Marvin Musquin wins in a jumbled 250cc class, and Ryan Dungey’s 450cc title hopes get stuck in the Indiana mud.
On a rain-soaked Ironman Raceway track that practically guaranteed an unpredictable turn of events, Yamalube/STAR Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin lost the battle but won the war in the 250cc class today to earn his first career Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship crown in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
As he has all season, the 21-year-old Martin displayed the maturity as well as the verve to get the job done on a quagmire track that claimed many a rider. What was supposed to be a test of speed turned out to be a battle for survival, and Martin handled the swampy track conditions well to post a runner-up finish in the first 250cc moto, behind surprise moto winner Jessy Nelson of the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda team. With rivals Blake Baggett and Cooper Webb finishing behind him, Martin gained enough points to clinch the championship three motos early.
“It was a big mental rollercoaster,” Martin said of his ride to the title. “Like I said, I was at my lowest point in supercross, and I just kept pushing and kept pushing and never gave up. To be able to have the number one plate is a dream come true. I’ve been thinking of how good it would feel to hear Kevin [Crowther] from the AMA to be passing on the number one plate to me. This is the greatest moment of my life.”
Track conditions may have played a huge part in what turned out to be a tremendous momentum shift back toward series point leader Ken Roczen of Germany. The Red Bull KTM rider no doubt has a lot of experience in wet conditions, thanks to his years spent racing in the FIM Motocross World Championship, and he used that experience to score a crucial overall win via 1-2 moto scores. If that wasn’t enough, teammate Ryan Dungey floundered in the Indiana mud, suffering horrible starts that left him playing catch-up in both motos. Dungey was able to limit Roczen’s points gain by finishing second to him in Moto 1, but Moto 2 was a complete disaster for Dungey, as he was mired around 10th place for most of the race and wound up a disappointing ninth at the finish.
The net result was a huge points swing for Roczen. The German saw his advantage go from seven points to 20 points with just one round of the series remaining. The title would seem to be all but assured for Roczen, although it certainly isn’t a given. Time will tell whether or not Roczen, who is being strongly linked to the Yoshimura Suzuki team for 2015, will be wearing a number one plate aboard a yellow motorcycle next season.
450cc Moto 1
Roczen showed that he was prepared to repel Dungey’s challenges by claiming the Motosport.com Holeshot Award in the first 450 Class moto. Roczen rounded the first turn slightly ahead of Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, who was able to keep pace with Roczen for the first half of the moto.
Dungey, meanwhile, got off to a slow start and then nearly crashed on the front straightaway—only a desperation move off the track and onto the access road that ran alongside it saved him. Dungey rejoined the race and was up to fifth at the end of lap one.
Roczen took full advantage of a clear track to pull away from Canard and the rest of the field. However, Dungey was bound and determined to close the gap on Roczen, and he caught and passed Canard, who crashed in the middle of the race and fell back to third place.
Roczen went on to win the first moto by 38 seconds over Dungey, with Canard finishing third. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac, who claimed the Oakley Bomb Fastest Qualifier Award, made a late-race pass on Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe to finish fourth. BTO Sports/KTM’s Matt Goerke was fifth.
450cc Moto 2
The roles were reversed for Canard and Roczen at the start of Moto 2, as Canard grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot and pulled away from the rest of the field, while Roczen jumped ran in second-place. While Roczen wasn’t able to match Canard’s pace, it would turn out that he didn’t have to, as Dungey was once again off to another bad start. Canard rode consistently out front and went on to earn his second moto win of the year, with Roczen finishing second to secure the overall win.
Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM’s Ryan Sipes put himself into podium contention early on with a top-three start in Moto 2. Despite a crash late in the race, Sipes was able to tap into his newfound cross-country skills to maintain a solid and consistent pace, and he would ultimately go on to finish third in the moto. BTO Sports/KTM’s Andrew Short maintained a top-five pace throughout the moto, and he challenged Sipes for third late in the race. In the end, Sipes prevailed to capture third in the moto, with Short in fourth and Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha’s Josh Grant fifth.
With the track badly deteriorated, Dungey was unable to make up any real ground on the leaders. Although his 2-9 moto scores were still good enough to net third overall, he fell 13 points farther behind Roczen in the championship standings. It will take a serious turn of fate for Dungey to make up the 20-point deficit he now faces with just two motos left to run.
“The second moto, that’s where the downfall was,” Dungey said. “It was tough in those conditions to come from behind, but no excuses though. I just got caught up in a little bit of mud, which isn’t ideal at this point in the championship. I lost some points, but I’m taking it race by race, and all I can do is the best I can every time the gate drops.”
Canard’s moto two victory marks his second win in the last three rounds, as well as the his second career moto win in the 450 Class. Canard’s 3-1 moto scores earned the Oklahoma native second overall for the day, just three points away from his first overall win.
