20 hours ago
Then and now: 2018 Champions go toe-to-toe in Austria
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
20 hours ago
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
The new FIM MiniGP Austrian Series, starting in 2022, will provide the perfect entry level stepping-stone for young riders across the country looking to begin their path to becoming a motorcycle racer. The best riders will qualify for the FIM MiniGP World Final alongside the top riders from each country, with the possibility of promotions up for grabs on the Road to MotoGP™.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Tech3 E-Racing’s Lukas Tulovic is an FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup race winner after claiming victory at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich by 0.8s in another thrilling electric class battle. Comeback king Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) came out on top in a fantastic battle for the podium to grab P2 from P13 on the grid, with Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) picking up the final rostrum spot in third.
Tulovic grabbed the holeshot from second on the grid to demote polesitter Fermin Aldeguer (Openbank Aspar Team) to P2 and unleashed a stellar opening lap. The German pulled out a 1.8s lead over the chasing pack and from there, he never looked back.
Starting 8th, Aegerter was soon in the thick of the action and managed to climb up to P2 by Lap 3, with Tulovic’s lead at 1.5s. A ferocious battle then played out between Aegerter, Aldeguer and Granado as the trio scrapped it out for the final two spots on the podium, with Turn 3 seeing Granado initially get the better of both, as the trio went into Turn 4 locked together.
Eventually, Granado did get the better of Aldeguer and Aegerter as the latter then grabbed P3 at Turn 9. Tulovic saw his lead slashed in the last couple of laps but held on for a maiden victory, as Granado and Aegerter made Aldeguer wait a little longer for a MotoE™ podium.
Rookie Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) claimed P5 to celebrate his best result, the Japanese rider beat title leader Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) by just under half a second. Zaccone’s lead is seven points ahead of the final round of the season at Misano, reigning World Cup winner Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40) was 0.053s off the Italian in P7. Matteo Ferrari (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) slipped to P8 from the front row, the maiden World Cup winner crossed the line less than a second ahead of Kevin Zannoni (LCR E-Team) and Yonny Hernandez (Octo Pramac MotoE).
Andrea Mantovani (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) beat Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) to the line to grab P11, Tech3 E-Racing’s Corentin Perolari, Jasper Iwema (HP Pons 40) and Stefano Valtulini (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) were the final points scorers in P14 and P15 respectively.
11 points, four riders. Two races remain in the 2021 MotoE™ title race, who wins it from here? Zaccone still leads the way but Granado, Torres and Aegerter and waiting to pounce.
Top 10:
1. Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing)
2. Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) + 0.839
3. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 1.145
4. Fermin Aldeguer (Openbank Aspar Team) + 1.163
5. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) + 1.892
6. Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 2.371
7. Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40) + 2.424
8. Matteo Ferrari (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) + 4.805
9. Kevin Zannoni (LCR E-Team) + 5.199
10. Yonny Hernandez (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 5.510
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
For the fourth time in 2021, Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is a Moto2™ race winner after producing a faultless ride at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. The Spaniard fended off race-long pressure from Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as two rookies stand on the top two steps, that’s Ogura’s first podium in the class, while Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) picks up a third consecutive podium in P3.
All three riders on the front row launched away well from the line and it was line astern into Turn 1, Lowes leading Raul Fernandez and Ogura on the opening lap. Drama unfolded further down the pack at the tight Turn 1, which saw Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) and Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40) crash. It also saw Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) come into pitlane at the end of Lap 1 to retire, with World Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) forced down to P10 in the early stages after contact at Turn 1.
Lap 3 saw Raul Fernandez slot up the inside of Lowes at Turn 3 to take the lead, as Ogura and Augusto Fernandez tagged onto the back of the top two. In two consecutive laps at Turn 3, Ogura and Augusto Fernandez carved past Lowes as the polesitter slipped to P4. The race then settled with Ogura chasing race leader Raul Fernandez, as Augusto Fernandez sat at around a second adrift of top spot. Lowes was keeping his teammate within touching distance, with both Gardner and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) struggling to make progress in P8 and P9.
Heading into the final 10 laps, it was still as you were between the leading quartet. Lap times between them were almost identical, with no one looking like putting a foot wrong. With four laps to go though, Ogura was starting to make Raul Fernandez sweat a little more. Three tenths split the rapid rookies, with third place Augusto Fernandez and fourth place Lowes watching on from a couple of seconds back. Raul Fernandez then responded to the pressure, the gap was back up to half a second with two laps to go.
Two 1:29.2s saw Raul Fernandez get the gap up to 0.8s heading onto the final lap, and the Spaniard made no mistakes to return to the top step, his fourth win of the season. Ogura produced a phenomenal ride to keep Fernandez honest for a dream debut Moto2™ rostrum, Augusto Fernandez held on to take P3 ahead of teammate Lowes.
Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) went toe-to-toe with Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as both riders claim their best intermediate class finishes in P5 and P6. That’s the order they crossed the line in, but Vietti was demoted one place for exceeding track limits – P5 for Chantra, an equal best P6 for Vietti.
