Jeremy Martin successfully defended his Lucas Oil 250cc Motocross Championship after Marvin Musquin suffers a rare bike failure.
Anticipation was high for a thrilling Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship showdown between Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin at the series finale Bud Light Ironman National, but when all was said and done, the drama that took place ended their season-long title battle prematurely.
Martin became the first rider since Ryan Villopoto to hoist the Gary Jones Cup as AMA 250cc National Champion in consecutive seasons, while his rookie teammate Aaron Plessinger broke through for the first overall win of his career. On the same day, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey rode to his fifth consecutive 450cc overall win despite having already clinched his third career Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship at the previous round in Utah.
But the Ironman round was a nightmare come true for Dungey’s Red Bull KTM teammate, Marvin Musquin, who was hoping to become the first French rider ever to win the Lucas Oil 250cc title. Musquin, the defending Bud Light Ironman 250cc Champion, trailed Martin by just two points coming into Indiana, and confidence was high that he could erase the deficit and wrest the title away from Martin. Musqin was doing his job in the first moto, getting off to a great start to run just ahead of Martin in the first moto. Then, disaster struck.
250cc
Martin edged out Musquin to earn the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier Award in the 250cc class, but when the gate dropped to start the first 250cc moto, GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia charged into the lead ahead of Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb. Webb quickly took over the point position.
Webb moved out to a comfortable lead over the Bisceglia while GEICO Honda rider RJ Hampshire moved into third. Martin moved into third place on lap three took over second place three laps later, but by then Webb had moved out to a huge lead. Meanwhile, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger fought his way from a seventh-place start up to third place on lap six, and he moved up to pass Martin for second on lap nine.
Webb’s once-comfortable lead diminished in the late stages of the moto as Plessinger closed in, while Martin continued to lose ground and soon fell into the clutches of Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson. Plessinger moved onto Webb’s rear fender and sat within a few bike lengths throughout the closing laps, but was ultimately unable to make the pass. Webb took the win 1.885 seconds ahead of his teammate, with Martin eventually losing third to Nelson and settling for fourth.
Despite being unable to clinch the title in the first moto, Martin entered the final race of the season with a 20-point lead on Musquin, meaning he needed to finish 15th or better if Musquin won the race. Nelson beat Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy through the first turn to claim the Motosport.com Holeshot Award. In need of a win and a complete reversal of the luck he had experienced in the first moto, Musquin ran inside the top 10 while Martin, who crashed early in the race, ran outside the top 20. Webb was also mired deep in the field and ended up crashing out of the race on the first lap.
Plessinger was once again on a march to the front after starting sixth. He was up to third by lap two, and he quickly began to pressure Savatgy for second. As the two riders battle for the spot Nelson, who had opened up a gap out front, crashed out of the lead on lap four. Savatgy assumed the top spot but Plessinger passed him for the lead on lap seven.
Once out front, Plessinger to take the first Lucas Oil Pro moto win of his career, building a 10.7-second margin of victory over Savatgy. Musquin salvaged his afternoon with an impressive ride to third-place, but Martin did what he needed to do to capture the title, overcoming his early trouble to cross the finish in ninth.
When the overall results were tallied, Plessinger’s 2-1 effort made him the 77th different winner in 250cc class history and the second first-time winner of the 2015 season. He also became the third Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha rider to stand atop the podium in the 250cc class, joinng teammates Martin and Webb as an overall winner.
“This is amazing,” Plessinger said. “I only live about two-and-a-half hours from here [in Ohio]. I was able to charge hard in both motos and it ended out working really well for me in the end. Today was a great learning experience. I’m just a rookie but I have many years ahead of me and I’m looking forward to continue improving.”
Savatgy (5-2) finished second overall, while Nelson (3-6) was third overall.
Martin’s 4-9 effort landed him sixth overall, with Musqui’s 40-3 finishes netted 10th place overall. While only two points separated Martin and Musquin when the day began, Martin finished the season 12 points ahead of Musquin in the final points tally.
“What a crazy year,” Martin said. “Marvin [Musquin] was really strong this season and pushed me to my limit. He’s a great competitor. It was a weird summer. I’d get great starts and good finishes, but I also had trouble at times when Marvin would do well, so it was a constant battle until the end. This year was a much tougher championship to win. It was tough last year, but this was a dogfight all season long and I’m even more proud to end the year on top.”
Although he was certainly disappointed with the outcome of the title battle, Musquin, who will be moving on to the 450cc class in 2016, admitted that this was the best year of his Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship career.
“I feel like I can’t really complain,” Musquin said. “My team was fantastic all season. We came into the first moto [today] really strong, and I was ready to battle. Unfortunately my bike had a problem. It was the only time I had an issue all year long. I’ve had so much support from all the fans in America, France and throughout Europe. I kind of feel like I let everyone down, but we still had a great season.”
450cc
Fresh off his championship-winning performance last weekend, Dungey set the pace in timed practice for the 450 Class, earning the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier. When the opening moto got underway, he parlayed his top qualifying effort into the Motosport.com Holeshot Award ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christophe Pourcel. The Frenchman was able to apply pressure on Dungey throughout the opening lap and crossed the line in first. However, Dungey would respond and assume control of the moto shortly thereafter.
