Feature photo by: Octopi
The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship kicked off on Saturday with the Hangtown National, and both of the defending Champions, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac (450) and Rockstar Energy / Husqvarana’s Zach Osborne (250), went 1-1 in the respective classes.
In the 250MX class, Zach was joined on the podium by the former two-time 250 National Champ, GEICO / Honda’s Jeremy Martin, (2-2) and Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger (3-4). In the 450MX class, Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin (2-2) and Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia (3-3) were flanking Tomac on the podium.
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their first outdoor MX race of 2018.
Eli Tomac: (1st in 450MX) “I had a blast today. I felt loose and comfortable on the bike all day, which really made racing easy. I’ve always loved racing here and have had incredible success at this track. It was a really good day and I’m looking forward to Glen Helen.”
Zach Osborne: (1st in 250MX) “Yeah, that was pretty good. I has a few places where l felt like I was a lot better where I could pass someone every lap if I needed to. One of those being the half pipe and that downhill. I felt like I could put it anywhere and be comfortable. I think that comes a little bit from having an entire year on my setup that I had today. I haven’t changed a thing since Colorado last year. I think being familiar with my bike and knowing exactly how it’s going to feel and react is a nice thing. I didn’t really make a lot of mistakes or have any adverse things happen so it was nice pretty stress free day. I’m happy with it and hope to carry the momentum into Glen Helen.”
Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 450MX) “The first round, to get a second-place is a good start. The second moto I got squeezed off the start, Eli and I were a little in the back, and I thought it was going to be a tough one but I was able to come back to the lead, which is awesome. I’m really happy about my riding today. It’s the first race with a new bike setup and we’re not too far off of being 100 percent, so I’m looking forward to next weekend and I’m glad I started the year off right, I would say. We’ll try to get better next weekend.”
Jeremy Martin: (2nd in 250MX) “It was solid. It was good. I got a good start in the first moto and then Zach [Osborne] got around me. Ripped a good start in moto two, Aaron Plessinger and I were battling [for the lead]. We bumped a little bit in the half pipe and I got the lead. Then Zacho, I heard him coming. That Husky sounds like one of a kind. We kind of yo-yo’d for the rest of the race and he got away just enough and put it on cruise control.”
Justin Barcia: (3rd in 450MX) Yeah, it was a good start-a good day. There were lots of positives to take out of it. Not too many negatives. I need to execute a few things a little better, but all in all for the first race it’s a positive one. I think for me finishing on the podium is important. I wanted to set the tone and show that I’m going to be a guy that’s up there. I was a little off the first two guys [Tomac and Musquin]. There are going to be other guys that are going to get faster as the season goes on. This is the first race and everyone has stuff to work on. For me, it was important to get on the podium and be there. I really wanted to be there. I knew I could be there and I did that.
Jason Anderson: (4th in 450MX) “I went 4-6 for fourth. I rode hard and think it was a good start. I’m looking forward to improving throughout the remainder of the season.”
Weston Peick: (6th in 450MX) “Hangtown wasn’t ripped as deep as it usually is, but it still got rough. It was hard pack in some areas. I felt really good in the first moto. I got off to a slow start, but found a good flow and passed up to fifth place. I’ve been dealing with a hand issue, and it really bothered me. At one point my hand was going numb. I went into the second moto dealing with a lot of pain, but I stuck it out and did what I could. My hand started bothering me again at about the 15 minute mark, but I fought through it. We made a suspension change after the first moto to get the fork to hold up, but we went a bit too extreme, and that resulted in the forks being too stiff. That was okay, though, because we figured out what works and what doesn’t. I’m looking forward to Glen Helen.”
Chase Sexton : (6th in 250MX) “I’d say it was a decent day. Wasn’t great, wasn’t bad. Qualified fourth but got eleventh in the first moto. I got a pretty good start but fell over twice and went off the track. It wasn’t a very good first moto. But the second moto I got a good start, fifth or sixth, and passed Aaron [Plessinger] and was trying to pass Alex [Martin] and kind of got caught up and Aaron got by me again and I got fifth. It wasn’t too bad, sixth overall, and we’re going to Glen Helen healthy and ready to go.”
Christian Craig: (8th in 450MX) “I’m happy to get out of Hangtown healthy and to start building from here. The first race of the season is always nice to get out of the way. I felt pretty good all day, qualifying fourth in practice. I pulled the holeshot in the first moto and led some laps before getting passed by a couple guys, then crashing. I got up but was in ninth, then passed for eighth. In the second moto, [Blake] Baggett and I got together out of the gate so it ruined my start. I started mid-pack and worked my way up. I ended up going off the track and tipping over in that one. It was kind of a mess, but luckily I was able to make my way up to eighth again and get out of there inside the top 10 overall. I know where I stand in that class so I’m happy with my speed and fitness; I just need to stop making little mistakes.”
