All Photos by: Chase Yocom
The 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to Mechanicsville, MD. for round eleven, and the fans were treated to a day of firsts. The headline first of the day at Budds Creek was Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne finishing second overall (8-1) and clinching his first-ever AMA 250 National Championship.
Following up Zach’s first, Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (1-2) took his first-ever overall win the 250MX class, and RCH / Yoshimura / Suzuki’s Justin Bogle took his first ever national win in the 450MX class—also Justin’s first 450 podium ever. Also scoring his first-ever national podium was Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Shane McElrath, finishing third overall with a 4-3 on the day.
When everyone was through celebrating their first-evers, we gathered quotes from twenty top finishing riders about their days at the 2017 Budds Creek National.
Zach Osborne: (2nd in 250 – Champ) It started off to be a really good day. I had a good timed practice and got the second position. Then I went down in the first turn of the first moto then had to give it everything I had. I put all my focus on that second start. I got out to a second or third place start and just dropped the hammer and never looked back. It’s unreal. Like I said in the press conference, there were some personal challenges this season and things to overcome, but all in all, it’s been an incredible year and something that I’ve very much enjoyed. It’s a year that I’ll remember forever. It’s a dream season if there ever was such a thing. It’s been a long time coming to come here and win a title and, last year, my first overall victory. It’s an amazing feeling and something that won’t kick in for a couple of days.
Justin Bogle: (1st in 450) It feels good. I haven’t had the best season, so to go out and get another moto win and then back it up with another solid moto…I know I got the moto win in Colorado, but my second moto was horrendous. So to back it up with two solid motos and get the overall, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s my first podium outdoors on a 450, so to make it an overall win, you can’t ask for anything more.
Adam Cianciarulo: (1st in 250) It feels so good to be able to repay everyone that has stood by me with a win today. Since I made my rookie debut here in 2013, I’ve had to really work hard with some ups and downs but I’m feeling like everything is coming together. I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong and carrying the momentum into Supercross.
Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 250) My starts just weren’t good today, and I put myself in a tough spot to win both motos. I was around 8th in the first moto rounding the first turn. It was tough coming through the pack. I was going through tear offs really fast trying to get by everyone. But, I was able to push hard and come back strong to finish 2nd in that moto, I didn’t get the greatest start in the second moto. I was somewhere around 15th and had to push hard to try and make up ground on the guys up front. The top three guys were truly gone by the time I worked my way into fourth-place spot. The gap was too big to catch them in time. I had to settle for 2-4 moto finishes for 2nd overall. Although second overall isn’t bad, my goal was to go 1-1 like the last few weekends because I would then earn the maximum 50 points for the weekend. I earned 40 points toward my championship today, so I left 10 points on the table that I would have liked to add to my standings. Hopefully I get my starts dialed back in for the final round next weekend so I can try to finish my season off strong.
Shane McElrath: (3rd in 250) It feels so great to finally put together two good motos. I would love to see another two good motos to close out the season next week. With two of our teammates out, it’s nice to be able to give this back to the team and see their hard work payoff too.
Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450) I’m really happy that I was able to turn things around in the second moto and to be on the podium today. I felt great today but had a rough start in Moto 1. Going into Moto 2, I knew I had to put myself in a better position and everything came together. There’s no slowing down now and we’re going to continue to battle at Ironman next week.
Jeremy Martin (4th in 250) Budds Creek was solid for me going 2-6 for fourth overall. Had the speed to win and go for my third overall of the year if it wasn’t for a weird mid race front end tuck that caused me to crash. Looking forward to the last round in Indiana!
Dean Wilson: (10th in 450) The day started off well. I was fastest in my first qualifier. Then, unfortunately, it went a little downhill from there. I didn’t get the greatest start in the first moto, then I ran out of tear-offs so I couldn’t see—so I ended up falling in a turn. Then I made a big mistake in a rough section that sent me flying into the fence. It was disappointing. I bounced back in the second moto. I’m all in one piece and I’m looking forward to next weekend.
Sean Cantrell (14th in 250) We’ve seen so many people injured this season and while I would like to be in the top 10, it’s good to be going into the final race healthy. I have one more chance to learn and be aggressive. I hope to break into the top 10 overall.
