The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team battled rainy and muddy conditions at the Ironman National, the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, held in Crawfordsville, Ind. on Saturday. Despite a deteriorating track, Phil Nicoletti and Michael Mosiman nailed down two top-10 overall finishes to close out the season.
Phil Nicoletti got a great start in the first 450 moto and was second by the second lap. He quickly made his way into the lead after Justin Barcia made a mistake while leading the pack. He led for multiple laps before getting passed by Barcia, but he continued to battle the difficult conditions of the track. He pushed as hard as he could the remainder of the race and eventually finished sixth. He got a top-10 start in the second moto, quickly navigated his way into sixth, then made the pass for fifth in the third lap. He was riding strong but had to pull in for goggles around the halfway mark, then pushed his way back into the top-10. He put in an amazing effort against the extremely deteriorated track and fought his way to a seventh-place finish. The 6-7 finish gave him seventh overall on the day, and he closes the season out sixth overall in 450 rider point standings.
“I qualified fifth,” said Nicoletti. “It was an ok weekend, and it was mayhem for the team. We knew the last one wasn’t going to be easy. There was a lot of rain, but I felt really well. We rode a lot of laps the first moto, and I was up front for awhile. I had a bit of an issue that held me back and I ended up sixth. I had a decent start in the second moto, but I had to pull in for goggles and my helmet was super heavy. It was a good, hard-fought battle for the year. I’d just like to thank the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team for giving me the opportunity. It’s been an awesome journey.”
Michael Mosiman got a good start in the first 250 moto, but was slowed down by the mud and came out of the first lap in 17th. He charged through the field and made it into the top-10 by the third lap. He continued to blast through the track despite deteriorating and muddy conditions, and made a few more passes to finish a hard-fought sixth. He got another good start in the second moto but was again set back by the mud. He went to work and made it inside the top-10 by the third lap, but he was battling the field and the mud kicked up by lappers as the rain started coming down. After pulling in for goggles, he kept his head down and put on a strong ride to finish 11th. The 6-11 finish gave him ninth overall on the day and he ends his season 11th in 250 rider point standings.
“We did it,” said Mosiman. “I made it the full season, and healthy. I’m very happy with it. The rain really came down this morning, so the track was super muddy. We only received one practice, and the B guys had the track when it was prime. We got out there and only the top-10 made it in. I ended up being the first alternate, then luckily I made it in the motos. I got a great start in the first moto then was clobbered by mud. That definitely set me back. I plugged away throughout the race and ended up sixth, which is awesome. I got a pretty good start in the second moto, but then got blacked out by mud again in the first turn. I couldn’t see anything, and I didn’t want to be reckless. I just settled in and worked my way through the pack. I made it up to eighth and started making passes, but then I got too confident and went for an aggressive move and went down. I made my way back to 10th, but then a lapper got me with mud and I had to pull in for goggles. McElrath got by me while I was in the pits and I ended up 11th. The ruts were deceiving, but I still had a blast. I’m happy to be healthy.”
Jason Anderson was mid-pack at the start of the first 450 moto and was in 15th by the end of the first lap. He put his nose to the grindstone and charged to seventh by the halfway mark. He was riding strong in seventh before suffering from two crashes toward the end of the moto. He finished 19th. He decided to sit the second moto out.
“It was a muddy weekend,” said Anderson. “Practice was an absolute quagmire. I rode the first moto and started outside the top-20 but came back to seventh. I sat the second moto out because it wasn’t worth it with my injury. I’m really focused on Supercross and I’m looking forward to getting ready for that.”
Jordan Bailey started mid-pack in the second 250 moto after not lining up for the first moto. He was in the top-10 by the fourth lap, then the rain started coming. He pushed through the difficult conditions and finished 12th. He ends his season 16th in 250 rider point standings.
“The final round was a mudfest,” said Bailey. “I qualified 12th in the A practice, but then ended up 37th overall because the B guys had a really good track and they qualified really well. The top-10 seeded guys bumped me down and I wasn’t able to line up for the first moto. Luckily someone didn’t show up for the second moto so I was able to go off the gate and I finished 12th. I look forward to Supercross, and I’m excited to get back to work.”
Ironman National Results
250 Class
1. Aaron Plessinger (1,1)
2. RJ Hampshire (4,3)
3. Chase Sexton (2,6)
4. Colt Nichols (8,2)
5. Justin Cooper (3,7)
6. Austin Forkner (7,5)
7. Dylan Ferrandis (10,4)
8. Shane McElrath (5,10)
9. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (6,11)
10. Alex Martin (9,9)
…
17. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (-,12)
450 Class
1. Justin Barcia (1,1)
2. Ken Roczen (3,2)
3. Marvin Musquin (4,3)
4. Eli Tomac (2,9)
5. Cooper Webb (9,4)
6. Tyler Medaglia (7,6)
7. Phil Nicoletti – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (6,7)
8. Chad Reed (5,8)
9. Valentin Teillet (8,10)
10. Blake Baggett (16,5)
…
23. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (19,-)
250 Rider Point Standings
1. Aaron Plessinger – 500 points
2. Alex Martin – 390 points
3. Justin Cooper – 352 points
4. RJ Hampshire – 337 points
5. Shane McElrath – 332 points
6. Chase Sexton – 324 points
7. Austin Forkner – 314 points
8. Dylan Ferrandis – 310 points
9. Joey Savatgy – 275 points
10. Jordon Smith – 259 points
11. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 233 points
12. Mitchell Harrison – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 185 points
…
16. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 124 points
450 Rider Point Standings
1. Eli Tomac – 527 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 511 points
3. Ken Roczen – 445 points
4. Justin Barcia – 444 points
5. Blake Baggett – 391 points
6. Phil Nicoletti – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 311 points
7. Benny Bloss – 298 points
8. Weston Peick – 291 points
9. Cooper Webb – 186 points
10. Kyle Cunningham – 169 points
…
17. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 93 points