After being beaten up at the opening corner, Gardner had to settle for P7 to see his title advantage slip to 19 points. The Australian eventually got the better of Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2), the Styrian GP podium finisher picks up P8 ahead of Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team). 2.4s adrift of ninth place Lüthi was Bezzecchi in P10, a crash in qualifying ultimately costing the Italian another shot at victory at the Red Bull Ring.
Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) edged out Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Tony Arbolino (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in the battle for P11, Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP40) completed the point scorers in P14 and P15 respectively.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team), Barry Baltus (NTS RW Racing GP), Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) and Yari Montella (Lightech Speed Up) crashed out of contention.
19 points separate the teammates heading to Silverstone, can Gardner bounce back at the British GP? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks’ time.
Top 10:
1. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.845
3. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 2.747
4. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 4.412
5. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 8.782
6. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 8.850
7. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 13.657
8. Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) + 16.499
9. Thomas Luthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 17.108
10. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 19.588
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
An exhilarating last lap from Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer GASGAS) handed the Aspar star a third Moto3™ victory of the season in a classic lightweight class fight at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) lost out at the penultimate corner but takes his second Grand Prix podium, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) taking a fantastic P3.
Polesitter Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) got an inch-perfect getaway as the lights went out and comfortably held P1 into Turn 1, with Öncü making a great start from the second row to grab P2. The Turkish rider didn’t take long to turn P2 into P1, Turn 4 the chosen passing place as Öncü took the lead on Lap 1. Acosta wasted no time in making his way to the front, the Spaniard taking the lead at the start of Lap 3, with second in the Championship Garcia also climbing his way through the pack expertly from 14th on the grid to the top five.
Öncü, Fenati and Acosta stood as the top three for a number of laps in the opening exchanges, as we saw top 10 competitors Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) tagging Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) at the final corner on Lap 6, the latter crashing out of contention unhurt. A lead group of six then formed, Garcia, Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Foggia joining the aforementioned trio, with Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Binder and John McPhee sat a second adrift.
The Petronas duo breached the gap with 10 laps to go, which meant we had a lead group of eight fighting for victory in Austria. Öncü was a mainstay in the lad of the race and with eight laps to go, the Turkish rider had eked a slight lead. Typically, though, Acosta and co. reeled Öncü back in, and it was starting to get busy. Acosta and Fenati made slight on the exit of Turn 4 with six laps to go, as Binder and McPhee lost touch.
At Turn 3 with three to go, Garcia got two for the price of one. The Spaniard took the lead as Acosta followed him through on Öncü, with Acosta then taking the lead at Turn 4. However, a stunning run out of Turn 8 saw Öncü return to P1 heading onto Lap 22 of 23. Last lap, Öncü led onto it with Acosta right behind him. The latter was up the inside at Turn 3 but Öncü got the cutback, as Garcia then passed title rival Acosta at Turn 4, which cost the Championship leader dearly.
Garcia then locked his radar onto race leader Öncü and chose Turn 9 as the place to pounce. Up the inside went Garcia, Öncü could do nothing to fight back as Garcia held the defensive line into the final corner. The GASGAS rider managed to hold his advantage to the line and claim victory at the Red Bull Ring by 0.027s, with Foggia getting the better of Acosta on the last lap to demote the number 37 to P4.
Fenati finished less than half a second from the win and takes home a P5 for his efforts, another great race from the experienced Italian, who edged out Masia on the last lap. McPhee claimed a commendable P7 ahead of a late charging Izan Guevara (Santander Consumer GASGAS). Binder faded in the latter stages to claim P9, as Japan’s Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) rounded out the top 10.
Compatriot Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was less than a second away from Toba in P11, with Filip Salac (CarXpert PrüstelGP) beating Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) to P12. Six seconds behind 13th place Nepa was Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3), the Spaniard leading home Andi Farid Izdihar (Honda Team Asia) in 15th.
Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) crashed out at the final corner on the opening lap after contact with teammate David Salvador, Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) retired from the Austrian GP.
A third win of the season and a third podium on the bounce sees Garcia close the gap to Acosta down to 41 points ahead of Silverstone, the battle between the two Spaniards is well and truly on in 2021. A weekend off now awaits for the Moto3™ field as they recover from a Red Bull Ring double header, while setting sights on Silverstone. What does the legendary layout have in store at the end of the month?
Top 10:
1. Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer GASGAS)
2. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.027
3. Denis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.319
4. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.394
5. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.462
6. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.794
7. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 1.331
8. Izan Guevara (Santander Consumer GASGAS) + 1.440
9. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 2.339
10. Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) + 6.135
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) set the pace in MotoGP™ Warm Up to kickstart his Sunday in perfect fashion at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. The Frenchman’s 1:23.629 was enough to beat compatriot Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) by 0.382s, but the man second in the title race suffered a fast crash at Turn 9. Thankfully Zarco was unhurt, as fellow Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed the top three.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Moto2™ Warm Up has gone the way of Augusto Fernandez as the Elf Marc VDS rider’s 1:28.153 gave him a narrow 0.007s margin over Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix of Austria. It’s the perfect start to the day for the Spaniard as he chases down a third consecutive podium for the first time in the intermediate class, while he was only one of three riders to dip into the 1.29s, with rookies Ogura and Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) the others.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Deniz Öncü recorded a 1:36.181 to end Moto3™ Warm Up quickest at the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix of Austria. The Red Bull KTM Tech 3 rider put in some impressively quick laps as the lightweight class made some final tweaks ahead of lights out, with the Turk having 0.228s to spare over Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), while teammate Ayumu Sasaki completes the top three.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Images by Jeff Kardas
The final, five-round run to crown a pair of champions kicked off with Round 8 and the Circle K Unadilla National, which signified the anticipated return of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship to Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX. The world’s best racers were challenged all afternoon long on the legendary circuit, which was regarded as the toughest track of the 2021 season thus far. In the end, Team Honda HRC left the field seeing red as they swept the overall victories across both the 450 Class and 250 Class.
