Ryan Dungey captures his third 450cc win of the season, and Cooper Webb lands his first 250cc win.
Minnesota-born Ryan Dungey made his annual visit to his home track a memorable one as he dominated both 450cc motos en route to his third overall win of the year during round eight of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship point lead at Spring Creek Motocross Park Saturday.
Both the Red Bull-KTM-backed Dungey and fellow Minnesota native Jeremy Martin added to their respective class points leads at the La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National, although Martin’s Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb scored the overall win in the 250cc class. In the process, Webb became the first rider other than Martin or Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin to claim an overall win in the 250cc class in 2015.
450cc
Dungey topped the qualifying charts during timed practice, and he put his number one gate pick to good use in the first 450cc moto of the day, getting off the starting gate third behind the Autotrader.com/Toyota Yamaha duo of Justin Barcia and Phil Nicoletti. Dungey quickly passed Nicoletti to move into second place, and he was on Barcia’s tail late in the first lap. Dungey wasted no time in passing Barcia before the finish line, and from there he checked out on the field to easily win the moto.
Two-time 450cc class winner Barcia kept Dungey honest for several laps but could not maintain Dungey’s pace. Dungey opened up a large gap and maintained it to the finish, leading all 16 laps to claim the win by 4.46 seconds over Barcia. Meanwhile, defending Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Champion Ken Roczen moved into third place after starting fourth aboard his RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett and RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki’s Broc Tickle finished fourth and fifth, respectively, after coming through the pack from outside the top 10.
Barcia once again picked up the Motosport.com Holeshot Award when the second moto commenced, this time leading Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson and Team Honda HRC’s Fredrik Noren. Dungey gor away in fourth place. While Anderson and Barcia traded the lead, Dungey was on the move again, and he was able to dispatch Noren before passing Anderson to take over second place on lap one.
Barcia was able to keep Dungey at bay for just a few laps before Dungey seized the opportunity to make a pass for the lead on the track’s steepest downhill section on lap three. Once in the lead, Dungey extended his advantage over Barcia and ran away to score the sweep, this time with 5.14 seconds. Barcia came home second ahead, followed by Baggett, who made a late-race pass on Roczen for third. Anderson was fourth wth Noren finishing a career-best fifth.
Dungey said that while the track was difficult, he enjoyed it.
“This place can get rough and I enjoy it when it does,” said Dungey, who won at Spring Creek for the fourth time and thus became the second-winningest rider at the facility. “I got a good start in the first moto and was able to get around Jusitn [Barcia] early, then I just rode my own race. In the second moto it took a little longer, but I really wanted to get that 1-1 since I hadn’t done that yet this season. The bike was really working great and I was really able to get down the hills well. I knew that if there was a pass to be made, that’s where it would be.”
Dungey’s third overall win broke up a three-way tie among himself, Barcia and the injured Eli Tomac for the most 450cc wins in 2015. Barcia’s runner-up finish (2-2) comes behind his back-to-back overall wins in the two previous rounds. Baggett secured the final podium spot in third (4-3) via tiebreaker over Roczen (3-4).
“I felt good all day. I got good starts and that was huge,” Barcia said. “Ryan [Dungey] just had a little bit more than me today. I tried to do all I could but it didn’t happen, so that’s a little frustrating. I saw where he was faster, but I couldn’t figure it out for some reason. Overall it was a frustrating day because I knew I was good in places, but I just couldn’t make it happen.”
Dungey’s lead in the championship standings now sits at 56 points over Roczen in second, with Barcia third, 69 points back.
250cc
Jeremy Martin laid down the fastest timed practice lap to earn the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier award in the 250cc class, but GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire claimed the holeshot over Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin and CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha’s Alex Martin at the start of the first moto. Chaos followed when Musquin lost control of his motorcycle on the opening lap and cut across the track in front of Alex Martin, who was dumped to the ground and dropped back to 10th. Musquin survived the shunt and eventually took over the lead from Hampshire.
