Ryan Dungey and Jeremy Martin both claim back-to-back Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship wins when the series rolls into Muddy Creek Raceway.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey landed his second consecutive overall win of 2015 when the AMA motocross circus rolled into Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennesee, for round four of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship yesterday.
With the news that GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac will miss the rest of the 2015 season after undergoing surgery to repair shoulder injuries suffered in his second-moto crash at the True Value Thunder Valley National in Colorado, last weekend, it’s as if the championship has effectively been reset, and two-time former series champion Dungey wanted to take full advantage of it and add to the points lead that he inherited by winning in Colorado after Tomac’s untimely exit. That’s just what he did, taking his second win in a row after putting in consistent 1-2 moto performances. In the 250cc class, defending champion and current points leader Jeremy Martin bagged his third win of the after going 2-1 aboard his Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha.
450cc
Dungey’s desire to capitalize on the momentum he gained with last weekend’s win is understandable enough, as defending Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Champion and RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki rider Ken Roczen continues to get stronger and faster after starting the season with a debilitating back injury. The two were separated by just .07 of second in the battle for the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier award, which fell to Dungey.
However, Dungey struggled at the start of the first moto when he made contact with another rider and nearly hit the deck. He was able to save it, but the mishap dropped him outside the top five. Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia took the Motosport.com Holeshot Award just ahead of his teammate Phil Nicoletti, only crash on the opening lap and had the lead over to Nicoletti. That moved Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson into second place while Dungey made quick moves to move into third while the field was still sorting itself. Dungey then passed Anderson on lap one and got by leader Nicoletti on lap two before consistently pulling away to just his second moto win of the season.
After losing a position to Dungey, Anderson was able to reclaim the runner-up spot from Nicoletti on lap three, and Nicoletti soon began to reeled-in by Roczen, who was charging after starting outside the top five. Roczen made the pass on Nicoletti for third on lap four and stuck within a couple bike lengths of Anderson for several laps. Anderson was able to hold off Roczen for second place while Dungey took his second consecutive moto win by 27.595 seconds over Anderson, who earned a career-best moto finish, with Roczen third.
Roczen got out of the blocks quicker in the second moto, earning his first Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season ahead of Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely, Barcia and Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett. Once again, Dungey did not get the best of starts, and he outside the top 10 when the field rounded turn one.
Roczen built a comfortable lead early, while Seely, Barcia and Baggett jockeyed for the remaining podium positions. Dungey impressively overcame his tough start to surge into the top five on the opening lap. Barcia then went off track while battling with Seely, causing the Yamaha man to lose several positions. Barcia;s mistake advanced both Baggett and Dungey one position. Dungey then pressured Baggett and made the pass for third, setting his sights on Seely for second.
With a clear track ahead of him, Roczen had a fairly simple time of it while Seely and Dungey battled for second for several laps. Eventually Dungey got past Seely and moved into the runner-up spot on lap four. Dungey continued to charge, shaving about 5 seconds out of the 10-second lead that Roczen had built. Then a light rain began to dampen the track, and Dungey went down while dealing with lapped traffic. Roczen went on to earn his first moto win of the season, 8.895 seconds ahead of Dungey. Baggett rode to a solid third-place finish.
Dungey’s runner-up finish in moto two meant the difference between winning and losing the overall, as his 1-2 finishes bested Roczen’s 3-1. Anderson’s 2-4 scores gave him third overall. The win marked the the 40th of Dungey’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship career when combining both his 250cc and 450cc victories
“I spun the tire off the start [in the second moto] and that was all it took to put us in that position,” Dungey said. “I played catch up and was gaining [on Ken Roczen] but then a lapper got in the way and I went down. But that’s racing and like I said, we put in a hard charge all things considered and got second [in the moto], which was good enough for the overall win. We put in two hard motos today and that’s what counts. We’ve got to keep pushing, there’s a lot of racing left and we need to give each moto our all.”
Dungey was able to extend his lead in the 450 Class standings to 37 points over Roczen, who moved from third to second with his runner-up effort. Baggett, who finished fourth overall via 5-3 scores. Baggett now sits third in the 450cc standings, 40 points behind Dungey.
250cc
Martin earned the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier award in the 250cc class, but Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin took the early lead ahead of Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo, with Martin fourth.
