Prior to 2016, one could make the argument that the 26-year-old Alex Martin has lived in younger brother and teammate Jeremy Martin’s shadow over the past few seasons, especially considering that Jeremy Martin is the defending Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Champion.
But not anymore.
Regardless of how the rest of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season goes, Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Alex Martin is having a standout season, and at the Peterson CAT Washougal National in Washougal, Washington, yesterday, Alex carded his first AMA National moto win en route to his second career (and second season) AMA 250cc National Motocross overall win. Martin did a brilliant job of holding off Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy in Moto 1 to score the win, and he followed it up with a second-place finish to land the overall win after other contenders for the overall win got caught up in a bizarre crash early in Moto 2.
After scoring two consecutive holeshots at the family’s track in Millville, Minnesota, last weekend, Alex Martin grabbed his third straight holeshot during Moto 1 in Washougal. Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s sole rookie rider, Mitchell Harrison, slotted into second place early while Savatgy ran third ahead of Jeremy Martin. Savatgy quickly relegated Harrison to third place and settled into a comfortable rhythm behind Martin as both men pulled away from the field. Jeremy Martin also got past Harrison to run third by lap three.
Meanwhile, series points leader Cooper Webb was flogging his Yamalaube/Star Racing/Yamaha YZ250F through the field after getting off to a 12th-place start. Webb worked quickly, and he was up to fifth place by lap four. Jeremy Martin still hled down third place, but Webb caught and passed the champ on lap eight, By then, however, Alex Martin and Savatgy were over 14 seconds ahead of Webb
The battle for the lead intensified when lapped traffic came into play, and Savatgy began to show a wheel to Alex Martin on lap nine. However, making a clean pass was a different challenge for Savatgy as Alex Martin stubbornly refused to yield the point position. Alex Martin was able to gain some breathing room on the last lap to cinch his first career Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross moto win in wire-to-wire fashion. Webb followed Savatgy across the finish line in third, with Jeremy Martin fourth and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne fifth.
Webb would pull the Moto 2 holeshot ahead of Savatgy and another series rookie, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner. As the field jockeyed for position Savatgy attempted an aggressive pass on Webb, and the two made contact.
Savatgy’s move clearly did not sit well with Webb, who managed to gather it up and move ahead of Savatgy, only to brake-check the Kawasaki man a few turns later. Savatgy couldn’t avoid ramming into Webb’s rear tire, and Webb went down while Savatgy stalled in the fast line on the track with traffic raining down on both riders. The resulting melee left several riders on the ground and knocked Jeremy Martin out of the race. Webb and Savatgy got back underway outside the top 20.
Forkner was able to avoid the incident, however, and he moved into the lead with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos second and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson third. Both Webb and Savatgy were able to restart their motorcycles, but fell outside the top 20. Alex Martin had started the race outside the top 10 but now found himself fourth.
Forkner showed amazing composure in the lead, allowing him not only to fend off the more experienced Davalos and Nelson but also to make some time on both of them. Alex Martin continued to take advantage of the track position he gained as a result of the Webb/Savatgy incident to latch onto Nelson and pass him for third on lap 11. Martin then inherited second place when Davalos crashed one lap later.
Forkner went on to earn his first career Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross moto win 4 seconds ahead of Martin victory over four seconds ahead of Martin, while Nelson finished third in his first race since he was sidelined by injury five races ago.
Webb battled back from a wild opening lap to finish sixth, which was good enough to salvage third overall behind Forkner (10-1), but Martin’s 1-2 finishes easily carried the day.
“Hard pack conditions [like at Washougal] can be tough for me, so I’ve tried to train in California to help with that,” Alex Martin said. “I was pretty excited to get the holeshot and lead every lap. I had pressure from Joey [Savatgy] the whole time and I’ve been so close [to winning] all year, so it feels so good to get that out of the way. I didn’t get a good start in the second moto, but there was a little chaos and I was able to get through it in fourth. I had a battle with Jessy [Nelson] and got by him and then Martin [Davalos] had his problems, so we were able to get up to second and wrap up the overall.”
Despite a chaotic day, Webb built on his series points lead, moving out to 51 points ahead of Jeremy Martin. Savatgy is 53 points out of the lead.
“We want to win and we weren’t close to that today, so that’s kind of a bummer,” Webb said. “I didn’t get a good start in the first moto but I got back to third so I was happy with that. In the second moto I got the holeshot but then we [Joey Savatgy and I] got tangled up. From there it was a mad dash to make up as many positions as we could, so that’s what I did. It was tough to charge on the track [in the second moto] so I’m happy with how far back I was able to get [in the running order].”
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads into a two-week break before concluding with the final three rounds. Round 10, the Unadilla National, in New Berlin, New York, is scheduled for August 13.
2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Peterson CAT Washougal National
Washougal MX Park
Washougal, Washington
Results: July 23, 2016 (Round 9 of 12)
250cc Overall
1. Alex Martin, Millville, MN, Yamaha (2-1)
2. Austin Forkner, Richards, MO, Kawasaki (10-1)
3. Cooper Webb, Newport, NC, Yamaha (3-6)
4. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, GA, Kawasaki (2-11)
5. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, OR, KTM (8-4)
6. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, FL, Kawasaki (6-7)
7. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, OH, Yamaha (9-5)
8. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki (7-8)
9. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, CA, KTM (16-3)
10. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, TX, KTM (11-9)
2016 Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (after 9 of 12 rounds)
1. Cooper Webb-372/3 overall wins/6 moto wins
2. Jeremy Martin-321/1 overall win/4 moto wins
3. Joey Savatgy-319/3 overall wins/5 moto wins
4. Alex Martin-317/2 overall wins/1 moto win
5. Austin Forkner-257/1 moto win
6. Zach Osborne-253/1 moto win
7. Aaron Plessinger-245
8. Arnaud Tonus-190
9. Adam Cianciarulo-179
10. Mitchell Oldenburg-169
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