Jeremy Martin and Webb were on the move toward the front after each man got a top-six start. Webb, who has shown impressive speed since rejoining the series after missing four rounds with an ankle injury, was able to pass Martin and set his sights on leader Musquin. Just as that happened, Musquin’s race came off the rails when he crashed hard on lap two. Musquin was slow in getting back underway, eventually re-entering the race in 10th place. Musquin’s misfortune handed the lead back to Hampshire, but the hard-charging Webb shot past Hampshire on the next lap, bringing Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy with him. Webb then opened a multiple-second lead that remained through the entirety of the moto, winning the race by 1.86 seconds. Savatgy eventually was forced to deal with pressure from Martin, but Martin could not pass Savatgy and had to settle for third place in the moto. Alex Martin recovered to finish fourth, with Hampshire fifth. Musquin endured more misfortune and eventually finished eighth, losing valuable championship points.
Needing a win to have a shot at the overall win, Martin grabbed the Motosport.com Holeshot Award ahead of Webb and Savatgy in Moto 2, setting a comfortable lead, while Webb settled into second place. The lead duo checked out on the field, leaving the battle for third between Savatgy and Musquin with Musquin moving into third place on lap four.
Martin decimated the field with a wire-to-wire moto win, 25.182 seconds ahead of Webb. Musquin finished third, with Savatgy fourth and GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith recording a career-best finish in fifth.
Webb’s 1-2 moto finishes edged out Martin’s 3-1 effort, with Webb becoming the first rider other than Martin or Musquin to claim an overall victory this season. It was the second overall victory of his career. Savatgy finished third (2-4), while Musquin’s podium effort in the final moto landed him fourth (8-3).
“The day went really good for me. I just felt solid all day,” Webb said. “I didn’t get a great start in the first moto, but I was able to make some passes and pull away once I got into the lead. I got a better start in the second moto, but it was behind Jeremy [Martin], and I know he was motivated [to win]. I knew 1-2 [finishes] would get the job done [for the overall] and since I’m not in the points chase it was important to play it smart.”
Martin, who entered the afternoon seven points ahead of Musquin, extended his series points lead to 19 points with four rounds remaining. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne, who finished fifth overall (7-7), sits third, 108 points back.
Martin missed out on the win at his parents’ track, but still extended his points lead.Photo: Simon CudbyMartin missed out on the win at his parents’ track, but still extended his points lead.
“The day started off really good,” Martin said. “It’s always nice to be home. They say home is where the heart is and that’s definitely how I feel when I’m here. The first moto was good, but I missed a shift and that allowed them to gap me. Then a bolt came out of my clutch so I had to learn how to ride without it. It took some time for me to figure it out, but I put in a push on the last lap where we just missed out on second. In the second moto I got the start I needed and was able to just ride my own race and pull away.”
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next Saturday, July 25, with the Peterson CAT Washougal National. Washougal MX Park in Washougal, Washington will host the ninth stop of the 12-round championship.
2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National
Spring Creek MX Park
Millville, Minnesota
Results: July 18, 2015 (Round 8 of 12)
450cc Overall
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM/1-1
2. Justin Barcia-Yam/2-2
3. Blake Baggett-Suz/4-3
4. Ken Roczen-Suz/3-4
5. Jason Anderson-Hus/6-6
6. Broc Tickle-Suz/5-7
7. Fredrik Noren-Hon/8-5
8. Christophe Pourcel-Hus/9-8
9. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/7-10
10. Josh Grant-Kaw/10-9
2015 Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Point Standings (After 8 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-353/3 wins
2. Ken Roczen-297/1 win
3. Justin Barcia-284/2 wins
4. Blake Baggett-250
5. Jason Anderson-227
6. Broc Tickle-220
7. Christophe Pourcel-211
8. Phil Nicoletti-176
9. Weston Peick-171
10. Fredrik Noren-161
250cc Overall
1. Cooper Webb-Yam/1-2
2. Jeremy Martin-Yam/3-1
3. Joey Savatgy-Kaw/2-4
4. Marvin Musquin-KTM/8-3
5. Zach Osborne-Hus/7-7
6. Aaron Plessinger-Yam/6-9
7. Jordon Smith-Hon/12-5
8. Shane McElrath-KTM/11-6
9. RJ Hampshire-Hon/5-12
10. Alex Martin-Yam/4-14
2015 Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Point Standings (After 8 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-343/4 wins
2. Marvin Musquin-324/3 wins
3. Zach Osborne-235
4. Joey Savatgy-231
5. Alex Martin-213
6. Jessy Nelson-205
7. Adam Cianciarulo-178
8. Aaron Plessinger-169
9. Matt Bisceglia-163
10. Jordon Smith-157
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