Baggett left High Point with the red plate. Photo by: Simon Cudby
Round number four of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and the High Point National continued the trend of great racing. In the 450MX class, Rock Mountain ATV/MC / WPS / KTM’s Blake Baggett backed up his Thunder Valley win with overall win two number two in Mount Morris, Pa. The win solidified his status as a championship contender in 2017 and even gave the #4 the red plate heading into round five in Tennessee next weekend. Blake was joined on the 450 podium by Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson in second and RCH / Yoshimura / Suzuki’s Broc Tickle in third.
In the 250 class, GEICO / Honda’s Jeremy Martin got a huge monkey off his back with his first win on the Honda and his first win of the 2017 campaign. The #6 swapped moto wins with Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne—both scoring 47-points on the day with Zach finishing second overall and extending his points lead to 18-points over Jeremy. Standing on the 250 podium with Jeremy and Zach was Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger with a third overall on the day.
After the High Point National was completed, we gathered some quotes from over twenty riders about their afternoon in Mount Morris, Pa.
Blake Baggett: (1st in 450) “I mean, the track was good—you know, a new layout. High Point’s always good, maybe a little muddy this morning. They watered it and then with the rain coming in, but the track turned out, shaped up really good for racing. It kind of was the typical High Point. I got decent starts, was able to get the moto win in the first moto and then I just glided it in for second in the second moto and claimed the overall.”
Jeremy Martin: (1st in 250) It’s been one heck of a rough season for me—Supercross to the beginning of outdoors. I DNF’ed right away the first moto. It’s nice [the win]. I make sure I enjoyed it. These [wins] are hard to come by, especially with how good these guys are. Hopefully the team and I enjoy it tonight.
Broc Tickle: (3rd in 450) “Throughout SX I was building momentum all year, and I had flashes of brilliance—;my starts got better. Even in outdoors, like I felt Hangtown went better compared to last year and last year I got two podiums in a row midseason before I got injured. Coming into outdoors, I knew I was going to be a podium guy. I felt that was realistic and I was capable. For me, I’ve been focusing on my starts, and the things I need to do to feel comfortable like bike changes. We went a different way coming into Hangtown and I think it was a good direction, but we were a little off. It took me a couple of races to figure out what direction we needed to go and we did that during this two weeks break.”
Zach Osborne: (2nd in 250) “Overall it was a good day. I extended my points lead to 18 and won a moto, so it’s a good rebound from where I was in Colorado a couple weeks ago. I feel great and I’m happy with the way I rode.”
Jason Anderson: (2nd in 450) “I thought the track was pretty good. Especially with all the rain and how muddy it was in practice. In the motos it ended up being pretty good. As for my riding, I’m not bummed but not pumped. In the first moto, I crashed two or three times just going for it too much. In the second moto, I was up there but I feel like I made some changes to my bike that made me not be able to run the pace. Also, it was really hot out there.”
Aaron Plessinger: (3rd in 250) I crashed in practice and “the thing” [penis] got smashed by the bars and I scraped it up a little bit. It was the inner thigh and along the rod. (laughs) Not fun and it stings. [second moto] I was riding tight. When Zach [Osborne] passed me I said, “I gotta go, I gotta get back” and that’s what I did. Then [Austin] Forkner went down, and I got by Dylan [Ferrandis] and Alex [Martin]. Late moto charge. (laughs)
Eli Tomac: (4th in 450) “I’m glad to finish today with a win. It was unfortunate to have that crash in Moto 1, but shook it off and pulled off a big win in the second moto by 20 seconds. That feels good. Looking forward to doing it again in Tennessee.”
Alex Martin: (5th in 250) “I definitely spent a lot of energy in that first moto to make it back up to the front after going down,” said Martin. “I felt good in the second moto but the track was super challenging with its hard ruts. I know we can be up front and I think we can prove that next weekend.”
Josh Grant: (6th in 450) “The day started off great,” said Grant. “My starts were on point today with pulling a holeshot in the first moto and finishing third again. I got another great start in Moto 2 but just had a few little mistakes that held me back from the podium.”
Austin Forkner: (6th in 250) “Today was alright. Had decent starts and hung around the top-5 all day and picked up two sixth place finishes. Not exactly what we’re striving for but there is always next weekend to improve. Looking forward to moving on.”