After a bit of a rough stretch to open the second half of the summer season, Ken Roczen bounced back in a big way with perhaps the most dominant outing of 2021 thus far. The German rider was in a class of his own in both 450 Class motos and cruised to a 1-1 sweep for his second win of the season, which also helped him gain valuable points in the ongoing title fight.
In the 250 Class, Jett Lawrence rose to the occasion in Moto 2 with one of the best rides of his young career, where an overdue moto win allowed him to prevail with his second victory of the season. The triumphant effort also paid dividends in the championship standings, as Lawrence closed to within just a handful of points of recapturing the red plate.
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class moto it was Roczen clear ahead of the field exiting the first turn to easily capture the MotoSport.com Holeshot. As the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him, it was the Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing duo of Aaron Plessinger and Dylan Ferrandis who slotted into second and third. Roczen was able to drop the hammer on the opening lap and took full advantage of the clear track to establish a multi-second lead over Plessinger and Ferrandis, as the lead trio surged out to a significant margin over the remainder of the 40-rider field.
Soon the race became a two-rider affair as both Roczen and Plessinger continued to pull away from Ferrandis. Roczen was comfortable in control of the moto, but Plessinger continually kept him honest by mirroring the lap times. No more than two seconds separated the lead pair through the first half of the moto. Plessinger looked to be faster than Roczen in some places and even showed a wheel a couple times, but the Honda kept him at bay and put a few bike lengths between them.
With 10 minutes remaining in the moto, as he gave chase to Roczen, Plessinger suffered a frightening crash that saw his Yamaha loop out and resulted in heavy impact with the ground. Fortunately, Plessinger was able to get up and walk away under his own power, but it brought what began as a strong start to the afternoon to an abrupt and heartbreaking conclusion.
With the pressure no longer a factor, Roczen rode alone out front and managed a double-digit lead through the remainder of the moto to earn an impressive wire-to-wire win. He took the checkered flag 10.6 seconds ahead of Ferrandis, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac followed in a distant third. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin was fourth, with his teammate Cooper Webb fifth.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Laps/Gap |
1 | Ken Roczen | HON CRF450R WE | 15 Laps |
2 | Dylan Ferrandis | YAM YZ 450F | +10.653 |
3 | Eli Tomac | KAW KX450 | +27.755 |
4 | Marvin Musquin | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +43.307 |
5 | Cooper Webb | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +48.171 |
6 | Joseph Savatgy | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +52.340 |
7 | Christian Craig | YAM YZ 450F | +1m05.802 |
8 | Max Anstie | SUZ RMZ 450 | +1m12.099 |
9 | Justin Bogle | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +1m20.902 |
10 | Brandon Hartranft | SUZ RMZ 450 | +1m24.494 |
11 | Chase Sexton | HON CRF450R WE | +1m25.081 |
12 | Coty Schock | HON CRF450R | +1m27.604 |
13 | Jace Kessler | YAM YZ 450F | +1m45.929 |
14 | Ryan Surratt | HQV FC450 | +1m50.598 |
15 | Dean Wilson | HQV FC450 RE | +1m53.644 |
16 | Jeremy Hand | HON CRF450R | +2m15.754 |
17 | Chris Canning | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +2m26.575 |
18 | Justin Rodbell | KAW KX450 | +2m31.024 |
19 | Jacob Runkles | GAS MC450F | +2m31.955 |
20 | Scott Meshey | HQV FC450 RE | +2m41.159 |
21 | Tyler Stepek | KAW KX450 | 14 Laps |
22 | Ben LaMay | KTM 450 SX-F | +17.690 |
23 | William Clason | KAW KX450 | +29.706 |
24 | Jeremy Smith | KAW KX450 | +54.815 |
25 | Cody Groves | YAM YZ 450F | +1m00.213 |
26 | Nathen LaPorte | KTM 450 SX-F | +1m05.346 |
27 | Ricci Randanella | KAW KX450 | +1m06.897 |
28 | Matthew Hubert | KAW KX450 | +1m08.459 |
29 | Bryce Backaus | YAM YZ 450F | +1m10.444 |
30 | Dominique Thury | YAM YZ 450F | +1m28.674 |
31 | Bryce Hansen | KAW KX450 | +1m42.001 |
32 | Trevor Schmidt | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +1m44.320 |
33 | Bryton Carroll | YAM YZ 450F | +1m57.356 |
34 | Nicolas Rolando | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +2m01.727 |
35 | Robert Piazza | YAM YZ 450F | 13 Laps |
36 | Brandon Gregoire | YAM YZ 450F | +1m20.843 |
37 | Rody Schroyer | HON CRF450R | +2m09.990 |
38 | Aaron Plessinger | YAM YZ 450F | 8 Laps |
39 | Brock Papi | KAW KX450 | 4 Laps |
40 | Felix Lopez | KAW KX450 | 2 Laps |
The second and deciding moto began with Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton out front with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by Webb, Ferrandis and Roczen. As Sexton looked to take advantage of his position at the front of the field Roczen was incredibly aggressive and made passes on both Ferrandis and Webb to surge up into second behind his teammate. Shortly thereafter Ferrandis put the pressure on Webb for third and successfully moved into podium position.
