Round eleven of the twelve round Lucas Oil Motocross Championship heads to Delmont, Pennsylvania for the Steel City National. After last week’s chaos in Southwick brought on by Hurricane Irene, everyone will be happy hit the loamy Steel City circuit, but one thing that was great about the rain and mud of Southwick was the fact that a different color bike was finally able to cross the line first. After eighteen-straight motos of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki dominance in the 2011 250 AMA Motocross Championship, it was a pleasant change to see a different team celebrate a moto win.
That celebration was had by the DNA/Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha team, and it was Gareth Swanepoel‘s first-ever moto win that they were celebrating. What made the win even sweeter was the fact that Gareth had to fight off two of the Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s to get the job done. Both Dean Wilson and Tyla Rattray were up front with Gareth throughout the whole moto, and Tyla had even taken the lead at one point. But Gareth went on to pass his fellow South African back and got the win. In moto two, though, Tyla got the last word with the moto two win and the overall, but the Pro Circuit streak of winning every moto had come to an end.
With Tyla’s overall win, he was able to pass teammate Blake Baggett to take over second place in the points, but once again, Dean Wilson’s consistency was what really won the day. Deano went into Southwick with a twenty-five point lead over Baggett and left with a dominant thirty-eight point lead in the Championship. Deano’s consistency has absolutely stolen the show in 2011, a year in which he has essentially put on a clinic for all future Champions on how to win a title. Looking at the stat sheet, Baggett has five wins and Rattray has four, so it is easy to assume they would be the points leaders instead of the guy with one win. But when you really look at the stats, it becomes obvious who is winning this Championship.
In twenty motos, Deano has seven wins, seven seconds, four thirds, one fifth and an eighth place finish. The kid from Scotland has only missed the overall podium once all year. That, my friends, is a perfect recipe for winning a motocross Championship. With a thirty-eight point lead and only four motos left in the 2011 Championship, the number fifteen can cruise to his first-ever professional Championship.
With Deano’s name almost engraved on the 2011 National Championship trophy the main battle in points will be for the best of the rest. Before Southwick, Blake Baggett had a shot at the title, but after an off day in the sand, he is now back in third, forty points behind Wilson. Tyla Rattray, with his overall win at Southwick, moved around Blake in the points, but the two are still only two points apart. With the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team already making history by clinching the top three spots in the Championship, all that is left is bragging rights and bonus checks. Mitch Payton, no matter what happens from here on, is the happiest team manager in the pits. Congrats to Mitch and to his whole team on a spectacular season.
250 Motocross Points After Ten Rounds
1 15 Dean Wilson 438
2 28 Tyla Rattray 400
3 57 Blake Baggett 398
4 35 Kyle Cunningham 264
5 19 Eli Tomac 246
6 387 Gareth Swanepoel 241
7 20 Broc Tickle 220
8 17 Justin Barcia 181
9 23 Martin Davalos 175
10 46 Alex Martin 170