Joey Savatgy: (7th in 250SX) “Today was really up and down for me. I couldn’t quite find my marks which made me feel uncomfortable on the bike. Seventh overall isn’t bad, but we can do much better. We’ll go back home this week and work on a few things and hopefully come out swinging at Glen Helen.”
Phillip Nicoletti: (9th in 450MX) “The weekend was okay, given the amount of time I had on the bike. I had stomach issues all day, which played into my performance. Overall, being able to rip a holeshot in the second moto and running up front for a while was nice. I couldn’t hold the pace, due to my stomach problems, but it was a decent start to the Nationals. We made good changes with the suspension and chassis, and it will pay off.”
Ken Roczen: (11th in 450MX) “I knew this weekend was going to be kind of crazy. We haven’t had a lot of time to prepare for the race, but I wanted to start the season off. We need seat time so there’s no better practice than racing. We knew we were going to show up and have to just wing it to see what we could do. I got the clearance to ride a few weeks ago, though it’s been very hard for me, with my thumb, to get a lot riding time in. We knew that we shouldn’t have high expectations because of the lack of preparation that I was able to get on the bike, but I’ve done everything I can and left nothing on the table in terms of what I can do to prepare my body. In the first moto I ended up sixth, which we were pretty happy with considering where we’re at. I knew the second moto was going to be tough. I’m incredibly fit, but my race fitness and bike fitness are just not there yet. I know each and every weekend, I’m going to be making big steps forward, which is important. We were also searching a little bit on the suspension side, just because I’ve only had a couple days of testing prior to this race. We still have a little more work to do to optimize everything. We made a little change from the first to the second moto; sometimes you have it in your mind, ‘What if there’s something better?’ Unfortunately, we went the wrong direction. Overall, I gave it my all and we came away healthy, which is important. I’m definitely going to do some work this week on both myself and the bike and show up at Glen Helen in a good mood and ready to rock.”
RJ Hampshire : (9th in 250MX) “Happy to be back at the races!. 10-7 on the day, not terrible but really struggled to get going. My starts were poor and I kind of just ran the pace the guys around me were running. Hoping this was an off weekend for us and we can build off of it for next weekend! I’m spending these next couple weeks in California so we can do some work with the bike and get me a little bit more comfortable.”
Garrett Marchbanks: (10th in 250MX) “Today was good. Our goal was to leave here top-10 and that’s exactly what we accomplished, so I’m happy. I tried to not let my nerves get the best of me, and once I got out on the track I knew I belonged here. I can’t thank Kawasaki enough for believing in me.”
Austin Forkner: (12th in 250MX) “Luck wasn’t quite on our side today. Had an amazing start in Moto 1 and ran with the leaders until the final lap and crashed, which really fired me up to rebound in Moto 2, but I ended up not being able to finish the second moto due to a pain in my chest. I’ll rest up this week and see everyone at Round 2.”
Kyle Chisholm: (12th in 450MX) “It’s a solid start to a long summer, but man, one more pass in the 2nd moto and I would have finished 10th overall” Chisholm said after the race. “I rode tight the first moto and think that affected my overall fitness and speed in the second moto. Overall, it was good start and I’m focused on improving my result at Glen Helen next weekend.”
Michael Mosiman: (13th in 250MX) “This was my home race at Hangtown to start off the season,” said Mosiman. “The goal was to keep it on two wheels, get a solid race, and get some points. We did that. I stayed up and ended up 13th. It was a pretty solid day. The track was gnarly, but I got through it. Those motos are long, but now we’re focused on next week.”
Enzo Lopes: (15th in 250MX) “My first National was a really cool experience. The way I look at is that we still have plenty of motos to go. I rode pretty tight in the first timed practice, because of nerves. I felt better in the second timed practice and ended up 11th fastest, which was pretty good. I had a decent start in the first moto and battled with some established riders. That moto I ended up 13th, which was good. I had a better start in the second moto and was running in 11th place, but I crashed and fell back to 17th. That crash slowed me up, and I was only able to get back to 15th place. I am happy to get my first National out of the way, and I can’t wait for Glen Helen!”
Justin Hill: (16th in 250MX) “Outdoors is gnarly, and every year it gets more gnarly. I don’t think I’ve ever showed up with the bike being so close to what it needs to be chassis and suspension wise. My Achilles heel was the starts, but the bike performed great. We did some testing the past few weeks, and that paid off. The results were not what I wanted at Hangtown, but I felt like I rode well once I got going. Now I know what I need to change, and that’s to get going off the start and sprint hard. That’s an internal thing that I have to fix. I think I can run with the front guys. I need to be up front and battling with them.”
Jordan Bailey: (19th in 250MX) “I started off ok in the first practice. I had a couple mistakes, but I’m just trying to learn every time I’m on the track. I got a good start in the first moto and was just nervous being a rookie. I got another good start in the second race, but there was a big pileup and I got caught up in it. I charged as hard as I could and I’ll move on to Glen Helen, keep learning, and will get better every weekend.”
