The 900th premier class race certainly didn’t let us down. It was a race that saw the Championship close right up with second place finisher Miller now sitting just 14 adrift of Quartararo. Rookie sensation Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is fourth, 21 points adrift, with a mere six points separating the South African and Oliveira in ninth. 25 points – a race win total – covers Quartararo down to seventh place Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Moreover, five of the six manufacturers are inside the top eight in the standings, split by 26 points – Yamaha, Ducati, KTM, Honda and Suzuki. The first three have all won this season.
Miller explained in his post-race interview how he couldn’t live with Mir’s pace, with Pol Espargaro also complimenting the speed his compatriot showed. The MotoGP™ sophomore was soaring towards a maiden premier class victory, until Maverick Viñales’ (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) huge Turn 1 crash brought out the red flags. A 12-lap sprint race followed, but Mir was at a significant disadvantage – he had no fresh Michelin front tyres left in his locker. Using the front tyre he had to pull clear of his competitors in ‘Race 1’, Mir couldn’t repeat his faultless performance after the restart. Battling the likes of Miller, who had two new soft tyres fitted, was an almost impossible task.
However, as previously mentioned, KTM won’t care. This is fantastic news for the orange army who are genuine title contenders in 2020. In the Constructors Championship, KTM are third and just six points behind leaders Yamaha, one behind Ducati. In the Team Championship, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing sit fourth, 18 off leaders Petronas Yamaha SRT, with Red Bull KTM Tech 3 seventh on 56 points.
Up front, Mir was now stretching his lead. The Spaniard, fresh from his first podium seven days ago, was gapping Miller and Nakagami and by Lap 13, Mir’s lead was up to 1.3 seconds. Miller and Nakagami were, in turn, two seconds clear of Pol Espargaro and Rins as Nakagami eventually got the better of Miller on Lap 16. The LCR man made his move at Turn 6 as he set his sights on Mir, who was two seconds up the road, but there was drama to follow in Styria.
The second of the EG 0,0 Marc VDS riders, Sam Lowes, then crashed out too in a nasty incident at Turn 3. The Brit got it horribly wrong on the brakes and wiped out the innocent Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Jorge Navarro (EG0+ Speed Up) without any warning. Lowes rejoined but was handed a black flag for his error, however, his race came to an end with a second crash instead of pulling out of the race due to his disqualification.
From pole, Rodrigo picked up an important P4 in Styria, his best result of the season. There was no double Red Bull Ring victory for Arenas, however the Spaniard collected crucial points in the Championship. His lead now sits at 25 over Ogura, that gap cut by three points, with McPhee falling to 39 back. Binder crossed the line in sixth to claim two P6s at the Red Bull Ring, as Suzuki finished just 0.038 behind the South African in seventh – the Japanese rider loses P4 in the Championship, he now sits sixth as Vietti and Arbolino leapfrog the SIC58 rider.
A slightly overcast Red Bull Ring greeted the MotoGP™ riders but after heavy overnight rain, thankfully Warm Up for all three classes was dry. Dovizioso looked in fine form to lead the way, but the Italian has work to do to defend Ducati’s 100% win record in Styria. Dovi will go for victory from eighth on the grid, with Mir and Nakagami both eying maiden MotoGP™ victories from the front row at 14:00 (GMT+2).
Rainy conditions defined the second of back-to-back visits to Loretta Lynn’s Ranch to open the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, resulting in a wild afternoon of racing at the MotoSport.com Loretta Lynn’s 2 National. Riders were presented with incredibly challenging track conditions, and as a result the action from the second round of the season was unpredictable across both classes. In the end it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne who prevailed with his second straight 450 Class victory, while GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin made his long awaited return to the top step of the podium in the 250 Class.
Video Highlights
450 Report
The 450 Class was greeted with a muddy track and sunny skies for its first moto. As the field stormed out the start gate it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia who captured the MotoSport.com Holeshot and sprinted out to a comfortable lead early on. Behind him, JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Fredrik Noren settled into second, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Broc Tickle in third.
