The 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to New Berlin, NY. for round ten, and Mother Nature put everyone to the test. In the 450 class, Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin had no issues with the mud, and he recorded his sixth-straight moto win and third-straight overall win. With Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac struggling in the mud to a ninth place finish, the #25 cut his deficit in the points down to 31. Marvin was joined on the podium by Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Martin Davalos (8-2) in second and HRC / Honda’s Cole Seely (3-6) in third.

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In the 250 class, GEICO / Honda’s Jeremy Martin was the man. The #6 finished second to Monster / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy in the opening moto, but when the skies opened up in moto two he grabbed the holeshot and ran away with the moto two and overall win. Finishing on the podium with Martin was Savatgy (1-4) in second and Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne (3-5) in third.

After the playing in the mud was over, we gathered some quotes from a myriad of top finishing riders at Unadilla.

Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450) “Today was really tough, but I did have fun. It poured so hard and I understand why they had to red flag the first moto because of the lightning. We were late starting the second moto because of the storm but once the gate dropped I did my best to grab the holeshot and lead early on. I knew I needed to ride a smart race out front and not get passed in order to make it a bit easier on myself in all the mud. In moto one I had good battles with Baggett and in the second moto I know Davalos was right there behind me many times. I just wanted to control my races and I think that’s what I did. Nothing came easy though. I nearly crashed on the last lap of moto 2, it was so close, but thankfully was able to keep it together and finish in front. I’m really pleased with myself to go 1-1 in these conditions today, they were tough.”

Tomac gave away 23-points at round 10 to Musquin. Photo by: Ryne Swanberg

Jeremy Martin: (1st in 250) “I mean, yeah, it’s nice. I don’t really dictate off the second moto. I dictate off the first moto. I locked bars with teammates RJ [Hampshire] and Chase [Sexton] and we all stayed in it. Then I was able to kind of get through and not go down and work my way forward and had a good battle with the guys. Joey [Savatgy] was out front doing his deal. I tried to reel him in, but he was just doing what he needed to do to get the win. Second moto I just got a holeshot. That was it guys! Working on some things just off the bike as well. Just trying to get a little bit more – obviously it’s the end of the season so you can’t get much more fit but just trying to do a couple different things differently. My parents had a local race. They had like 500 riders on the weekend off [at their track in Millville, Minnesota]. So, on Monday and then on Tuesday of this last week I tested. So, there was like three or four ruts in every corner and I was like, ‘We’re going to tune this GEICO machine in a little bit.’ We were able to make little percentage gains in the fork and shock and take the edge off. I felt like it helped today”

 

Martin Davalos: (2nd in 450) “Unadilla is an awesome track. Everyone was watching the weather coming. They didn’t disc the track really deep like they normally do here because of the weather. I think it was a good call because it down poured during our first moto. It started around the third lap and there was a lot of lightning. I did my best, but the struggle with the goggles was difficult with the amount of rain we were getting. We lounged around for awhile before the second moto because we didn’t know what time we were going to go. I got a decent start and just put my head down. I stayed positive and came out with a second in that moto and it put me in second overall. I’m super proud of myself and proud of everything. I’m thankful to be where I’m at.”

 

Joey Savatgy: (2nd in 250) We’re on the podium so I’d say we’re doing pretty well. It’s painful [leg from colliding with lapper] but I’ll live. I’m walking and we’re able to be on the podium. My start wasn’t what we needed. I kind of spun a little bit, but my Scott goggles were great. I actually had enough tear-offs, but I ran into a few lappers on the last lap and had to pull the goggles off which was a bummer. Man, the Scott goggles got us through that moto. They were life savers because I didn’t get a good start. All in all, we’re blessed to be on the podium. There was a little bit of a delay today, but the fans were awesome. I’m stoked and glad to get out of here in one piece.

Jeremy Martin’s moto 2 holeshot carried him to the win. Photo by: GEICO / Honda

Cole Seely: (3rd in 450) “I was determined to ride a steady race and it paid off in the first moto. It was a race to survive in Moto 2 and I am pumped to be able to get an overall podium. I feel like we’ve been able to get better and better each race so I hope we can continued this trend.”

 

Zach Osborne: (3rd in 250) “All in all it was a good day,” said Osborne. “It definitely could have been a little bit better, but I’m happy to come away with a podium. That second moto was high stakes, and I’m happy I got a top-five and come away with another podium. I’ve only missed one podium the entire season, so I’m just trying to keep that trend going. I hope to carry some momentum in Budds Creek—it’s a track I really enjoy and I look forward to it.”

