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The 250 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship headed to Wortham, Texas for round two of their twelve-round series. Round one of the series was completely dominated by the Monster Energy/Pro Cicuit/Kawasaki squad with a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium, and as we got ready for round two, the question was, could anyone stop the PC machine?
When the gate dropped on the first 250 moto of the day, it was a GEICO Powersports/Honda doing what they do best and leading everyone through turn one. Before fans could make out which GEICO team member it was at the front of the pack, we noticed the #17 Justin Barcia cartwheeling across the track. Barcia’s bike would land a direct hit on the Red Bull/KTM pilot Marvin Musquin, taking him down. Marvin would walk off the track holding his arm—it was later reported that he had suffered a compound fracture to his left thumb—while Barcia would remount dead last and charge for the whole 35 minutes to inside the top ten.
Escaping all the carnage, and leading the way, was the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki duo of Blake Baggett and Dean Wilson with Nico Izzi, Tyla Rattray and Kyle Cunningham all looking ready for war in the top five. Baggett would start off Freestone just like he finished Hangtown and look to be in total control, but his control would be short-lived. The #57 would crash and hand the lead over to his teammate Wilson. From there, it was all the Scottish-born, Canadian-American with a newly rediscovered Scottish accent. Dean would click off lap after lap of Texas perfection and handily win his second moto of 2011—and the first 250 moto of the Freestone National.
Behind Dean was his South African teammate, Tyla Rattray. Tyla rode a smooth and consistent 30+2, and at times, looked to be reeling Wilson in, but he never had quite enough to close the deal. In the end, Deano was too much, and Tyla settled in for a distant second.
Back in third was the Texan Kyle Cunningham. The DNA/Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha rider from Aledo, Texas looked right at home at Freestone, and his results showed it with his first podium in an AMA National moto since Washougal 2009—and only his second-ever. Kyle appears to be coming into his own in 2011.
Another Star Racing/Yamaha rider, Gareth Swanepoel, was holding his own in fourth. The veteran South African rider has really turned it up a notch or two and would hold off a charging Eli Tomac to finish fourth, while Eli would have to settle in for fifth.
Meanwhile, the points leader heading into Moto 1—Blake Baggett—would only be able to fight back up to seventh after his early moto dirt nap. On to Moto 2 with a new points leader: Dean Wilson.
Heading into Freestone, Wilson was trailing Baggett by a slim two points. With his first moto win and Baggett’s misstep, Wilson was the man on top as the gate fell for the fourth time in 2011. Once again in Moto 2, it was one of the red rockets first in and out of turn one. This time, though, the GEICO Powersports/Honda SX East Champ would keep it on two wheels long enough for fans to know it was him. After a rocky opener at Hangtown, Barcia came into round two with some question marks, and it looked like he was ready to answer. On lap one, Barcia was being pursued by his SX nemesis Wilson, and you can be sure when they finally met, it was going to be for coffee.
Behind the fun up front, Kilbarger/Honda rider Nico Izzi seemed to be working it like the Nico of old, but, Izzi is unfortunately a rider that shows fans how good he can be just long enough to leave them wishing he was like that all the time. Closing in were a Texan and a South African who hadn’t even gotten warmed up yet. Cunningham and Rattray—running fourth and fifth—were beginning to apply their own Texas heat to Izzi, and by lap five, they had both made their way around him. By lap eight, Izzi had faded to the back. Once around him, Cunningham would attempt to hold off the charging Rattray, but he was no match, and Rattray moved up one more spot.
Up front, though, the guys that are fast all the time were battling. For the first three laps, Deano rode behind Barcia patiently, but there was a sense that it couldn’t last long. In fact, try to use the words “patient,” “Barcia,” “Wilson” and “battle” in the same sentence without laughing. I knew you couldn’t do it! On lap three, patience went out the window, and Deano paid the price. The two came together in a sweeper, and Wilson—as it so often happens—got the blunt end of the stick.
While Wilson tried kicking his bike, Barcia rode away along with five other riders. Barcia would throw down some unreal laps and, at one point, build a 13-second gap over Rattray, who was now in second. But while Freestone is synonymous with heat, Tyla Rattray is synonymous with not giving a damn. Tyla would turn it up; Barcia would fade; and within three laps, that big lead was gone—and so was Tyla. Barcia would lose the lead, but hang on for an impressive second in Moto 2. Wilson would charge all the way—unlike in 2010—and end up third in Moto 2 and second overall behind his teammate Rattray. Cunningham, despite getting passed back to fourth by Wilson in the second moto, would be the last man on the podium with a 3-4 score.
Results & Points
