Photos by: Chase Yocom
The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to Crawfordsville, Indiana for the season finale and the Ironman National. For the second straight year, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac walked away with the 450 AMA National Championship and became one of an elite few to win back-to-back premier class titles.
Winning the 2018 Ironman National in the 450 class was Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia. Justin went out in the sloppy conditions and scored a perfect 1-1 on the day to give himself his first win since 2015 and Yamaha’s first overall win since way back in 2008. Joining BamBam on the podium was HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen–his fifth 2nd place finish in last six races–and Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin in 3rd.
In the 250MX class, Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger finished off his dream year with a 1-1 on the day to stand on top of the podium one last time in the 250 class. Aaron will be moving up to the 450 class full-time in 2019. Landing on the podium for the second-straight weekend with AP were the GEICO / Honda duo of RJ Hampshire (2nd) and Chase Sexton (3rd).
After the curtain came down on 2018, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their final outdoor MX race of 2018.
Eli Tomac: (Clinched title with 4th in 450MX) “”It’s pretty incredible. We came into the motocross season with one goal, and that was to repeat what we did last year and to accomplish that is just awesome. It has been 12 years since someone won back-to-back titles in the premier class, so that shows you how hard it is to do which makes this championship that much sweeter. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this Monster Energy Kawasaki team.”
Justin Barcia: (1st in 450MX) “I just wanted a moto win–that’s all I asked for–and I got a double moto win today and the overall. It’s exciting! We’ve worked really hard for this and there’s not much more we could ask for. End the year out on a 1-1 is awesome for me. Factory Yamaha itself hasn’t had an overall win since 2008 with Grant Langston, so it’s wins all around for us.”
Aaron Plessinger: (1st in 250MX) “I feel amazing right now. With this being my home race, I couldn’t back down or do anything, that wouldn’t have made these fans too pumped so I ended it on a high note. I won my first ever national here and I won my last one on a 250 here. It’s a pretty special place. I’ve been coming here since 2006 doing the GNCC’s and stuff so it’s pretty special to win here.”
Ken Roczen: (2nd in 450MX) “This season was tough, but great. Nobody really sees the struggle during the week. To throw myself into this season with very little track time or testing and not even be sure I could really race, to how things progressed, especially the second half of the season, was great. I finished on the podium a bunch and got third overall in the championship, which was the goal coming into this weekend. It’s really good to finish this season healthy and strong, which is what the plan was for this year, and to get some racing under my belt.”
RJ Hampshire: (2nd in 250MX) “I saw in the first 450 moto that Chad Reed had that gate, and sure enough it was open for me. It was cool. I actually called it early this week in an Instagram post, I said I would get a holeshot. I had the confidence. We actually had a little issue in practice so we qualified 36th. Was pretty far outside but had a decent go at it, had a few small crashes but got fourth. Second moto I pulled that holeshot and was kind of just riding with AP (race leader Aaron Plessinger) for quite a while, found the ground, got up. I knew I needed to get Chase for the podium, and he ended up going down and giving it back to me”
Marvin Musquin: (3rdin 450MX) “Today at Ironman, it was very tough conditions. We had a LOT of rain in the morning and I didn’t get a good start in the first moto, so it was really tough for me to get into the speed of the top guys. The second half of the moto was a lot better, I found my groove and better lines but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough and I got fourth. The second moto, I got a better start and I battled back to third place, so another podium, yeah, but definitely not what I wanted today. I expected a little bit more to be honest. I got second in the championship, so it’s a good year overall – I was more consistent and got more podiums but the competition was definitely really high this year.”
Chase Sexton: (3rd in 250MX) “It’s only three hours from my home town. I’ve actually raced the GNCC [Grand National Cross Country] here twice. I wish it would have helped me out there today–falling down six times in the second moto is definitely not GNCC worthy! I saw Aaron up ahead of me and I thought “Well I got one shot to win this.” I felt really good and I thought I saw him getting closer, but then I hit the ground. It went downhill from there. I was kind of over being conservative this whole year. I’m glad I went for it! I got six podiums this year, three in supercross and three outdoors. I’d say that’s a pretty good year for me, I learned a lot and I’m looking forward for to 2019″
Cooper Webb: (5th in 450MX) “Ironman was a another muddy mess! Moto 1, fell in the first turn with a few guys and was down for awhile. Somehow I ended up with a rear flat from the pile up. Moto 2, got a good start and made some good passes and ran 3rd for a while! Had some good battles and ended up 4th. It was good to run up front for a bit and end the season with a 5th overall.”
Austin Forkne: (6th in 250MX) “It hasn’t been an easy season by any means, but I’m pretty pumped to just finish the season out healthy. I had good moments in both SX and MX, but just didn’t get the chance to put it together. I’m excited for some time off and to give the body some rest.”
Phil Nicoletti: (7th in 450MX) “I qualified fifth. 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: (9th in 250MX) “We did it. 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.”
Chad Reed: (8th in 450MX) “My immediate feeling on the Suzuki RM-Z450 brought back so many positive feelings. It instantly changed my thoughts on motocross. I have been working on my off-bike strength and fitness over the past month, so I knew I could handle some suffering. Riding fitness is so unique to our sport, so I was really quite nervous and unsure in that area. Not having raced a National in three years, my number-one goal was to smile and enjoy a day of racing my dirt bike for one of the best teams in the paddock. The day was a success on all levels.”
Joseph Savatgy: (12th in 250MX) “It’s been a tough season, but I’m happy with the accomplishments the team made over the last few months. I’m pumped to have some time off and am looking forward to preparing for next year.”
Justin Hill : (15th in 450MX) “I had a good ride in the first moto, but the track was pretty tough. I struggled in the second moto and pulled into the pits for a bit, but went back out and crashed. With all of that said, I was happy to get my feet wet in the 450 class before moving up full-time in 2019. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Jordan Bailey: (17th in 250MX) “The final round was a mudfest. 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.”
Jimmy Decotis: (DNQ in 250MX) “Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t go as planned. The group A practice times were much slower than the unseeded riders. It’s too bad MX Sports didn’t have a consolation race to allow the group A riders to race for the last four spots. However, I didn’t do a fast lap that put me in the top-ten in the seeded group, which would have put me in the motos. It was a tough situation, but it’s on me as a racer. I’m really thankful to the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team for being so supportive in these tough situations.”
Jason Anderson: (23rd in 450MX) “It was a muddy weekend. 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.”
Enzo Lopes: (DNQ in 250MX) ” can’t believe that 27 guys qualified from the unseeded 250 practice. Almost ten factory bikes were out of the race. That’s because the track was flat and without ruts. It didn’t help that I’m dealing with a knee injury, as the mud was very difficult on it. I’m going to head home to Brazil, get my knee looked at, take some time to rest, and come out swinging at the Motocross of Nations.”
Cameron McAdoo: (36th in 250MX) “Ironman was a crazy one. Started the day driving to the track in the pouring rain and it was still pitch black out 30 minutes before the riders meeting. We knew it was gonna be an interesting season ender! The race didn’t go ideal for me due to such muddy conditions, I ended up losing my bike in both motos, but it was fun to get up front again in the second moto. I also wanna give a huge thank you to the whole GEICO Honda team for busting their butts all day in those conditions, especially pretty much having my bike down to the frame after moto 1 and having me back on the line for moto 2”
