Eli Tomac dominates the 450cc ranks again, and Marvin Musquin does the same in the 250cc class at round two of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Following last weekend’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series opener, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey predicted that he and others would likely have a lot more for GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac, who ran away to a 1-1 sweep of the Go Pro Hangtown Motocross Classic.
But somehow we don’t think that cutting a minute off of Tomac’s ridiculous second-moto margin of victory at Hangtown to lose by “only” 23 seconds in the second moto at today’s FMF Glen Helen National was the kind of progress that Dungey had in mind. Because whether it was a minute and a half or just under a half a minute, Tomac still finished out front at Glen Helen Raceway today, claiming his second overall win of the season by posting another two clean moto wins to up his record to 4-0. In the 250cc class, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin also scored a 1-1- sweep and took full advantage of a wacky day of misfortune suffered by defending class champion Jeremy Martin to move into sole possession of the 250cc class point lead.
450cc
Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia surprised the large crowd in attendance by claiming the Motosport.com Holeshot Award ahead of teammate Phil Nicoletti at the start of moto one, with both Tomac and Dungey getting clean starts to run near the front of the pack. Despite feeling much better than he had one week ago when he struggled with a back injury, defending series champion Ken Roczen’s day got off to a bad start when he crashed early on the first lap and remounted his RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki at the rear of the field.
Nicoletti and Barcia traded the lead during lap one, with Barcia staying out front on lap two, only to yield to Dungey on lap three. Tomac made his way into second place, and he and Dungey opened up a huge advantage over the field, setting up what fans anticipated to be a titanic battle for the moto win. But just when it seemed as though Tomac and Dungey were really going to ratchet up the heat, Dungey’s bike stalled on lap seven. Instead of having to fight for it, Tomac made an easy pass for the lead. Dungey was able to get his bike restarted, but he lost more time and numerous positions to Tomac after stalling again on the final lap. Tomac cruised to his third consecutive moto win of the year, crossing the finish line 37.6 seconds ahead of Barcia. Nicoletti finished a career best third. Dungey finished a disappointing sixth, behind Tomac, Barcia, Nicoletti, Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki’s Chad Reed and AutoTrader/Toyota/Yamaha’s Weston Peick.
Tomac held an even tighter grip on moto two as he earned his second Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season. Dungey was right behind Tomac, giving himself another chance to prove that he could mount a real challenge to the Coloradoan and snag a moto win. Dungey stayed close to Tomac during the first few laps, but Tomac once again set a blistering pace, and he soon began to leave Dungey in his wake early in the moto.
Dungey maintained a fair gap over third-placed Roczen, who had gotten off to a much better start in the second moto and was able to outrun the solid-riding Barcia. Tomac took the checkered flag with 23.426 seconds in hand over Dungey. Roczen was third, followed by Barcia and Peick.
Tomac’s 1-1 performance left little doubt that his Hangtown overall win was a fluke, and he claimed his his third career 450cc overall victory. Barcia also had a strong day, tying his career-best 450cc outdoor finish by coming in second overall (2-4). Dungey’s second-moto runner-up was still good enough to land him third overall (6-2) despite his first moto issues. Afterward, Tomac said that he is feeling really comfortable early in the season.
“I’ve never been in this position before [feeling comfortable] this early in the season where I feel like I’m one with the bike,” Tomac said. “The motorcycle is just really easy to ride right now. I’ve improved my starts a whole lot, and that’s been huge for me. I battled with Ryan [Dungey] there for a while in the first moto, and he stalled his bike, which made it a little easier [to make the pass and win]. In moto two, I just ripped the holeshot and had fun.”
Barcia’s finish showed that he still has the potential to be a strong contender for the title.
“My aim is to just be up here every week, fighting for positions,” Barcia said.
Dungey said that while third place overall is no reason to worry, he came to win.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Dungey said. “The bike wanted to shut off in the first moto, and it kept getting worse and worse before it eventually did. In the second moto we just wanted to focus on a good finish, so I got a good start and just followed Eli. We made up some ground from last week and we’ll keep working at it.”
Tomac’s perfect start to the season now has him 19 points ahead of Dungey, 100-81, in the Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship standings. Peick, fifth overall at Glen Helen, is third, with 64 points.
250cc
Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin looked strong early in the day as he claimed Bud Light Fastest Qualifier honors, but when the field took to the gate for the start of the first 250cc moto, the defending class champion was still stranded back in the pits while his factory mechanics feverishly worked to get his motorcycle to start. The team only just managed to fix Martin’s bike as the field left the starting gate, forcing Martin to scramble through the pits and out onto the track well after the rest of the pack—save for start-straight crasher Adam Cianciarulo—had rounded the Talladega turn.
