different winner in the 250cc class this season.
450cc Moto 1
Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Justin Brayton grabbed his third consecutive Motosport.com Holeshot Award in the first 450cc moto, bringing forward a little momentum of his own from the previous round at Washougal, Washington. Brayton’s JGRMX teammate Phil Nicoletti, was ample proof that the factory Yamaha’s are making plenty of power as he followed Brayton through turn one in second place. Dungey was right with both of them, however, and the two-time former Lucas Oil 450cc Champion wasted little time passing both the Yamaha men take the lead on the opening lap. Roczen was also off to a good start, and he also quickly passed Brayton and Nicoletti to move into second place, setting up a two-rider KTM battle for the moto win.
Although the two KTM riders would run within just a few bike lengths of one another at times, Roczen couldn’t seem to find the drive on the rutted, loamy Unadilla track to challenge Dungey for the lead, and Dungey would go on to earn the win, gaining precious points on Roczen in what may prove to be a thrilling finish to the season. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac was also factor in the race, although not quite to the extent that was anticipated by the fans. Tomac rode a solid moto to place third at the finish, ahead of Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, who came from outside the top 10 to finish fourth. BTO Sports KTM’s Andrew Short was fifth.
450cc Moto 2
Brayton once again shot to the front of the pack in Moto 2, but his time out front was even more short-lived than in the first moto as both Tomac and Canard blasted into the first two positions. The Honda duo then proceeded to set chug away as a two-rider freight train, putting distance between themselves and Dungey and Roczen.
Tomac and Canard then engaged in a fierce tussle for the lead that lasted several laps. The two riders traded positions multiple times on the track, allowing Dungey to close in on them and make it a three-rider battle for the win. Roczen, meanwhile, seemed to lose momentum, and he would drop out of the hunt for his first career moto win. All that remained was to see if Dungey could make his way past one or both of the Honda riders to maximize his points gain.
Canard was clearly having his best moto of the season, and once he put Tomac away, he appeared to be poised for an easy win. However, a determined Dungey was able to dispatch Tomac to take over second place with four laps remaining, and Dungey began to eat into Canard’s lead. It appeared as though Dungey might be able to challenge Canard for the win, especially after Canard went off the track with just a few laps remaining, but Canard would not be denied, earning his first moto win of the season. It was clearly a popular win, considering the adversity that Canard has faced via multiple serious injuries during his career. Dungey finished second, which was still good enough for the overall win, with Tomac third.
Dungey’s fourth win tied him with Roczen for most wins in the class this season.
“It was an awesome day,” Dungey said. “We just wanted to make the most of the day and not get sidetracked [with the championship]. “There’s a lot of racing left still with two rounds to go, but things are going good. It feels great to get another overall, but I made it hard on myself in the second moto and let those guys [Tomac and Canard] get away. Maybe a couple more laps we could have got Canard, but he was riding really good.”
Canard earned his best finish of the season, second overall, via his 4-1 moto finishes, with Tomac’s (3-3) edging out Roczen (2-4) for third overall via a tiebreaker. It marked the first time this season that Roczen failed to finish on the overall podium. Canard said that he couldn’t adequately explain how good that moto win felt.
“I’m not going to sit here and cry about what’s happened [in the past with injuries], but I am just so thankful to have the opportunity to be here [on top of the podium] again,” Canard said. “I’m just so happy to be up here, and I’m looking forward to the next two races.”
Dungey’s win yielded another seven-point swing in his favor, narrowing his deficit to Roczen atop the championship standings to just seven points. Dungey has gained 17 points on Roczen in the past two rounds. Canard sits third, 74 points behind Dungey, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe fourth, 167 points back. Tomac jumped all the way to fifth, 195 points back, despite missing the first four rounds of the season with injury.
250cc Moto 1
Pourcel has proven to be one of the fastest riders in the 250cc class, earning numerous fast time awards in qualifying and netting Motosport.com Holeshot Awards with alarming regularity. He earned his fifth straight holeshot at the start of Moto 1—no surprise—but from there he simply didn’t fade into the pack as he has in the past. While fellow Frenchman Marvin Musquin ultimately challenged him late in the race, Pourcel was finally able to keep it all together all the way to the checkered flag to land his first moto win of the season.