As the points leader took over control of third, the Hondas out front had built a lead of more than five seconds. Sexton showed impressive pace to maintain a lead of about a second over Roczen, but the German bided his time and waited for the race to come to him. As the moto reached its opening 10 minutes Roczen pulled the trigger and went on the attack. An impressive outside move allowed Roczen to make quick, easy work of his teammate. From there he cemented his control of the moto with one of his fastest laps of the race.
Sexton kept Roczen honest and was within reach as the moto reached its halfway point, but Roczen responded to open up his biggest lead of the moto. The German never looked back and put the finishing touches on one of the most dominant outings of his career. He wrapped up a sweep of the motos by six seconds over Sexton, while Ferrandis withstood a persistent threat from his fellow Frenchman Musquin to finish third.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Laps/Gap |
1 | Ken Roczen | HON CRF450R WE | 15 Laps |
2 | Chase Sexton | HON CRF450R WE | +06.063 |
3 | Dylan Ferrandis | YAM YZ 450F | +26.121 |
4 | Marvin Musquin | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +35.498 |
5 | Cooper Webb | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +44.653 |
6 | Christian Craig | YAM YZ 450F | +50.795 |
7 | Eli Tomac | KAW KX450 | +1m03.934 |
8 | Dean Wilson | HQV FC450 RE | +1m23.157 |
9 | Max Anstie | SUZ RMZ 450 | +1m33.668 |
10 | Coty Schock | HON CRF450R | +1m42.458 |
11 | Ryan Surratt | HQV FC450 | +2m11.718 |
12 | Justin Bogle | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +2m24.302 |
13 | Chris Canning | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +2m29.310 |
14 | Tyler Stepek | KAW KX450 | +2m31.721 |
15 | Ben LaMay | KTM 450 SX-F | 14 Laps |
16 | Jeremy Hand | HON CRF450R | +04.247 |
17 | Justin Rodbell | KAW KX450 | +08.083 |
18 | Jacob Runkles | GAS MC450F | +11.036 |
19 | Jeremy Smith | KAW KX450 | +16.336 |
20 | Joseph Savatgy | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +31.085 |
21 | William Clason | KAW KX450 | +35.747 |
22 | Jace Kessler | YAM YZ 450F | +37.752 |
23 | Bryce Backaus | YAM YZ 450F | +1m21.045 |
24 | Ricci Randanella | KAW KX450 | +1m37.011 |
25 | Scott Meshey | HQV FC450 RE | +1m54.031 |
26 | Nathen LaPorte | KTM 450 SX-F | +1m54.178 |
27 | Matthew Hubert | KAW KX450 | +1m57.160 |
28 | Nicolas Rolando | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +2m09.374 |
29 | Brandon Gregoire | YAM YZ 450F | +2m16.660 |
30 | Felix Lopez | KAW KX450 | 13 Laps |
31 | Cory Carsten | SUZ RMZ 450 | +2m20.516 |
32 | Bryce Hansen | KAW KX450 | +2m52.343 |
33 | Jonah Geistler | KTM 450 SX-F | +3m01.117 |
34 | Thomas Lanphear | HQV FC450 | +4m46.134 |
35 | Cody Groves | YAM YZ 450F | 6 Laps |
36 | Bryton Carroll | YAM YZ 450F | 3 Laps |
37 | Brandon Hartranft | SUZ RMZ 450 | 2 Laps |
38 | Trevor Schmidt | KTM 450 SX-F FE | +33.027 |
39 | Brock Papi | KAW KX450 | +1m12.750 |
40 | Rody Schroyer | HON CRF450R | DNF |
It’s the second 1-1 effort for Roczen this season and signifies the 20th victory of his career, which moves him into a tie with James Stewart for sixth on the all-time wins list. It’s also the second straight victory for Roczen at Unadilla, where he won the last time the championship visited during the 2019 season.
“This was unreal,” exclaimed Roczen, who won earlier this season at Thunder Valley. “I just felt like I got into the zone today. The track was brutal, and it was easy to make a mistake, but I was able to find great lines and ride really consistent. The crowd was awesome today. They were so passionate and really kept me going. I just want to thank everyone for their support and my team for all the hard work.”
