2019 AMA Pro Motocross
Round Seven – RedBud National
Images by Hoppenworld
Round 7 of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship saw the RedBud National celebrate the 4th of July and Independence Day, while Eli Tomac and Dylan Ferrandis claimed top honours in the 450 and 250 classes.
Tomac had to fend off a resurgent Marvin Musquin in the second moto, but leaves RedBud with a 34-point lead. Dylan Ferrandis in the 250s meanwhile took both wins and closed in on Adam Cianciarulo in the standings, with Cianciarulo runner up with a 5-2 result.
Aussie Hunter Lawrence went 8-4 for fifth overall and currently sits sixth in the standings, 7-points behind Hampshire and 11-points behind Colt Nichols in fourth.
450
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class moto Cooper Webb emerged with the holeshot over Justin Bogle and Blake Baggett. Bogle quickly went to work as he found his way around Webb to takeover the race lead before the end of the opening lap. Tomac was just behind the leaders in third.
Bogle used a clear track and impressive riding to lead the first several laps as Webb and Tomac gave chase. On Lap 3, Tomac carried speed downhill and around the outside of Webb for the second position, followed by a pass on Bogle for the lead in the same section just one lap later. As Webb set his sights on Bogle, he made a costly mistake by stalling the engine of his bike, which let Jason Anderson slip by.
Tomac instantly took full advantage of having the lead and began opening a gap over his competition, while Anderson began to knock on Bogle’s door and made an aggressive move for second. Webb followed shortly after, bumping Bogle outside of the top three.
When the checkered flag waved, it was Tomac who remained unchallenged to win by 6.3 seconds, giving him his sixth moto win of the season. Anderson finished strong in second, followed by Webb in third. Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
When the gate dropped on the 450 Class Moto 2 Baggett was credited with the holeshot, followed by Bogle and Musquin. As Baggett set the pace out front, Roczen muscled his way into second, just ahead of Musquin in third to complete the opening lap. Anderson, Webb and Tomac started the moto just outside of the top five.
On Lap 2, Roczen used his early race speed to charge past Baggett for the race lead, while Musquin followed shortly after, shuffling Baggett back to third. With clear track ahead, Roczen relied on his effortless style to calmly navigate the demanding circuit as Musquin put his head down in an attempt to track down the German.
As the race neared the halfway point, Musquin began to slowly close in on the race lead, eventually making the pass stick on Lap 9. Behind the leaders, the battle for third began to heat up between Anderson and the first moto winner Tomac.
Every time Tomac searched for a way around, Anderson would wick it up to close the door. On Lap 12, Tomac dove to the inside of Anderson and pushed him against the edge of the track to overtake third.
The defending champion continued his push forward in the final laps of the race as he chased down and made the move around Roczen with two laps remaining.
Musquin managed the moto with his veteran experience to take his third moto win of the season, 6.2 seconds ahead of Tomac. Roczen soldiered home in third.
Tomac’s 1-2 moto scores carried him to his third overall victory of the season, tying him with James Stewart for fifth on the all-time win list with 20 apiece. Anderson finished the day runner-up (2-4), while Musquin completed the podium in third (7-1).
Eli Tomac – 1-2
“Overall, it was a really good day for us, I had been feeling good all day. It has been a little bit rough the last couple of weeks, but the first moto was a really good way to start the day and get things turned back around. I think that I had some better lines in the first moto, but I was able to move up and get the job done in the second moto.”
Jason Anderson 2-4
“We’re progressing and we’re getting better every weekend. The fans here at RedBud are amazing! This weekend went a lot better than the last. I was able to get second overall, which is another podium, so we’ll take it and just keep climbing.”
Marvin Musquin 7-1
“The riding was really good all day but unfortunately, I didn’t get a great start in the first moto and then ended up going down in the first lap. It was very bad but I came back from dead last to seventh. To be able to win the second moto is just awesome and to salvage a podium was really important today – it’s good for the team and it’s good for me.”
Cooper Webb 3-5
“RedBud was a step in the right direction for me. Practice went really well, I was able to qualify first for the first-time ever in outdoors. To go 3-5 for fourth overall is alright, I wish I would have been a little bit better in the second moto but so far, it’s the best day yet and we’ll keep plugging away to try and get better for Millville.”
Dean Wilson returned to racing on Saturday after missing the first six rounds of the series due to a shoulder injury sustained at the Denver SX. In Moto 1, he got off to a sixth-place start but he fell in the fourth corner and dropped back to last place on the opening lap. He remounted and began picking off riders but a series of crashes became a yo-yo effect for him as he continued to gain and lose ground.
In the end, Wilson was able to work his way up to 12th. In Moto 2, Wilson began just outside the top-10 and slowly worked his way up to seventh, where he ultimately finished. With 12-7 finishes, Wilson was able to claim a top-10 overall in his first race back with a solid ninth on the day.
Dean Wilson 12-7
“My first race back was a good race to work off of. This was the first time I’ve ridden my outdoor bike all year, so I was just kind of gelling with it. I’m going to work off of this – I know what I need to do and I’ll keep pushing for better results.”
The weekend proved challenging to Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Team duo Aaron Plessinger and Justin Barcia, who toughed it out to finish 11th and 14th overall at the RedBud MX.
Aaron Plessinger – 11
“RedBud went a lot better than Southwick did. I qualified 13th and then made a lot of improvements to the bike. We got it working pretty good for the motos, but I twisted my ankle pretty bad in the first one. I dropped a couple spots and then made it back up to 11th. I got a great start in the second one and then let a few people by. Justin passed me on the last lap and ended up finishing 11th again. So I went 11-11 for 11th overall. We’re making big improvements. I’m just going to keep pushing forward, build my fitness during this week off, and try to have some fun and enjoy it with the family.”
Justin Barcia 39-10
“It was a tough day. We had our work cut out for us. In the first moto, we ran into a little mechanical and unfortunately it took us out of the race. The boys had to
scramble to do a lot of work and get the bike ready. They did a great job handling everything today. In the second moto, I had full outside gate and didn’t come out so well. I started probably in the 20’s and ended up getting hit by someone and flipping over the bars. I came back from near last to 10th. It doesn’t look good on paper, but I rode my heart out.”
The winning effort allowed Tomac to extend his lead in the 450 Class championship standings to 34 points over Musquin. Roczen maintains hold on third in the standings, 40 points out of the championship lead. Zach Osborne was unable to compete due to a shoulder injury sustained in the morning’s practice, dropping him from fourth to sixth.
AMA Motocross 450 Results – RedBud National 2019
Source: MCNews.com.au