Cole Seely: (5th in 450) I’m happy with fifth overall today. I actually feel lucky to have even gotten that after how my second moto went. I think I’ve been riding a lot better over the past three weeks and have had much more intensity, so that’s a positive. I felt great in the first moto and was closing in on the leaders while in third before going down. I got going real quick but a few laps later Marvin [Musquin] got by me. If I didn’t have that one major mistake, I feel like I could’ve possibly won or at least got second because I felt good. I just struggled in the second moto, which is the only real negative from today. I had a little malfunction with my goggles, so I had a hard time seeing out there but it is what it is.
Colt Nichols (7th in 250) First trip to Budds was pretty good for me. Felt good to get somewhat towards the front, and mix it up with those boys. The bike was working quite nicely. Thank you to the whole team for still trying everything to get me comfy. 7-5 on the day and one round left to go.
Martin Davalos: (12th in 450) Today was good, until the second moto. My second motos are usually my strong point. I got third in the first moto and had decent lines. I was leading for a bit but Bogle had better lines and passed me. I ended up third. I was top-10 at the start of the second moto, then moved to ninth or eighth then made a silly mistake. My knee was acting kind of weird so I went to the doctor to get it checked out. I’m going home to regroup then will try and finish the season strong.
Kyle Chisholm: (17th in 450) Leg is looking a little rough today. To top it off, when my footpeg broke jumping down a hill on first lap of practice, it was the footpeg of this leg so it went straight into the ground. But I made it through the day, and the medic crew checked it out. It’s not broken so that’s good. Just a bone bruise and hematoma from last weekend.
RJ Hamsphire: (6th in 250) Felt really good on the bike this weekend. First moto we got off to a good start and found the speed early. The three of us were back and forth pretty much the whole moto till we hit some lappers. A couple almost took me down! I had a good moto though and was happy with another moto podium. Second moto I had this rookie next to me hit the gate and not stop, then when the gate did drop his handle bar fell into my arm so I was about last coming into the first turn. Everyone was close, so starting that far back was not an easy task. I felt good all day and had that podium speed. We have one more chance to get that podium overall next weekend!
Christian Craig (9th in 450) Today was another race where I qualified good [fourth] and couldn’t get that result in the motos. My starts haven’t been where they were in the beginning of the summer, before I broke my hand. Starting mid-pack makes it hard to make a lot of moves, especially with a stacked class. I’m happy to get another top-10 for the team but based on my speed and qualifying every week, I should be getting better results. There’s one round left and one more chance to get into the top five overall.
Chase Sexton: (8th in 250) Decent day on Saturday, qualifying was my best yet with P3 and was happy with my riding! First moto got in a first turn pile up and came from pretty much last to ninth. Second moto I’m pretty sure everyone knows that I hit the gate! I wanted a holeshot so bad, as soon as I thought I saw something flinch, I went for it! I was 10+ seconds behind the last guy and I knew I had a lot of work to do. Got back up to ninth again which gave me 8th overall. Happy with my riding but my starts have been horrendous. Doing starts till I’m sick of them this week. They will be improved for Indiana!
Blake Baggett (4th in 450) Right now, I have two motos to go and then the pain and misery is over. It’s motocross. It’s a fair playing field so my bad for getting hurt, but I just gotta deal with I got. My surgery [on injured thumb] is scheduled. I just gotta give these guys a run for the money, and fight them all as if everybody is an enemy and give it my best shot. (laughs) I’m going to give it everything I have every time.
Justin Cooper (11th in 250) Struggled a bit in moto 1 with the heat and had a tip over, but I was able to rebound for a better moto in the second one. Just trying to have fun out there, and learn as much as I can. 14-8 on the day.
Joey Crown: Well, pretty disappointed how Budds Creek went. Made some dumb mistakes, and I wasn’t riding to my potential. I will learn from those mistakes. Looking forward to Ironman MX!
Weston Peick: (6th in 450) Oh, Budds Creek was hot humid and one lined, but managed to to finish 6th. Few things to work on for the last round, and hopefully we can finish with a podium.
Freddie Noren: (16th in 450) The weekend didn’t really go as planned, but I can still take some positives from it. It was still fun racing at Budds. Recharge for Ironman next weekend!