Ferrandis finished in the runner-up spot (2-3) for his eighth podium result this season, which effectively minimized the damage done in the championship standings. Musquin captured his first podium result of the season in third (4-4) to complete an overall podium composed entirely of international competitors.
“I came here to win, but Ken (Roczen) was way too strong today,” said Ferrandis. “It’s fine. Second overall is still good. I lost some points in the championship, but there’s four rounds to go. We’ll see. I think we got the maximum today out of myself and the bike. Ken was just better. We’ll come back and try to be on the top step (of the podium).”
Roczen gained eight points on Ferrandis in the 450 Class standings, and now 39 points sit between them with four rounds remaining. Tomac, who finished fourth (3-7), is third, 62 points out of the lead.
Pos | Rider | M1 | M2 | Points |
1 | Ken Roczen | 1 | 1 | 50 |
2 | Dylan Ferrandis | 2 | 3 | 42 |
3 | Marvin Musquin | 4 | 4 | 36 |
4 | Eli Tomac | 3 | 7 | 34 |
5 | Chase Sexton | 11 | 2 | 32 |
6 | Cooper Webb | 5 | 5 | 32 |
7 | Christian Craig | 7 | 6 | 29 |
8 | Max Anstie | 8 | 9 | 25 |
9 | Justin Bogle | 9 | 12 | 21 |
10 | Coty Schock | 12 | 10 | 20 |
11 | Dean Wilson | 15 | 8 | 19 |
12 | Ryan Surratt | 14 | 11 | 17 |
13 | Joseph Savatgy | 6 | 20 | 16 |
14 | Chris Canning | 17 | 13 | 12 |
15 | Brandon Hartranft | 10 | 37 | 11 |
16 | Jeremy Hand | 16 | 16 | 10 |
17 | Jace Kessler | 13 | 22 | 8 |
18 | Tyler Stepek | 21 | 14 | 7 |
19 | Justin Rodbell | 18 | 17 | 7 |
20 | Ben LaMay | 22 | 15 | 6 |
21 | Jacob Runkles | 19 | 18 | 5 |
22 | Jeremy Smith | 24 | 19 | 2 |
23 | Scott Meshey | 20 | 25 | 1 |
24 | William Clason | 23 | 21 | 0 |
25 | Ricci Randanella | 27 | 24 | 0 |
26 | Bryce Backaus | 29 | 23 | 0 |
27 | Nathen LaPorte | 26 | 26 | 0 |
28 | Matthew Hubert | 28 | 27 | 0 |
29 | Cody Groves | 25 | 35 | 0 |
30 | Nicolas Rolando | 34 | 28 | 0 |
31 | Bryce Hansen | 31 | 32 | 0 |
32 | Brandon Gregoire | 36 | 29 | 0 |
33 | Bryton Carroll | 33 | 36 | 0 |
34 | Felix Lopez | 40 | 30 | 0 |
35 | Trevor Schmidt | 32 | 38 | 0 |
36 | Rody Schroyer | 37 | 40 | 0 |
37 | Brock Papi | 39 | 39 | 0 |
38 | Dominique Thury | 30 | 0 | |
39 | Cory Carsten | 31 | 0 | |
40 | Jonah Geistler | 33 | 0 | |
41 | Thomas Lanphear | 34 | 0 | |
42 | Robert Piazza | 35 | 0 | |
43 | Aaron Plessinger | 38 | 0 |
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Dylan Ferrandis | 345 |
2 | Ken Roczen | 306 |
3 | Eli Tomac | 283 |
4 | Chase Sexton | 270 |
5 | Justin Barcia | 239 |
6 | Aaron Plessinger | 217 |
7 | Marvin Musquin | 213 |
8 | Christian Craig | 211 |
9 | Cooper Webb | 209 |
10 | Joseph Savatgy | 160 |
11 | Adam Cianciarulo | 147 |
12 | Max Anstie | 126 |
13 | Dean Wilson | 121 |
14 | Justin Bogle | 107 |
15 | Brandon Hartranft | 96 |
16 | Coty Schock | 78 |
17 | Fredrik Noren | 58 |
18 | Chris Canning | 40 |
19 | Justin Rodbell | 40 |
20 | Ryan Surratt | 39 |
21 | Zachary Osborne | 33 |
22 | Ben LaMay | 33 |
23 | Jason Anderson | 29 |
24 | Jeremy Hand | 19 |
25 | Tyler Stepek | 18 |
26 | Scott Meshey | 12 |
27 | Jacob Runkles | 10 |
28 | Phillip Nicoletti | 9 |
29 | Jace Kessler | 8 |
30 | Alessandro Lupino | 8 |
31 | Ryan Sipes | 8 |
32 | Tyler Medaglia | 6 |
33 | William Clason | 5 |
34 | Curren Thurman | 4 |
35 | Alex Ray | 4 |
36 | Carson Brown | 3 |
37 | Mitchell Falk | 3 |
38 | Cody Groves | 3 |
39 | Robert Piazza | 3 |
40 | Kyle Chisholm | 2 |
41 | Jeremy Smith | 2 |
42 | Jacob Hayes | 2 |
43 | Bryce Backaus | 1 |
44 | Hunter Schlosser | 0 |
45 | Bryce Hansen | 0 |
46 | Cole Thompson | 0 |
47 | Nathan Augustin | 0 |
48 | Matthew Hubert | 0 |
49 | Brian Borghesani | 0 |
50 | Ricci Randanella | 0 |
51 | Nicolas Rolando | 0 |
52 | Bryson Gardner | 0 |
53 | Bryton Carroll | 0 |
The opening 250 Class moto saw championship point leader Justin Cooper emerge with the MotoSport.com Holeshot aboard his Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing machine just ahead of Lawrence, Cooper’s championship rival, and Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Jeremy Martin, who brought a two-race win streak into Unadilla. Lawrence applied heavy pressure on Cooper on the opening lap and looked for a way around, but to no avail. Instead, Cooper withstood the challenge and put a few bike lengths on the field, as Martin looked to close in from third.