While Pourcel ran a clean race up front, Yamalube/STAR Racing teammates Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin ran second and third for much of the race before Musquin passed both riders. A late crash by Webb would cost him several spots and allowed Martin to finish a comfortable third, further padding his points lead over Webb and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett, who finished sixth behind teammate Dean Wilson and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle. Webb finished seventh.
250cc Moto 2
The start of the second moto resulted in more of the same for Pourcel, who captured his sixth consecutive Motosport.com Holeshot Award. Martin rans second, and Bogle was third. Musquin, however, had to fight his way forward from a fifth-place start. Baggett ran in sixth place off the start, while Webb was stuck in ninth place.
Pourcel was strong in the first half of the moto, but Martin calmly began to cut into the Frenchman’s advantage, and on lap six Marting took over the lead and quickly pulled away to earn his class-best eighth moto win of the season.
Pourcel finished second, and Bogle finished third. Baggett was able to move up to fourth, just ahead of Musquin, but he clearly did not have the day he was hoping for. Things were even worse for Webb, who was forced to drop out of the moto with apparent mechanical issues. Martin took the moto win, but the day belonged to Pourcel. The win was his second at Unadilla and the seventh AMA win of his career.
“The first moto was good, and we got a good start in the second moto,” Pourcel said. “I love the track here [at Unadilla] and it really works for my style. I’m just really grateful to be back up here [atop the podium] and want to thank everyone for the support they’ve given to me. Jeremy was riding great in that second moto, so I had to give it to him.”
Baggett and Webb’s finishes only helped Martin tighten his grip on the championship, and now Martin has the chance to clinch it one race early in Indiana next weekend.
“I got off to a great start [in Moto 2] and battled with Christophe [Pourcel] for a while, then I chipped my tooth after getting hit by a rock,” Martin said. “After that I realized I needed to make my move. I haven’t won a moto in a while so it felt good to get back out front. I did make a few mistakes out there today, so I’ll do some work during the week to come back stronger next weekend.”
Martin moved to 66 points over Baggett, who jumped into second following Webb’s misfortune. Webb sits third, 74 points back. Musquin sits fourth (-93), while Pourcel rounds out the top five (-101).
The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship hosts the penultimate round of the championship next Saturday, August 16, with the 11th round of the season and the inaugural event from Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Red Bull Unadilla National
Unadilla Motorsports Complex
New Berlin, New York
Results: August 9, 2014 (Round 10 of 12)
450cc
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM/1-2
2. Trey Canard-Hon/4-1
3. Eli Tomac-Hon/3-3
4. Ken Roczen-KTM/2-4
5. Justin Brayton-Yam/6-7
6. Andrew Short-KTM/5-8
7. Weston Peick-Suz/10-5
8. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/7-9
9. Brett Metcalfe-Kaw/12-6
10. Fredrik Noren-Hon/8-10
Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (After 10 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen-447/4 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-440/4 wins
3. Trey Canard-Hon-373
4. Brett Metcalfe-Kaw-280
5. Eli Tomac-252/1 win
6. Andrew Short-247
7. Weston Peick-244
8. James Stewart-226/1 win
9. Josh Grant-218
10. Fredrik Noren-159
250cc
1. Christophe Pourcel-Yam/1-2
2. Jeremy Martin-Yam/3-1
3. Marvin Musquin-KTM/2-5
4. Justin Bogle-Hon/5-3
5. Blake Baggett-Kaw/6-4
6. Dean Wilson-Kaw/4-6
7. Joey Savatgy-KTM/9-9
8. Chris Alldredge-Kaw/13-8
9. Alex Martin-Yam/12-10
10. Shane McElrath-Hon/10-13
Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (After 10 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-422/4 wins
2. Blake Baggett-356/3 wins
3. Cooper Webb-348/1 win
4. Marvin Musquin-329/1 win
5. Christophe Pourcel-321/1 win
6. Justin Bogle, Cushing-310
7. Jason Anderson-243
8. Cole Seely-225
9. Jessy Nelson-200
10. Dean Wilson-176
Alex Martin-176
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