Barcia, one of the most savvy riders in the mud, continued to pull away from the field, soon establishing an insurmountable margin of more than 20 seconds within a matter of a few laps. Behind him the battle for position jockeyed between several riders. Noren crashed and lost several positions, leaving Tickle to battle Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac and the Team Honda HRC duo of Chase Sexton and Christian Craig. A determined Tomac was able to sustain his forward progress and eventually made the pass on Tickle for second. Several laps later Tickle lost his hold of third to Craig.
As Barcia continued to ride in a class of his own out front, things behind them got interesting in the closing moments of the moto. Craig encountered misfortune and dropped out of podium contention, which appeared to all but ensure a runner-up finish for Tomac. However, the reigning series champion’s bike lost pace in the closing laps and caused him to lose several positions before eventually coming to a stop on the final lap. Barcia took the win by 48 seconds over his teammate Tickle, who brought home a second-place finish, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo made a late charge to finish third. Noren followed in fourth, while Osborne rounded out the top five. Tomac ended up with a ninth-place finish.
The best track and weather conditions of the day highlighted the final 450 Class moto. When the gate dropped it was the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki of Max Anstie who charged to the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin. The Frenchman was able to get by the Brit for the lead, but Anstie responded to reclaim the top spot. Behind them, Tomac made contact with his teammate, Cianciarulo, and went down in the first turn, which forced him to start at the rear of the field. In his search for the overall win, Barcia began the moto in sixth, but later crashed and dropped deep in the running order.
The lead duo was able to build a gap over the rest of the field, with Anstie enjoying a multi-second advantage on Musquin. Cianciarulo gave chase from third, and positioned himself with an opportunity to claim the overall in doing so. As the race wore on, the intrigue of the moto ramped up as Osborne started to make a move to the front. The point leader was able to close in on Cianciarulo for third and make an aggressive pass for the position. From there, Osborne continued his charge and tracked down Musquin for second. After making the pass on the KTM rider, Osborne had Anstie within sight and dropped the hammer in pursuit of the lead. Anstie responded initially, but when a lapped rider crashed in front of him and briefly halted his momentum it opened the door for Osborne to get by and seize control of the moto.
As things changed dramatically at the front of the field, the same could be said for both Barcia and Tomac as well. Both riders encountered misfortune and were ultimately unable to finish the moto, ending their days on a sour note.
Despite some occasional smoke coming from the exhaust pipe of his Husqvarna, Osborne never wavered and was able to hold off a charge from Musquin on the final lap to take the moto win by 2.2 seconds to cap off one of the wildest days of his career. Anstie capitalized on his stellar start to bring home a first career moto podium in third.
Osborne’s win moved him to the top of the overall classification (5-1) for his second straight victory. Cianciarulo earned his first career 450 Class podium finish in second (3-5), while Musquin’s late push helped him round out the overall podium in third (8-2). After winning the first moto Barcia finished seventh overall (1-32), while Tomac carded the worst finish of his career in 16th (9-24).
“Man, what a day. To be the points leader and miss a practice like we did earlier in the day, it’s just crazy,” said Osborne, who needed to join the slower qualifying group after his bike failed to start in his scheduled session. “I couldn’t have done this without my team today. I know it’s cliche, but they did everything they could to keep me and my teammates out there with a shot to make things happen. I wasn’t necessarily looking to win, but stacking points was on my radar today. I had to fight hard and battle back to finish fifth in that first moto, and then we were able to come away with a win in moto two. I’m so grateful to be up here.”
Osborne extended his lead atop the 450 Class standings to 19 points over Musquin, who moved into second. Barcia now sits third, 29 points out of the lead, while Tomac dropped to seventh and sits 40 points behind Osborne.
Marvin Musquin – 8-2
“I’m pumped to be back on the podium for the second race, it’s been a while. The conditions were tough, so it was my goal to be up front battling and I was able to do that in the second moto. I would have liked to be more consistent in both motos but that’s racing, everybody was having issues and crashing. Also, you have to save the bike and my bike was running well today, I had no issues.”