The field stabilized about 10 minutes into the moto, but the lead trio were closer than ever with less than two seconds between them. Lawrence appeared to be the fastest of the leaders and once again went on the attack. The top two riders in the championship put on a show as they went to battle for control of the race, which allowed them to drop Martin in third, but Cooper was able to respond to the challenge again. As they reached the halfway point of the moto the leaders settled into their positions, where Cooper managed a multi-second advantage over Lawrence as Martin continued to give chase from third.
Cooper was able to pick up the pace over the second half of the moto and pulled away from Lawrence to establish a lead of more than five seconds. He continued to charge through to the finish and capped off a wire-to-wire victory by 3.3 seconds over Lawrence, with Martin third, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire fourth, and Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence fifth.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Laps/Interval |
1 | Justin Cooper | YAM YZ 250F | 15 Laps |
2 | Jett Lawrence | HON CRF250R | +03.306 |
3 | Jeremy Martin | YAM YZ 250F | +11.756 |
4 | RJ Hampshire | HQV FC250 | +34.549 |
5 | Hunter Lawrence | HON CRF250R | +37.176 |
6 | Maximus Vohland | KTM 250 SX-F FE | +44.201 |
7 | Jo Shimoda | KAW KX 250 | +44.345 |
8 | Jalek Swoll | HQV FC250 | +59.693 |
9 | Seth Hammaker | KAW KX 250 | +1m00.787 |
10 | Carson Mumford | HON CRF250R | +1m06.769 |
11 | Ty Masterpool | GAS MC250F | +1m16.027 |
12 | Levi Kitchen | YAM YZ 250F | +1m17.672 |
13 | Jarrett Frye | YAM YZ 250F | +1m25.761 |
14 | Joshua Varize | KTM 250 SX-F | +1m29.489 |
15 | Dilan Schwartz | SUZ RMZ 250 | +1m30.068 |
16 | Preston Kilroy | SUZ RMZ 250 | +1m54.320 |
17 | Stilez Robertson | HQV FC250 | +2m05.210 |
18 | Alex Martin | YAM YZ 250F | +2m17.726 |
19 | Jerry Robin | HQV FC250 | +2m41.673 |
20 | TJ Uselman | GAS MC250F | 14 Laps |
21 | James Harrington | YAM YZ 250F | +07.026 |
22 | Christopher Prebula | KTM 250 SX-F | +21.969 |
23 | Vincent Luhovey | KTM 250 SX-F | +26.100 |
24 | Xylian Ramella | KTM 250 SX-F | +29.911 |
25 | Zack Williams | GAS MC250F | +37.653 |
26 | Garrett Hoffman | YAM YZ 250F | +38.034 |
27 | Tommy Rios | YAM YZ 250F | +59.334 |
28 | Luke Renzland | HQV TC125 | +1m00.988 |
29 | Pierce Brown | GAS MC250F | +1m05.658 |
30 | Blake Ashley | YAM YZ 250F | +1m19.490 |
31 | Jared Lesher | YAM YZ 250F | +1m26.123 |
32 | Joseph Tait | YAM YZ 250F | +2m30.863 |
33 | Maxwell Sanford | HON CRF250R | 13 Laps |
34 | Noah Willbrandt | YAM YZ 250F | +12.298 |
35 | Stephen Hooker | KTM 250 SX-F | +37.562 |
36 | Derek Kelley | GAS MC250F | 10 Laps |
37 | Ramyller Alves | GAS MC250F | 8 Laps |
38 | Hunter Calle | YAM YZ 250F | +5m12.687 |
39 | Austin Forkner | KAW KX 250 | 3 Laps |
40 | Garrett Marchbanks | YAM YZ 250F | +21.938 |
As they field charged through the first turn to start Moto 2 it was Cooper who wrapped up each of the day’s MotoSport.com Holeshots, with Martin in tow. Behind them, Jett Lawrence and Hampshire duked it out for third. Martin didn’t waste any time trying to put the pressure on his teammate as the Yamaha-mounted riders went bar-to-bar on multiple occasions on the opening lap. Cooper held him off as Lawrence closed in to make it a three-way fight.