 

Dean Wilson: (6th in 450) “I’m happy to walk away with some good points. I feel like my riding is probably the best it’s been this year, but it didn’t really show. We got cut short the first moto, then it started raining and was a mud moto. It was completely muddy the second moto. I’m still happy to walk away with sixth overall. It’s all good. I’m happy to move on to the next weekend and hope to have a good showing.”

 

Justin Cooper: (5th in 250) My start killed me in the first moto, but I was able to get out front with Jeremy [Martin, in moto 2] and pace off of him. I tried going after him a couple of times, but the track was a little too one-lined. It was hard to pass out there so I just tried to be smart and take it easy. I really didn’t want to throw that one away.

 

Cooper Webb: (4th in 450) “Ole Unadilla skies opened up on us this weekend! Solid weekend in the books was able to qualify 2nd and go 7-3 for 4th overall. Made some costly mistakes in moto 1, but felt great in the 2nd moto. Really wanna get an overall podium! Thanks for all the support.”

 

Dylan Ferrandis: (4th in 250) “It’s for everybody the same [the mud]. It as a big challenge the second moto. It could be worse. The track was really where the water didn’t stick that much on the track. It was good to have the bad weather on that kind of track today. The start was really important. I managed a good start but in the first lap I had so much projection that I had to use my tear-offs and a lot of guys passed me. So I had to fight the whole moto to get back to third. I mean it’s good—it’s good points. I’m really sad to not make the podium today, but it’s like this. There is two more races [in the series] to try to have a good race with podiums and moto win I hope.”

Osborne carries a 63 point lead into the final 2 rounds. Photo by: Simon Cudby

Justin Bogle: (7th in 450) “Well that got interesting Thanks to the team and everyone supporting me for all the hard work, today was tough! But fun… kinda.

 

Shane McElrath: (12th in 250) “That second moto was one of the craziest I’ve ever ridden in and I’m glad we were able to make it through and actually gain some positions. It was overall a tough day, but we stayed healthy and will look to bounce back into the top 10 next weekend.”

 

Weston Peick: (13th in 450) “Well Unadilla went from 0-100 real quick. Had a solid 6th first moto then second moto was a blood bath. Growing up in Cali really showed my true mud skills, not.”

 

Sean Cantrell: “I felt pretty good in Moto 1 and think I could have done well in the second moto if the rain didn’t destroy the track. It was a bummer to go down in the opening moments of the second moto, but hopefully we’ll get back up there at Budds Creek.”

 

Eli Tomac: (9th in 450) “I’m glad to get through today. The weather was crazy and made conditions extremely sketchy. I’m just happy to be in once piece and holding the red plate.”

Webb’s first overall 450 podium was close with a 4th at Uadilla. Photo by: Ryne Swanberg

RJ Hamshire: (8th in 250) “Felt good in practice and first moto!. Somehow I saved a first turn crash first moto but was way back after that. I felt really good and had some good passes but kind of ran out of time. Starting that far back really hurt me. I don’t have that [Zach] Osborne type speed that can start 20th and be battling up front by the end. Made my way up to eighth but felt like I had a lot in the tank for that second moto! Then the rain came down. I had a good start and had a pretty good moto going. I was running third then a lapper fell into my line, I tried to get out of it but lost the front and slid headfirst through about four puddles. Got up and just tried to keep it on two wheels after that. 8-6. I’ll be ready for Budds Creek.”

 

Adam Cianciarulo: (6th in 250) “Today didn’t go as planned, but there are still positives to take away,” said Cianciarulo. “I had another lead in the palm of my hands and I let it go, but it felt good to lead some laps and ride in some clean air. I learned a lot from today’s race and conditions and I’m confident we can get a win before the end of the year.”

 

Chase Sexton: (9th in 250) “Tied my best finish, I got a seventh at RedBud. But it was a good moto, started about 14th and passed some good people, almost got [Dylan] Ferrandis at the end. It was a little tough to pass but the track was pretty fun. Second moto was just a disaster. I went down and just lost all vision. I got 12th and ninth overall, but I’m happy with the first moto and I think my starts are coming around so I think we can be up around the top five.”

 

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.