With the championship wrapped up, the attention in the 450 Class shifted to the battle for the runner-up spot in the final standings between Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia and RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen. Just five points separated the two, with Barcia holding the advantage. The two riders found themselves next to one another at the start the moto, battling back from starts outside the top 10 to move into seventh and eighth, respectively.
Dungey continued to pull away out front, leaving Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates Pourcel and Jason Anderson in a heated battle for second place. Barcia and Roczen were also nearing podium contention along with Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett. Anderson got the upper hand on Pourcel to take over second, and in the late stages of the moto Roczen made his way around Barcia and several other contenders to grab third. After sitting ahead of his rival in points for the majority of the moto, Barcia ended up losing several positions late in the race, and he finished seventh, which allowed Roczen to reclaim second in the points prior to the final moto.
The second moto got underway with Barcia taking the early lead, but a downed rider off the start forced a red flag and a restart. Pourcel claimed the Motosport.com Holeshot Award ahead of Barcia on the restart, but Barcia quickly moved into the lead on the opening lap. Pourcel then came under fire from both Dungey and Roczen, with Dungey making an uncharacteristic mistake by crashing, falling all the way to eighth.
Dungey’s misfortune allowed Roczen to set up a run for the lead, and after passing Pourcel he battled with Barcia for a couple laps before taking the lead on lap three. Dungey made up for lost ground and moved back inside the top five on lap four. Roczen started to open a gap over the field while Barcia was soon left to deal with a hard-charging Dungey, who made a pass on Barcia on lap seven. He gained ground on Roczen out front, but he was unable to challenge the German for the win.
Roczen took the win 6.2 seconds ahead of Dungey, who saw his six-moto winning streak come to an end. Barcia followed in third.
Dungey’s 1-2 effort put him atop the overall classification for the seventh time this season and the 45th time in his professional career. He now has yet to win at only one track on the championship schedule. Roczen completed his final race as defending champion with a second overall result (3-1). Anderson wrapped up his rookie 450cc season with his fourth podium effort, third overall (2-6).
“We were running fourth at the beginning [of Moto 2], so it’s a little tougher to take the lines you want when you aren’t out front,” Dungey said. “I hit a little bump and it caused a little tip over, so I just got back up and put my head down the rest of the moto, We were able to make up the ground we needed to get the win and end the season the way we wanted. It’s been a great year and I’m excited for what lies ahead.”
Roczen, who finished the season 100 points behind Dungey and six points ahead of Barcia, said that the Ironman track was probably one of the toughest of the year.
“It feels great to end the season this way,” said Roczen, who earned just one overall win in his first season with the Ricky Carmichael and Carey Hart-owned Suzuki team. “I knew we had the ability to get into second in the championship, and we came out here and did that. I was confident coming into the day because the bike’s been great and we did what we needed to do.”
Barcia said that it was a tough day, noting that he had a big crash in practice, which didn’t help his focus.
“No excuses,” Barcia said. “I rode as hard as I could all day long and today that put us in fourth. I’m so proud of the entire JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross] team and everything we’ve accomplished this season. It’s been a memorable year.”
Before the motos in the 450 Class and 250 Class got underway at Ironman Raceway, the inaugural Legends Race was held. A star-studded field of former winners and national champions like Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham, Jeff Emig, Jeff Stanton, Tim Ferry and more put on a show for the fans, with Carmichael coming out on top. Robbie Reynard finished second, with Ferry rounding out the podium in third.
2105 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Bud Light Ironman National
Ironman Raceway
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Results: August 22, 2015 (Round 12 of 12)
450cc Overall
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM/1-2
2. Ken Roczen-Suz/3-1
3. Jason Anderson-Hus/2-6
4. Justin Barcia-Yam/7-3
5. Christophe Pourcel-Hus/4-7
6. Trey Canard-Hon/8-5
7. Blake Baggett-Suz/6-9
8. Broc Tickle-Suz/15-4
9. Josh Grant-Kaw/10-8
10. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/11-10
2015 Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Points Standings (After 12 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-547
2. Ken Roczen-447
3. Justin Barcia-441
4. Blake Baggett-360
5. Christophe Pourcel-323
6. Jason Anderson-320
7. Broc Tickle-311
8. Phil Nicoletti-250
9. Weston Peick-223
10. Fredrik Noren-206
250cc Overall
1. Aaron Plessinger-Yam/2-1
2. Joey Savatgy-Kaw/5-2
3. Jessy Nelson-KTM/3-6
4. RJ Hampshire-Hon/8-4
5. Matt Bisceglia-Hon/6-5
6. Jeremy Martin-Yam/4-9
7. Zach Osborne-Hus/10-7
8. Christian Craig-Hon/9-8
9. Cooper Webb-Yam/1-37
10. Marvin Musquin-KTM/40-3
2015 Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Points Standings (After 12 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-491
2. Marvin Musquin-479
3. Joey Savatgy-348
4. Zach Osborne-330
5. Jessy Nelson-323
6. Aaron Plessinger-311
7. Alex Martin-288
8. Matt Bisceglia-256
9. Shane McElrath-248
10. RJ Hampshire-248
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