Photo by: Hoppenworld
Entering the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motcoross Championship last season under the radar, Star Racing/Yamalube/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin surprised us all by completely dominating the first two rounds and going on to win the 2014 250MX AMA Motcoross Championship. The Minnesota native was a force in ’14 motocross, so heading into last weekend’s 2015 Hangtown National, we knew the #1 would be in the fight for the win.
In moto one, things got off to a slow start for the defending Champ. After a fourth place start, Jeremy was shuffled back to sixth and, surprisingly, spent a good part of the race in that position. As the race wore on, though, Jeremy’s fitness began to show. After a twelve-lap battle with his nemesis of late, Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy, he was finally able to make a pass stick on the #37 and later got by his teammate, Cooper Webb, to finish a distant second to Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin.
While moto one was a struggle for Jeremy, moto two was a throwback to Hangtown ’14. Jeremy ripped a the good start in moto two, and with moto one winner, Musquin, buried in the pack, he turned that start into a wire-to-wire twenty-six second win. Like Jeremy in moto 1, Musquin came through the pack to finish second in moto two. With Jeremy’s 2-1 score to Musquin’s 1-2, Jeremy began his title defense campaign with the first overall win of 2015.
After Jeremy’s second-straight Hangtown overall win, he sat down to answer a few questions. To hear what Jeremy had to say about his day, check out “Race Rewind” below.
Jeremy, congratulations, forty-seven points, 2-1 today and, of course because of the second moto and the tie-breaker, you win the overall, same points as Marvin. Tell us about your day, especially going from the first moto to the second moto, because what a turnaround that was for you.
Yeah, for sure. I ended on a positive note which is always nice. I was a little disappointed with the first moto. Marvin and Bogle just kind of beat me in that first turn, just enough to kind of pinch me off, and then I kind of fell back and had a heck of a battle with Savatgy for like probably twenty-five minutes. I used all my tear-offs. He’s very smart. If I’d go outside, the next lap he would go there. He’s a smart rider, and I was able to capitalize on a mistake and get around him. Then I tried to sprint to catch Cooper, and then I think Cooper had a little issue with some goggles maybe and I was able to capitalize on that. I didn’t know what place I was in. I crossed the finish line, and they were like, “Hey, go to the podium.” I’m like, “Did I get third?” It was pretty cool to be second.
Was it because of the difficulty of being able to read your pit board and where it was placed—because that section is rough—or they didn’t put it on your board?
I just felt like I was so far behind. Every lap, I saw those guys getting further and further and further away. I’m like, “I need to pull the trigger now,” and then I was just trying to get on a mission and try to reel them in.
How different is it coming into the opener this year as the champion as compared to last year where you were under the radar and nobody expected it? Was there a big difference this year?
You know, I don’t think so; I think it’s all in how you do things. To be honest, I am the champion and I guess I’m trying to defend my title, but my Supercross season wasn’t the best, so I feel like all the hype is on Cooper Webb and Marvin. Those guys were just amazing in Supercross. Marvin was smoking me, and I feel like the pressure was kind of on them. They were trying to carry the momentum after a great Supercross season and they did very good.
You said you changed the bike a little bit in moto two. It made a big difference. Talk about that a little bit.
Yeah, in the first moto, we just made a little mistake on the change, and then second moto, we fixed it and it was better. I feel like I’ve still got some work to do. I felt good in moto two. I think the start helped out a lot and I could just get out and run my pace. We have to get the bike a little bit better, and I’ve just got to get a little smarter with line choices, stuff like that and passing guys. I’ve got some work to do. I know what I’ve got to do to fix it and I’m going to do it.
