The 2013 class champions finished off their seasons in grand style by taking overall wins at the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season finale
With Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac wrapping up Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship titles in their respective classes, there was little to play for at the final round of the 2013 series rolled into Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park today.
Of course, that didn’t stop either man from finishing the year with another overall win to add to his resume. Villopoto did it the same way he had at the previous two rounds, with a clean 1-1 moto sweep of the 450cc class to land his eighth overall win in the 12-round series. Not that he needed the help, but Tomac got plenty as a crash by first-moto winner Ken Roczen and a penalty incurred by race-long leader Blake Baggett in moto two facilitated Tomac’s seventh overall win of the season in the 250cc class. For Villopoto, who charged as hard at Lake Elsinore as he did when sewing up the title last weekend in Tooele, Utah, his win at the final race of the season still had meaning.
“It means a great year,” Villopoto said. “We had a hell of a year in supercross, and we came outdoors to try to win back our championship that we had gotten in 2011. We were able to do it, but not without a fight. It’s a long season. It’s a hard fight. So to have a great team behind me, and great sponsors, I can’t thank everybody enough.”
The action on the track was far from lame-duck, too. Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha’s Josh Grant pulled the Motorcycle Superstore holeshot in the first 450cc moto, immediately followed by Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia, Canadian National Motocross Champion Brett Metcalfe, Villopoto, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Malcolm Stewart.
Grant tried to pull away while Villopoto had to pick his way past Barcia and Dungey on the deep, rutted Lake Elsinore track, but Villopoto quickly settled into a comfortable pace and cut the gap between himself and Grant on lap five as he ran his fastest lap of the race, 2 minutes, 8.393 seconds. When Grant drifted wide in a right-hand turn after landing off the side of one of the track’s big double jumps, Villpoto moved into the lead and quickly set sail toward the finish line.
In the meantime, Dungey had worked his way into third place and was pulling clear of Honda teammates Barcia and Trey Canard. Dungey tracked down Grant with three laps to go and pulled to the inside of Grant just after the Parts Unlimited jump to take over second place with two laps to go.
Villopoto was not to be denied the moto win, however, as he took the checkered flag with a massive 27.057-second margin of victory over Dungey. Grant held on for third place another 12.5 seconds behind Dungey, with Canard overtaking Barcia for fourth place.
“The top guys in this class always have drive, and they’re always there, so for myself I always have to make sure that I have good weekends and good races every time we go racing,” Villopoto said. “I can’t thank everybody Monster Energy Kawasaki enough. We have put a lot of hard work in this year and, you know, it has really paid off.”
Another JGR Yamaha rider, Justin Brayton pulled off the Motorcycle Superstore holeshot to start moto two, but Villopoto blew past Brayton before the lap was half over, as did Barcia, who just missed out on a chance to overtake the injured James Stewart and win the Motorcycle Superstore $25,000 season bonus. Dungey made his way past Brayton into third place, with Malcolm Stewart rounding out the top five. Stewart then endo’d in the off-road truck section of the track and lost several positions before remounting.
While Villopoto once again checked out, Barcia and Dungey, who will be Team USA teammates at the 2013 Motocross of Nations in Germany next month, battled for second place. Just as he did with Grant in the first moto, Dungey used the inside line after the Parts Unlimited jump to pass for second place, sealing the deal by railing the outside berm in the next right-hand turn.
Villopoto once again cruised out front, earning his fourth consecutive overall win with a 19.001-second margin of victory over Dungey, whose 2-2 scores clinched second overall. While Barcia dropped off Dungey’s pace and finished 45 seconds behind Villopoto, his second-moto third-place finish combined with his first-moto fifth-place finish to clinch third overall. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer appeared to have an inspired final moto of the season, as he finished fourth ahead of MotoConcepts Suzuki’s Mike Alessi. That result, combined with his eighth-place finish in moto one, allowed Weimer to match the season-best fourth overall finishes that he earned at at round eight in Washougal, Washington, and round 10 in Unadilla, New York.
GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne grabbed the Motorcycle Superstore holeshot in the first 250cc moto, but Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen wasted no time in rushing to the front before the field hit the third turn. Tomac, meanwhile struggled to find his rhythm early in the moto, and he wound up taking two off-track excursion while running in third place. As Roczen streaked away to win the first moto by 11.52 seconds, Tomac got his act together and ran down MyPlash/Metal Militia Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin to take over second place on lap 14. Martin was third, followed by his rookie teammate Cooper Webb, with Osborne finishing fifth some 44 seconds behind Roczen at the finish.
As he is the son of former NHRA Pro Stock drag racer Mark Osborne, perhaps it should come as no surprise hat Osborne nailed the holeshot again in moto two. A flailing Blake Baggett stuck his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki into second place briefly but then fell in behind GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle and Webb, with first-moto winner Roczen in fifth. Webb would pass Osborne for the lead early on lap one while Baggett and Roczen battled back and forth for third place behind Osborne. Roczen then tagged the back of Osborne’s bike and crashed in a right-hand turn, dropping him down in the running order.
Baggett dispatched Osborne and made a close-quarter pass on Webb stick while the two went over the Lucas Oil finish line jump to start lap two. From there, Baggett attempted to check out while Tomac moving past Webb for second place. Tomac never did pass Baggett for the lead on the track, but Baggett was docked one race position for ignoring a waving medical flag and clearing a jump about five laps from the finish of the race. Baggett’s penalty meant that Tomac was awareded the moto win, although it wouldn’t have mattered as Tomac’s 2-2 score would have already secured the overall thanks to moto-one winner Roczen’s crash and disappointing seventh-place finish in moto two. Roczen’s 1-7 was still good enough for second overall, ahead of Webb’s 4-3, which netted third overall. Martin (4-3) and Osborne (3-5) completed the top five overall.
“I saw Kenny (Roczen) go down in the first lap, somewhere at the start, so I knew I just had to stay up front because he was the guy to beat,” Tomac said. “Today, I think, was the hottest round of the year, and I wanted to push it a little more, but I almost had to conserve a little bit. The track, for me, wasn’t flowing like I wanted it to, but I can’t complain. I came out of here safe, won the championship and won today’s overall. This year has just been incredible.”
Lake Elsinore Motocross Park
Lake Elsinore, California
Results: August 24, 2013
Round 12 of 12
450cc
1. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw/1-1
2. Ryan Dungey-KTM/2-2
3. Justin Barcia-Hon/5-3
4. Jake Weimer-Kaw/8-4
5. Tyla Rattray-Kaw/7-6
6. Trey Canard-Hon/4-10
7. Mike Alessi-Suz/12-5
8. Brett Metcalfe-Kaw/10-8
9. Andrew Short-KTM/6-12
10. Brock Tickle-Suz/11-11
450cc Final Points Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto-563
2. Ryan Dungey-507
3. Justin Barcia-411
4. Trey Canard-332
5. James Stewart-289
6. Jake Weimer-275
7. Andrew Short-262
8. Broc Tickle-236
9. Mike Alessi-229
10. Josh Grant-228
250cc
1. Eli Tomac-Hon/2-1
2. Ken Roczen-KTM/1-7
3. Cooper Webb-Yam/4-3
4. Jeremy Martin-Yam/3-5
5. Zach Osborne-Hon/5-4
6. Wil Hahn-Hon/6-6
7. Marvin Musquin-KTM/9-10
8. Justn Bogle-Hon/8-11
9. Blake Baggett-Kaw/33-2
10. Martin Davalos-Kaw/11-9
250cc Final Points Standings
1. Eli Tomac-552
2. Ken Roczen-493
3. Marvin Musquin-411
4. Blake Baggett-395
5. Zach Osborne-356
6. Jeremy Martin-300
7. Justin Bogle-291
8. Jason Anderson-260
9. Cooper Webb-255
10. Kyle Cunningham-228
Your Privacy Choices