450 Round Two Results
Pos
Rider
Motos
Bike
1
Zach Osborne
5 – 1
Husqvarna FC 450
2
Adam Cianciarulo
3 – 5
Kawasaki KX450
3
Marvin Musquin
8 – 2
KTM 450 SX-F
4
Broc Tickle
2 – 9
Yamaha YZ450F
5
Max Anstie
15 – 3
Suzuki Rm-z250
6
Christian Craig
10 – 6
Honda CRF450R
7
Justin Barcia
1 – 32
Yamaha YZ450F
8
Blake Baggett
14 – 8
KTM 450 SX-F
9
Jason Anderson
27 – 4
Husqvarna FC 450
10
Justin Rodbell
12 – 12
Kawasaki KX450
11
Fredrik Noren
4 – 35
Suzuki RM-Z450
12
Henry Miller
11 – 15
KTM 450 SX-F
13
Chase Sexton
6 – 20
Honda CRF450R
14
Joey Savatgy
34 – 7
Suzuki Rm-z250
15
Jake Masterpool
7 – 38
Husqvarna FC 450
16
Eli Tomac
9 – 24
Kawasaki KX450
17
Justin Bogle
22 – 10
KTM 450 SX-F
18
Dean Wilson
20 – 11
Husqvarna FC 450
19
Chase Felong
37 – 13
Husqvarna FC 450
20
Coty Schock
13 – 25
Honda CRF450R
21
Tyler Bowers
23 – 14
Kawasaki KX450
22
Justin Hoeft
17 – 18
Husqvarna FC 450
23
Jeremy Smith
29 – 16
Kawasaki KX450
24
Matthew Hubert
16 – 21
Kawasaki KX450
25
Jeffrey Walker
35 – 17
KTM 450 SX-F
26
Cory Carsten
18 – 22
Suzuki RM-Z450
27
Jared Lesher
28 – 19
KTM 450 SX-F
28
Luke Renzland
19 – 39
Husqvarna FC 450
29
Adam Enticknap
24 – 28
Suzuki RM-Z450
30
Christopher Prebula
31 – 23
KTM 450 SX-F
31
Tristan Lewis
26 – 29
Yamaha YZ450F
32
Alex Ray
32 – 26
Kawasaki KX450
33
Benny Bloss
21 – 37
Husqvarna FC 450
34
Carson Tickle
33 – 31
Honda CRF450R
35
Dalton Dyer
36 – 30
Kawasaki KX450
36
Tristan Lane
38 – 33
KTM 450 SX-F
37
Brandon Scharer
39 – 36
Yamaha YZ450F
38
Tj Albright
40 – 40
Husqvarna FC 450
39
Ben LaMay
25 – DNS
KTM 450 SX-F
40
Robbie Wageman
DNS – 27
Yamaha YZ450F
41
Scott Meshey
30 – DNS
Husqvarna FC 450
42
Carter Stephenson
DNS – 34
Yamaha YZ450F
450 Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Zach Osborne
88
2
Marvin Musquin
69
3
Justin Barcia
59
4
Jason Anderson
58
5
Blake Baggett
51
6
Adam Cianciarulo
51
7
Eli Tomac
48
8
Broc Tickle
48
9
Max Anstie
47
10
Chase Sexton
44
11
Christian Craig
40
12
Joey Savatgy
36
13
Dean Wilson
32
14
Cooper Webb
29
15
Henry Miller
21
16
Jake Masterpool
19
17
Fredrik Noren
18
18
Justin Rodbell
18
19
Justin Bogle
15
20
Coty Schock
14
21
Jeremy Smith
13
22
Benny Bloss
11
23
Luke Renzland
11
24
Matthew Hubert
9
25
Tyler Bowers
9
26
Chase Felong
8
27
Justin Hoeft
7
28
Jeffrey Walker
4
29
Cory Carsten
3
30
Ben LaMay
2
31
Jared Lesher
2
250
A storm cell brought a surge of rain to the track just prior to the start of the first 250 Class moto, so riders took off at the drop of the gate unsure of what conditions they’d be facing. As the field rounded through the first two corners it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath who emerged with the MotoSport.com Holeshot just ahead of JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Alex Martin. The Suzuki rider was able to make the pass for the lead, but he hit a soft spot on the track shortly thereafter and went down. That allowed McElrath to reassume the lead, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire in second and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo in third.
