2015 Thunder Valley National Qualifying Report

Eli Tomac was the fastest man in both 450MX qualifying sessions this morning. Photo by: Devin Davis

The 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship headed up to the picturesque foothills of the Rocky Mountains today for round three and the eleventh annual Thunder Valley National. The Thunder Valley Motocross park in Lakewood, Colorado already boasts a rich motocross history. In 2010, the park played host to the biggest international race in motocross, the Motocross of Nations, and by all accounts, pulled it off to rave reviews. What really sets this track apart from other facilities is its unbelievable spectator viewing. The more than a mile long, natural-terrain, National-level track sits inside a valley and can be viewed in its entirety from more than one spot on the hills surrounding it. These exceptional views set the facility apart from others and make it a favorite destination for outdoor motocross fans.

Another thing that sets the Thunder Valley facility apart from others is its altitude. The track itself sits 6,182 feet above sea level. With that kind of altitude comes an array of challenges for teams and riders alike. The thin air tends to test the riders’ fitness and drain the horsepower from the bikes. While the thin air can make things tougher, today the perfect weather we have will definitely make the racing much more favorable to the racer’s fitness. For the last few days the area has seen off and on rain, but today Mother Nature has blessed us with 75 degree perfection.

Check out a lap around the Thunder Valley National

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250MX Qualifying Report

Today in 250MX qualifying, the top lap time surprisingly belonged to a retired rider: GEICO/Honda’s Christian Craig. Because of injuries on the GEICO squad, Craig signed on as a fill-in rider and came out in the first Thunder Valley National qualifying session on fire. With a time of 2:06.846 in session one, Craig will be the first rider to choose at gate in 250MX moto one. In session two, the #68 was not able to match that time on the rougher circuit, but neither could anyone else.

Most of the remaining qualifying spots also all came from session one, but the second fastest qualifier on the day, Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy, was the closest to matching his fastest lap in session two. Joey laid down the second fastest lap of 2:07.077 in session one and backed that up with the fastest lap of session two, 2:09.960.

The next three spots in the top five belong to Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (2:08.646), TLD/KTM’s Mitchell Oldenburg (2:08.972) and Rockstar/Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne (2:09.063). Surprisingly the top two in the 250MX Championship, Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin (2:09.856) and Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin (2:09.915), qualified 8th and 9th out of session 1. The two stepped it up and were 2nd and 4th respectively in session two, but with times much slower in session 2, their first session times are what they’ll have to live with. Click here to view all qualifying time sheets from 2015 Thunder Valley National.

450MX Qualifying Report

Just like in the 250MX class, the 450MX riders were treated to a perfect circuit in session one. With the track in much better condition to go fast on early, all the top times were recorded in the early part of session 1. The man with the best time in both sessions, though, was the local Colorado native, GEICO/Honda’s Eli Tomac. Tomac threw down a 2:06.165 in session one to get the #1 qualifying spot and backed that up with the fastest lap (2:09.436) in session two as well. The #3 has been unstoppable so far in 2015 and will carry a nineteen-point advantage along with his pole position into the motos today.

The only rider even close to Eli Tomac’s times in session one was RCH/Soaring Eagle/Suzuki’s Ken Roczen who qualified 2nd overall. With a 2:06.579 in the first session, the defending 450MX Champ is looking ready to try and contest for his first win of the 2015 season. Ken backed up his first session time with the 3rd fastest time (2:10.047) in session two.

The man going to the gate 3rd in the 450MX motos is the #4 on the Yoshimura/Suzuki, Blake Baggett. Blake’s time of 2:08.640 was good enough to put him 3rd in qualifying, but if can he convert that into his first-ever 450MX podium is the big question.

Rounding out the top five qualifiers in the 450MX class is Rockstar/Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel (2:09.229) and Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey (2:09.863). Christophe was only able to back that up with the 6th fastest time (2:12.110) in session two, but Dungey was able to move up to the 2nd fastest lap (2:10.023) in the final session. Dungey was 6/10th’s of a second off Tomac and will have to try to close that gap before the gate drops if he wants to put an end to Tomac’s undefeated 2015 so far. Click here to view all qualifying time sheets from 2015 Thunder Valley National.