Martin’s persistence paid off five minutes into the moto when he took advantage of a slight bobble by Cooper to take over the lead. Lawrence then proceeded to follow his way into second, but only briefly, as Cooper responded and reclaimed second. Meanwhile, Martin moved out to a lead of nearly two seconds. A lap later Lawrence found his way back onto Cooper’s rear fender and seized the moment to make the pass once again for second. The Australian then set his sights on Martin for the lead.
As Lawrence continued his pursuit of Martin out front, Cooper was facing additional pressure from behind, this time from Hampshire. The Husqvarna rider needed a couple tries, but soon dropped Cooper outside the top three. Not long after that, Lawrence’s path to the front was complete with a decisive pass on Martin just before the halfway point of the moto.
Once out front, Lawrence was able to sprint away from his rivals and quickly built a lead of more than five seconds. He maintained that advantage through to the finish to earn his first moto win since RedBud, taking the checkered flag 3.6 seconds ahead of Martin, with Hampshire in third and Cooper a distant fourth.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Laps/Interval |
1 | Jett Lawrence | HON CRF250R | 15 Laps |
2 | Jeremy Martin | YAM YZ 250F | +03.607 |
3 | RJ Hampshire | HQV FC250 | +49.005 |
4 | Justin Cooper | YAM YZ 250F | +1m11.190 |
5 | Maximus Vohland | KTM 250 SX-F FE | +1m19.107 |
6 | Austin Forkner | KAW KX 250 | +1m23.931 |
7 | Levi Kitchen | YAM YZ 250F | +1m26.681 |
8 | Jarrett Frye | YAM YZ 250F | +1m35.334 |
9 | Jalek Swoll | HQV FC250 | +1m47.001 |
10 | Preston Kilroy | SUZ RMZ 250 | +1m47.336 |
11 | Hunter Lawrence | HON CRF250R | +2m00.583 |
12 | Dilan Schwartz | SUZ RMZ 250 | +2m10.123 |
13 | Joshua Varize | KTM 250 SX-F | +2m15.491 |
14 | Ty Masterpool | GAS MC250F | +2m23.075 |
15 | Carson Mumford | HON CRF250R | +2m23.722 |
16 | Garrett Marchbanks | YAM YZ 250F | +2m38.266 |
17 | Xylian Ramella | KTM 250 SX-F | 14 Laps |
18 | Christopher Prebula | KTM 250 SX-F | +02.305 |
19 | James Harrington | YAM YZ 250F | +02.549 |
20 | Luke Renzland | HQV TC125 | +16.751 |
21 | Seth Hammaker | KAW KX 250 | +19.565 |
22 | Vincent Luhovey | KTM 250 SX-F | +41.225 |
23 | Garrett Hoffman | YAM YZ 250F | +43.759 |
24 | Gabe Gutierres | YAM YZ 250F | +50.178 |
25 | Maxwell Sanford | HON CRF250R | +1m25.102 |
26 | TJ Uselman | GAS MC250F | +1m33.666 |
27 | Jared Lesher | YAM YZ 250F | +1m44.894 |
28 | Tommy Rios | YAM YZ 250F | +1m52.814 |
29 | Blaze Cremaldi | YAM YZ 250F | +2m08.791 |
30 | Joseph Tait | YAM YZ 250F | 13 Laps |
31 | Noah Willbrandt | YAM YZ 250F | +17.039 |
32 | Hunter Calle | YAM YZ 250F | +35.590 |
33 | Dennis Gritzmacher | KTM 250 SX-F | +51.398 |
34 | Blake Ashley | YAM YZ 250F | +1m03.348 |
35 | Stephen Hooker | KTM 250 SX-F | +1m34.325 |
36 | Jo Shimoda | KAW KX 250 | 11 Laps |
37 | Jerry Robin | HQV FC250 | 8 Laps |
38 | Alex Martin | YAM YZ 250F | 5 Laps |
39 | Zack Williams | GAS MC250F | 3 Laps |
40 | Pierce Brown | GAS MC250F | 1 Laps |
The triumph in the second moto vaulted Lawrence to the overall win (2-1), the third of his young career. It ended a three-race drought from the podium and follows up his season-opening victory at Fox Raceway in May.
“I finally got my starts sorted and that helps a lot,” said Lawrence. “The boys (fellow competitors) were hooking, but I got some lines, and they were working. I just felt really good there. It felt like home. I got into a groove and felt so fast. It’s just awesome. My mentality isn’t going to change (for the rest of the season). I’m going to come into these last four rounds trying to do everything I can, because Justin (Cooper) is riding well.”
Cooper finished in the runner-up spot (1-4) to miss out on a win in his home state but has still finished on the overall podium in all eight rounds this season. Martin rounded out the podium in third (3-2).
“I just felt really good in the first moto, but I think we needed to make a bike change for the second moto,” explained Cooper. “The track was a lot rougher than I expected. I just lost my rhythm out there. It was still a positive day. We’ll come out swinging (for the final four rounds) and try to wrap up this championship.”
After eight rounds, just four points separate Cooper and Lawrence in the 250 Class standings. Hunter Lawrence, who finished sixth (5-11), is third, 61 points out of the lead, while Martin sits an additional point back in fourth.