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson earned the Motosport.com Holeshot Award with Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin right on Nelson’s tail, and the two KTM men distanced themselves from the rest of the field throughout the first half of the moto. Musquin pressured Nelson for much of the race, but Nelson refused to yield the lead. Musquin finally made a pass for the lead on lap six, and he immediately pulled away from Nelson.
Nelson then fell under attack by Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy and Red Bull KTM’s Justin Hill. Hill passed Savatgy for third on lap 11 and then got by Nelson for second in lap 12. Savatgy would also get past Nelson to take over third place, dropping the early race leader from podium contention. Musquin took the win about 6.2 seconds ahead of Hill, who scored a career-best runner-up moto finish. Savatgy finished third another 3 seconds behind Hill.
But many eyes were on Jeremy Martin throughout the entire first moto. Martin was relentless in his drive toward the front of the field. He rode like a madman for the entire moto, and it paid off with a fine fifth-place finish. If not for the first-moto bike issues, he may well have been in contention for the win.
So when Martin got off to a strong start, just behind early leader Musquin, Nelson and brother Alex Martin of the CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha team, it appeared as if his fortunes in the second moto would be much better than the first. However, contact with GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia left Martin on the ground and his Yamaha trapped under Bisceglia’s Honda. Before Martin could get back underway, the entire field went by him. Again.
This time it was another Martin, Alex Martin, who held the lead and battled with Nelson and Musquin. However, Musquin passed Alex Martin on lap two and pulled well clear of the field after that. With Musquin way out front, Martin continued to defend second place while Nelson battled with his teammate Shane McElrath for third.
Musquin took the win 6.612 seconds over Alex Martin, who enjoyed a career-best moto finish in second. Nelson was once again thwarted in his attempt to score a moto podium finish as McElrath posted a career-best third place in moto two after making a last-lap pass on Nelson.
“I always like racing at Glen Helen,” Musquin said. “I remember coming here for the first time for the [FIM] USGP and won both motos. It’s great to do it again in the U.S. [AMA] Championship. The track was great and I really enjoyed it out there. The first moto was a great battle with Jessy [Nelson], and I finally was able to get the lead and win the moto. In the second moto I got a great start but made a little mistake early, but I recovered and got back out front. That allowed me to ride my own race.”
Although he failed to land on the podium, Jeremy Martin was nevertheless impressive as he climbed through the field to finish sixth in moto two. While his seventh overall finish would cost him the series point lead, he could be a whole lot worse than just 19 points behind Musquin.
Musquin’s sweep does, however, move him into sole possession of the 250cc class point lead. He is now 19 points ahead of Jeremy Martin. Alex Martin is now third in the points, 32 behind Musquin.
Hill finished a career-best second overall via 2-5 moto finishes, and Nelson failed to finish on the podium in either moto but still matched his best career overall finish, third overall (4-4). It marked the first time in history that the KTM brand swept the overall podium.
The 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next Saturday, May 30, with the True Value Thunder Valley National from Lakewood, Colorado.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
FMF Glen Helen National
Glen Helen Raceway
San Bernardino, California
Results: May 23, 2015 (Round 2 of 12)
450cc
1. Eli Tomac-Hon/1-1
2. Justin Barcia-Yam/2-4
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM/6-2
4. Ken Roczen-Suz/8-3
5. Weston Peick-Yam/5-6
6. Chad Reed-Kaw/4-8
7. Blake Baggett-Suz/7-7
8. Christophe Pourcel-Hus/9-10
9. Cole Seely-Hon/14-9
10. Jason Anderson-Hus/38-5
Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Point Standings (After 2 of 12 rounds)
1. Eli Tomac-100/4 moto wins/2 overall wins
2. Ryan Dungey-81
3. Weston Peick-64
4. Blake Baggett-61
5. Justin Barcia-58
6. Ken Roczen-51
7. Jason Anderson-50
8. Christophe Pourcel-48
9. Chad Reed-46
10. Broc Tickle-43
250cc
1. Marvin Musquin-KTM/1-1
2. Justin Hill-KTM/2-5
3. Jessy Nelson-KTM/4-4
4. Joey Savatgy-Kaw/3-7
5. Alex Martin-Yam/11-2
6. Shane McElrath-KTM/9-3
7. Jeremy Martin-Yam/5-6
8. Matt Bisceglia-Hon/6-11
9. Kyle Peters-Hon/7-12
10. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw/12-10
Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Point Standings (After 2 of 12 rounds)
1. Marvin Musquin-97/3 moto wins/1 overall win
2. Jeremy Martin-78/1 moto win/1 overall win
3. Alex Martin-65
4. Joey Savatgy-58
5. Justin Hill-52
6. Chris Alldredge-49
7. Jessy Nelson-46
8. Matt Bisceglia-45
9. Shane McElrath-44
10. Adam Cianciarulo-42
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