After a near crash McElrath stalled his Yamaha while leading, which allowed McAdoo to take over the top spot with Hampshire in tow. Jeremy Martin then moved up to third, while Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis, the class point leader, slotted into fourth. Out front, Hampshire was able to take advantage of a wide line by McAdoo to move into the lead. Behind them, Ferrandis and Martin battled for third, with Ferrandis taking the spot.
The Frenchman continued his charge forward and was able to track down McAdoo to make the pass for second. He then set his sights on Hampshire for the lead, with the Husqvarna rider hindered after being forced to remove his goggles. As the race wore on, the track became more challenging and it ultimately forced Ferrandis to tip over. Soon after, the point leader got rid of his goggles and came into the pits for a new pair. With the clean goggles Ferrandis was able to put on a charge to catch Hampshire, and got within a few bike lengths of the lead with just two laps to go. However, Hampshire dug deep and withstood the challenge to take his first moto win of the season over Ferrandis by nearly 10 seconds. Martin followed in third, with McAdoo fourth and GEICO Honda rookie Carson Mumford in fifth.
Light rainfall greeted the 250 Class field for Moto 2 as well and when the gate dropped it was once again McElrath and Alex Martin racing to the MotoSport.com Holeshot, with McElrath sweeping the day’s accolades. Unfortunately for McElrath, his time out front was short lived as he bobbled in a corner and handed the lead to Martin, with his brother Jeremy following in second as McElrath dropped to third.
With such difficult track conditions the field quickly spread out, which allowed Alex Martin to establish a comfortable lead over his brother. From there the attention shifted towards the battle for the overall classification, as Ferrandis was mired outside the top 10 and Hampshire outside the top 20 to begin the moto. While the Martin brothers strengthened their hold of the top two positions on the track, McAdoo made the move around McElrath for third. Further back, both Ferrandis and Hampshire were putting on a charge through the running order, with both riders eventually finding their way into the top 10 after the halfway point of the moto.
While Alex Martin appeared to have the moto fully in hand, smoke and steam began to come out of Jeremy’s Honda, which forced the former champion into conservation mode. The same could be said for Ferrandis and Hampshire, who each experienced similar issues with their own motorcycles. Ferrandis was able to battle all the way up to fourth in the waning laps, while Hampshire got up to seventh before his bike stopped running.
Alex Martin stayed out of trouble and carried on to capture his first moto win for Joe Gibbs Racing by more than a minute, while Jeremy made it a Martin Brothers 1-2 in second. McElrath edged out Ferrandis for third.
The late drama weighed heavily on the battle for the overall win, with Jeremy Martin’s runner-up finish enough to put him atop the overall classification (3-2), a mere two points ahead of Ferrandis (2-4). Alex Martin’s moto win vaulted him to third overall (7-1), while opening moto winner Hampshire ended up sixth overall (1-18).
“Honestly, the track was gnarly. It rained again on the start line and I thought, ‘Oh boy here we go.’ Fortunately, it held off and I got a good start,” said Jeremy Martin, who captured his first win since the 2018 season when he suffered a major back injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019 racing season. “The track was in good shape and we were able to make passes around people, which helped. That was a nail biter . My GEICO Honda was smoking, but thankfully the engine is bulletproof. I did all I could to save it and I’m just so relieved it made it . I didn’t expect to get my first win so soon, but we’re definitely going to celebrate.”
Ferrandis’ podium effort helped him retain his hold of the point lead, where he currently has a six-point advantage over Martin. Alex Martin moved into third, 19 points out of the lead.
After both qualifying in the top ten the Lawrence brothers ended up having a weekend to forget. Problems saw Hunter Lawrence finish in 40th two laps down in the opening moto and did not start the second bout. Younger brother Jett fared a little better but had his own dramas in the muddy conditions, carding 30-31 finishes. That means of course that neither added to their championship points tally.
Moto2™ BMW M Grand Prix of Styria polesitter Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team) topped the 20-minute Warm Up session with a 1:28.666, seeing the Spaniard beat second place Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) by 0.195. Augusto Fernandez made it two EG 0,0 Marc VDS bikes in the top three ahead of the race.
Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Ayumu Sasaki finished top of the pile in Moto3™ Warm Up at the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria after setting a 1:36.253 on Sunday morning. Front row starter Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished 0.028 off the Japanese rider, with Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) just over a tenth back in third.