Pos | Rider | M1 | M2 | Points |
1 | Jett Lawrence | 2 | 1 | 47 |
2 | Justin Cooper | 1 | 4 | 43 |
3 | Jeremy Martin | 3 | 2 | 42 |
4 | RJ Hampshire | 4 | 3 | 38 |
5 | Maximus Vohland | 6 | 5 | 31 |
6 | Hunter Lawrence | 5 | 11 | 26 |
7 | Jalek Swoll | 8 | 9 | 25 |
8 | Levi Kitchen | 12 | 7 | 23 |
9 | Jarrett Frye | 13 | 8 | 21 |
10 | Ty Masterpool | 11 | 14 | 17 |
11 | Carson Mumford | 10 | 15 | 17 |
12 | Preston Kilroy | 16 | 10 | 16 |
13 | Austin Forkner | 39 | 6 | 15 |
14 | Dilan Schwartz | 15 | 12 | 15 |
15 | Joshua Varize | 14 | 13 | 15 |
16 | Jo Shimoda | 7 | 36 | 14 |
17 | Seth Hammaker | 9 | 21 | 12 |
18 | Garrett Marchbanks | 40 | 16 | 5 |
19 | Stilez Robertson | 17 | 4 | |
20 | Xylian Ramella | 24 | 17 | 4 |
21 | Christopher Prebula | 22 | 18 | 3 |
22 | Alex Martin | 18 | 38 | 3 |
23 | James Harrington | 21 | 19 | 2 |
24 | Jerry Robin | 19 | 37 | 2 |
25 | Luke Renzland | 28 | 20 | 1 |
26 | Vincent Luhovey | 23 | 22 | 0 |
27 | TJ Uselman | 20 | 26 | 1 |
28 | Garrett Hoffman | 26 | 23 | 0 |
29 | Tommy Rios | 27 | 28 | 0 |
30 | Maxwell Sanford | 33 | 25 | 0 |
31 | Jared Lesher | 31 | 27 | 0 |
32 | Joseph Tait | 32 | 30 | 0 |
33 | Blake Ashley | 30 | 34 | 0 |
34 | Zack Williams | 25 | 39 | 0 |
35 | Noah Willbrandt | 34 | 31 | 0 |
36 | Pierce Brown | 29 | 40 | 0 |
37 | Hunter Calle | 38 | 32 | 0 |
38 | Stephen Hooker | 35 | 35 | 0 |
39 | Gabe Gutierres | 24 | 0 | |
40 | Blaze Cremaldi | 29 | 0 | |
41 | Dennis Gritzmacher | 33 | 0 | |
42 | Derek Kelley | 36 | 0 | |
43 | Ramyller Alves | 37 | 0 |
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Justin Cooper | 324 |
2 | Jett Lawrence | 320 |
3 | Hunter Lawrence | 263 |
4 | Jeremy Martin | 262 |
5 | RJ Hampshire | 243 |
6 | Jo Shimoda | 192 |
7 | Jalek Swoll | 173 |
8 | Colt Nichols | 172 |
9 | Michael Mosiman | 154 |
10 | Austin Forkner | 152 |
11 | Maximus Vohland | 151 |
12 | Garrett Marchbanks | 146 |
13 | Pierce Brown | 126 |
14 | Dilan Schwartz | 116 |
15 | Carson Mumford | 110 |
16 | Jarrett Frye | 105 |
17 | Stilez Robertson | 90 |
18 | Ty Masterpool | 84 |
19 | Joshua Varize | 56 |
20 | Nathanael Thrasher | 52 |
21 | Levi Kitchen | 37 |
22 | Ramyller Alves | 31 |
23 | Derek Kelley | 25 |
24 | Seth Hammaker | 22 |
25 | Alex Martin | 19 |
26 | Preston Kilroy | 16 |
27 | Brandon Scharer | 13 |
28 | Kailub Russell | 11 |
29 | Derek Drake | 9 |
30 | Xylian Ramella | 8 |
31 | Christopher Prebula | 7 |
32 | James Harrington | 7 |
33 | Cameron Mcadoo | 6 |
34 | Grant Harlan | 6 |
35 | Zack Williams | 5 |
36 | Jace Kessler | 5 |
37 | Jerry Robin | 4 |
38 | Jesse Flock | 3 |
39 | Max Miller | 3 |
40 | Jake Pinhancos | 2 |
41 | Dominique Thury | 2 |
42 | Gared Steinke | 1 |
43 | TJ Uselman | 1 |
44 | Garrett Hoffman | 1 |
45 | Luke Renzland | 1 |
46 | Joseph Tait | 0 |
47 | Gabe Gutierres | 0 |
48 | Vincent Luhovey | 0 |
49 | Levi Newby | 0 |
50 | Tre Fierro | 0 |
51 | Kaeden Amerine | 0 |
52 | Ryder Floyd | 0 |
53 | Kyle Greeson | 0 |
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend with a visit to Southern Maryland, in the shadow of the nation’s capital of Washington D.C., where Mechanicsville’s famed Budds Creek Motocross Park will host Round 9 of the championship and the Circle K Budds Creek National.
Source: MCNews.com.au