Cianciarulo passed Nelson for second and tried to take the fight to Musquin, but the KTM rider soon pulled clear of the field as he set a fast pace. Cianciarulo and Nelson stayed within a few bike lengths of one another for the bulk of the moto, with Martin also in the mix. Martin then picked up the pace and, after a brief battle with Nelson, took over third place on lap 10. Just a couple laps later, Cianciarulo lost control of his bike coming out of a turn and went down, handing second place to Martin. Nelson moved into third place, and Cianciarulo remounted in fourth, although he would fall to fifth, behind teammate Joey Savatgy. Musquin led every lap to capture his fourth moto win of the season by 18.401 seconds over Martin. Nelson rounded out the podium in third.
Nelson edged out Martin and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger for the holeshot in moto two. As the field rounded the second corner, Plessinger used an outside line to his advantage to take the lead in an AMA National moto for the first time in his professional career. Musquin, meanwhile, saw his hopes for the overall win take hit when he was struck from behind and went crashed, allowing the entire field to go by him.
Out front, the rookie Plessinger opened a 3+-second lead over Nelson and Martin, the latter finally making a move for second place on lap three. Martin then ran down Plessinger for the lead four laps later. Plessinger would also lose track positions to Nelson and Cianciarulo, among others, dropping back to seventh. Martin took his fourth moto win of the season by 5.990 seconds over Nelson with Cianciarulo third. Musquin recovered from his early moto crash to come back up to fourth place, minimizing the points he lost to Martin, whose 2-1 effort was good enough for a second straight overall win and a third victory in the four races run so far this season. Martin also became the third different 250cc class winner in three years at Muddy Creek Raceway.
“I got a better start [in Moto 2] and was able to be more aggressive in the beginning, and that really helped,” Martin said. “It was a good day. Last year I think I went 10-6 for sixth overall, but this year I went 2-1 for first overall, so I couldn’t be happier. I’m enjoying racing right now and things are going great.”
Musquin’s resiliency in the final moto allowed him to secure second overall (1-4), while Nelson landed on the overall podium in third (3-2) for the second time this season.
“I maybe put myself in a bad position in the second moto because I didn’t expect to crash like I did,” Musquin said. “I know I impressed some people with my comeback, but I’d rather not impress anybody and get second or first [in the moto]. I’m still happy with the finish. I gave it 100 percent in the moto, and we still were on the podium even though we had the crash on the first lap. When you look at all that, fourth in the moto wasn’t too bad.”
Martin’s win allowed him to maintain control of the 250 Class standings, where he currently holds a six-point lead over Musquin. Nelson continues to hold on to third, 53 points back.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Red Bull Tennessee National
Muddy Creek Raceway
Blountville, Tennessee
Results: June 6, 2015 (Round 4 of 12)
450cc
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM/1-2
2. Ken Roczen-Suz/3-1
3. Jason Anderson-Hus/2-4
4. Blake Baggett-Suz/5-3
5. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/4-9
6. Cole Seely-Hon/8-5
7. Broc Tickle-Suz/7-7
8. Justin Barcia-Yam/9-6
9. Weston Peick-Yam/6-11
10. Justin Brayton-KTM/11-8
Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Point Standings (After 4 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-175/2 moto wins/2 overall wins
2. Ken Roczen-/1 moto win
3. Blake Baggett-135
4. Eli Tomac-125/5 moto wins/2 overall wins
5. Justin Barcia-114
6. Jason Anderson-112
7. Weston Peick-104
8. Broc Tickle-103
9. Phil Nicoletti-92
10. Cole Seely-79
250cc
1. Jeremy Martin-Yam/2-1
2. Marvin Musquin-KTM/1-4
3. Jessy Nelson-KTM/3-2
4. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw/5-3
5. Joey Savatgy-4-11
6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (8-7)
7. Chris Alldredge, Powell Butte, Ore., Kawasaki (7-8)
8. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (11-5)
9. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (9-9)
10. Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Honda (6-13)
Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Point Standings (After 4 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-175/4 moto wins/3 overall wins
2. Marvin Musquin-169/4 moto wins/1 overall win
3. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles-122
4. Adam Cianciarulo-112
5. Joey Savatgy-100
6. Zach Osborne- 91
7. Chris Alldredge-89
8. Shane McElrath-87
9. Matt Bisceglia-87
10. RJ Hampshire-85
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