“I’m definitely more comfortable these last two weeks,” Canard said. “Obviously last week helped, but in general I’ve just had more fun at the races the last two weeks.”
Roczen’s overall win was his fifth of the year, and his points advantage over Dungey should take some of the pressure off as the series heads to its final round in Utah, next weekend.
“I really enjoy when it rains,” Roczen said of the Indiana conditions. “It takes the edge off because most of the races it’s sunny and everyone is going for it,” Roczen said. “I think the track was overall super cool, like the layout and the entire venue. I think if it would have been dry this could be my new favorite track.”
Canard sits third in the championship standings, 76 points behind Roczen, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe fourth (-190) and Tomac jumping up all the way to fifth (-213) despite missing the first four rounds of the season with injury.
250cc Moto 1
Heading into moto one of the 250cc class, Yamalube/STAR Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin needed only nine points to claim his first career title, and the Minnesota native got off to a good start in the first moto and carried that momentum to a second-place finish, which was good enough to clinch the title one round early.
But a surprise performance was turned in by Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Jessy Nelson, who claimed the Motosport.com Holeshot and went on to lead the race from start to finish to claim the first Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship moto win of his career. Nelson set a fast pace, pulling out to a 7-second lead in the moto, but Martin was never too far behind, and with title rivals Blake Baggett and Cooper Webb having trouble in the mud, Martin did what he came to do—claim the championship.
The KTM trio of Joey Savatgy (Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM), Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) and Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy KTM) filled out the top five. Among Martin’s would-be title contenders, Webb finished sixth, while Baggett was way back in 14th place.
250cc Moto 2
As if to prove that Moto 1 was no fluke, Nelson grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot in moto two. However, this time the young Honda rider had more company early in the racem as the Rockstar Energy Racing KTM duo of Savatgy and Anderson also got off to good starts, along with Frenchmen Marvin Musquin and Christophe Pourcel.
Nelson made a mistake and had a minor tipover in a turn, and that allowed Savatgy to catch him and take over the lead. Nelson would then fall back into the pack, eventually finishing eighth. In the meantime, Musquin seriously picked up his pace and was soon challenging Savatgy for the lead.
It wasn’t long before Musquin made his way past Savatgy, with Pourcel coming along with him. Pourcel then pressured Musquin, but Musquin was able to maintain a solid advantage and go on to claim his second overall win of the season. Pourcel finished second, and Savatgy was third. Musquin’s 3-1 finishes cinched the overall ahead of Savatgy, who went 4-3 for second overall. Despite his eighth-place finish in Moto 2, Nelson still wound up third overall.
“I think my technique worked pretty good today,” Musquin said. “I’ve been in the U.S. for a couple years now and I’ve never really raced in the mud here. I was just trying to be smooth and smart but when you’re on the track it’s so easy to make a mistake, it’s tough but that’s part of the racing.”
The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship hosts the final round of the championship next Saturday, August 23, with the 12th and final round of the season, the second annual Utah National.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Thor Indiana National
Ironman Raceway
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Results: August 16, 2014 (Round 11 of 12)
450cc
1. Ken Roczen-KTM/1-2
2. Trey Canard-Hon/3-1
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM/2-9
4. Ryan Sipes-KTM/10-3
5. Andrew Short-KTM/8-4
6. Chad Reed-Kaw/7-6
7. Eli Tomac-Hon/4-10
8. Josh Grant-Yam/12-5
9. Fredrik Noren-Hon/9-8
10. Matt Goerke-KTM/6-11
Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (After 11 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen-494/5 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-474/4 wins
3. Trey Canard-418
4. Brett Metcalfe-304
5. Eli Tomac-281/1 win
6. Andrew Short-278
7. Weston Peick-268
8. Josh Grant-243
9. James Stewart-226/1 win
10. Chad Reed-185
250cc
1. Marvin Musquin-KTM/3-1
2. Joey Savatgy-KTM/4-3
3. Jessy Nelson-Hon/1-8
4. Christophe Pourcel-Yam/9-2
5. Cooper Webb-Yam/6-5
6. Dean Wilson-Kaw/8-6
7. Alex Martin-Yam/7-7
8. Jeremy Martin-Yam/2-15
9. Jason Anderson-KTM/5-10
10. Blake Baggett-Kaw/14-4
Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (After 11 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-450/4 wins
2. Blake Baggett-381/3 wins
3. Cooper Webb-379/1 win
4. Marvin Musquin-374/2 wins
5. Christophe Pourcel-355/1 win
6. Justin Bogle-331
7. Jason Anderson-270
8. Cole Seely-244
9. Jessy Nelson-238
10. Dean Wilson-204
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