Round three of the Lucas Oil AMA 250 Motocross Championship heads into Mount Morris, Pennsylvania to the beautiful High Point Raceway. Thus far in 2011, Mitch Payton and his hired guns at Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki have been annihilating the 250 class. As a team, they have won all four motos of the year–with three different riders–won the first two overall wins, occupied five of the six possible podium spots and sit first, second, fourth and tenth in the points. Those are the kind of stats that most team managers could only dream about accomplishing, but for a man like Mitch Payton, it’s just another two weeks at the office.
If last year’s race at High Point is any indication of what may take place tomorrow, it may get worse before it gets better for teams looking to put an end the Pro Circuit winning streak. Last year at High Point, Pro Circuit’s Tyla Rattray went 2-2 to score his first ever AMA National overall win, and good memories breed good results. Combine that with the momentum the South African gained in his workhorse performance for the win at Freestone and it may spell trouble for the rest of the field. Tyla, with a third and a first overall in 2011, currently sits only five points back in the championship, and there’s nothing the former World Champion wants more than to rock the red background at the next stop at Budds Creek.
The man currently rocking that red background is Tyla’s teammate, Dean Wilson. Deano, with two second place overall finishes, has been the most consistent rider in the class so far. That consistency has earned Deano the right to run the red plate for the first time, and you can be sure he will not give it up without a fight. Last year–in Dean’s maiden voyage at High Point–he went 5-6 for fifth overall, but the numbers may be deceiving. Dean had more than enough speed, but a bad start in Moto 1 and a tip over in Moto 2 while running second turned the day into a struggle for the then rookie. Now a year later, Dean has the confidence of a championship contender and will look to Saturday for his first overall win in 2011.
While Dean and Tyla are the only two riders that have been on the podium both of the first two rounds, there have been flashes of brilliance from a number of hungry contenders that could catch fire at any time. Leading that list are Dean and Tyla’s teammate–and winner of the first round at Hangtown–Blake Baggett, GEICO Powersport teammates Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia, and DNA/Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha rider Kyle Cunningham–following his first career podium at Freestone. They sit third through sixth in the points, and if 2010 and Trey Canard taught us anything, it was that no point lead is safe in outdoor motocross.
Two riders in that list that stand out when looking at 2010 High Point results are Justin Barcia and Blake Baggett. Barcia, in the first moto last year, would grab the early lead and never be seen again by the rest of the field–easily winning Moto 1 by eight seconds. Moto 2 was a moto filled with trouble for “Bam Bam,” but Moto 1 showed he is someone to look out for in Mt. Morris. Now heading back to Pennsylvania a year later–and having just come off a great ride in Moto 2 at Freestone–Barcia should be a serious threat on Saturday. Consistency has been a problem for Barcia outdoors, but the same was said about Barcia at the beginning of the 2011 Supercross season–before he proved us all wrong.
Blake Baggett’s 2010 High Point ride is what may have gotten him signed with the Pro Circuit team. Riding for the Rockstar Suzuki team at the time, Blake got a mid-pack start in Moto 1 and blew by the field to finish with his first-ever podium in a National moto. In Moto 2, he would get an even worse start and fight his way to ninth, finishing the day in what was a career best at the time: fourth. Blake validated that he was a true talent to watch in the outdoors. Unfortunately for Blake, he would be injured at the very next round, but the one SX win and that ride at High Point was enough to get the call from Mitch Payton. Now a year, two Supercross wins and a Hangtown National win later, Blake comes back to High Point one of the favorites. He sits fourth in the points after struggling in the Texas heat, but don’t think for one minute that Hangtown was a fluke. We expect to see Blake near the front.
The 250 Lucas Oil AMA motocross Championship is once again as deep as ever, and when riders not even mentioned yet–like Gareth Swanepoel, Martin Davalos, Cole Seely and Darryn Durham–are constantly improving, we are anxious to see what kind drama and excitement comes our way in the next ten rounds.
For up to the minute updates about the High Point National you can follow @dandunes818 all day long. He will be sending out practice times and results as they come in.
Updated 250 Points after two rounds.
1 15 Dean Wilson 90 2 28 Tyla Rattray 85 3 19 Eli Tomac 69 4 57 Blake Baggett 66 5 35 Kyle Cunningham 64 6 17 Justin Barcia 52 7 387 Gareth Swanepoel 46 8 23 Martin Davalos 44 9 36 Cole Seely 42 10 20 Broc Tickle 38 11 125 Marvin Musquin 33 12 533 Gannon Audette 31 13 48 Mathew Lemoine 27 14 42 Nico Izzi 26 15 37 Darryn Durham 23 16 61 Austin Howell 23 17 156 Jason Anderson 23 18 72 Nick Paluzzi 19 19 245 Lance Vincent 16 20 139 Malcolm Stewart 11