Cole Seely: (10th in 450) “The track was so gnarly today. The new track wasn’t really an issue but the ruts were crazy. I feel better each and every week, but the track got super rough and it really took it out of me. I’m looking forward to Muddy Creek next week, I did well there last year.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (9th in 250) “Today’s conditions were rough. Overall I think my riding was good and I made a lot of passes and held my own out there, but really need to work on my starts to make it easier on myself.”
Marvin Musquin: (11th in 450) “This week was all about salvaging points in the championship. I hurt my left knee so knew it was going to be tough coming into High Point, especially since we were coming in with the red plate. I had to ride both races with my feet on the pegs basically unable to put my left leg out, which obviously restricted what I was able to do on the track. It was tough. But I gave it everything I had and we leave here second in points so it could have been a lot worse. I guess the next few weeks will be about salvaging points and I will just keep trying to do my best.”
Shane McElrath: (11th in 250) “I have felt good and the team is giving me a great bike to work with, but for one reason or another it’s been tough to get the results I know I’m capable of. That’s why we have more races and we’ll keep pushing to break through for those results.”
Dean Wilson: (8th in 450) “It was pretty muddy out there today. I’m not the best in the mud, but I tried my hardest. I ended up ninth in the first moto, but was determined to do better in the second moto. I was in fourth, and was in a good position to do well then just fell over in a turn. I still finished seventh and ended up eighth overall. It was great to be running up in the top-four in the first few laps.”
Chase Sexton: (13th in 250) “First moto wasn’t what I wanted. I went down with A-Mart [Alex Martin] in the first turn and I couldn’t get up. I was probably 30 seconds behind everybody else. I was probably 16th or something and I fell over and I ended up 19th. Then second moto was better. I think I started off 16th or something and came to tenth, so it’s all right. I want to be top ten. I think I can be there for sure. Biggest surprise was probably that I wasn’t surprised with the speed. I think my speed’s fine. The starts, it’s chaos in the first couple of laps. They go for it, for sure. I’ve just got to learn that. I haven’t raced in eight months or something, so it just feels nice to race and get a race in.”
Christian Craig: (DNF-DNS in 450) “Well, I gave it a shot yesterday. Didn’t work out like I hoped. Gotta get some more strength in my hand for these gnarly tracks and I’ll be good to go. Thanks HRC and Oscar Wirdeman [mechanic] for getting me off to another sweet start in that first moto! Hoping to see you next weekend at Muddy Creek.
Joey Savatgy: (7th in 250) “Not the results we were hoping for. After winning last weekend, it’s hard to accept these results. We’ll go back to the farm, do our homework and come back to Round 5 swinging.”
Dean Ferris: (7th in 450) Placed seventh overall. Not quite the second moto I was working for with a pesty first turn crash, but overall was a great day! Huge thank you to everyone for your support.”
Justin Hill: (19th in 250) “It just wasn’t in the cards for us this weekend. On the positive side, it could always be worse. The conditions were tough today and the whole team and I are walking out of here and into Round 5 healthy and at the end of the day, that’s most important.”
Martin Davalos: (12th in 450) “The track was gnarly today. It was really sloppy and muddy. They did a good job fixing it up but it was still pretty challenging. I got 13th the first moto and 10th the second moto. I felt really good. It was the first hot national – which I like. I’m just looking forward to improving a little bit more.”
Sean Cantrell: (15th in 250) “The level that is run up front is pretty incredible and I am learning each weekend how to make the most of my good starts. That is the one thing I feel that I have going for me and can work hard on the other parts of my program to improve each week.”
Cooper Webb: (5th in 450) “A solid weekend at High Point this weekend. 6-5 for 5th overall. Getting better and better each weekend and that’s all I can ask for. Gonna work on some flaws and move forward to Muddy Creek this weekend.”
RJ Hampshire: (8th in 250) “Both motos I had good starts. First moto I got that good start and was so excited to be back racing, I was letting it hang out. Then I got passed by four dudes in one lap! I had to calm it down or I wouldn’t have made it. Once I settled in I started putting good laps together and pulled back up to the pack right behind [Austin] Forkner. Ran there for a few laps and then went down. Second moto I had another good start but didn’t want to blow it like I did first moto so I rode cautious and that bit me. I made so many mistakes! Pretty sure four guys passed me again in one lap! Once again I had to settle back down and start putting laps together. I felt good and made a pass on Savatgy late in the race, then with one to go I had a run in with a lapper on a downhill, we both went flipping. Got up in 8th. But going P8 in my first race since my injury, I’ll take it. I’m just happy to be back at the races and having fun again. I like Muddy Creek so looking forward to this weekend!”
