Photos by: Simon Cudby
The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship headed to the sand of Southwick, Mass. for round number six and the Southwick National. For the first time in 2018, it was not Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac walking away with the hardware in the 450 class. This time, Eli made one too many mistakes and it was Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin that was there to take advantage and score his first win of the year. Eli’s win streak ended at five, but he was still good enough to tie Musquin in points for the day to finish 2nd overall. The third spot on the box was occupied by Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia.
In the 250MX class, Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis broke through for his first-ever national win with a 4-1 score on the day. The final two spots on the podium were monopolized by Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull / KTM riders with Alex Martin in 2nd and Shane McElrath in 3rd.
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their sixth outdoor MX race of 2018.
Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450MX) “It’s not always the fastest guy that wins the race and we saw it today. It was really demanding and tough out there, and physically it was rough and hot. In the first moto, I was leading a few laps and it was awesome but when you know Eli is behind you it’s not easy, but I kept pushing. He finally got me at the end and I was going to give a fight back but unfortunately, I went down. Second moto, I got a good start but it was hard for me to push super hard in the first few laps, my intensity wasn’t quite there and Eli was gone. But then, at the end of the day, he made mistakes and I was able to capitalize on that and stay consistent, stay on two wheels and ride to the finish.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (1st in 250MX) “My key is the last four or five years I was in Europe and trained in the sand for multiple GP’s. That’s definitely I think what’s helped me today on this kind of track. The experience on tracks more difficult then today in GP–like Lommel and Valkenswaard. I think that all the experience back in Europe helped me for this race.”
Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450MX) “We have to be happy going 1-2 at Southwick, but I know I let this one get away,” said Tomac. “I didn’t get the start I needed in either moto but I was able to battle and put myself back in contention. Moto 1 was a real battle until the end and I was happy to be able to make the pass on the final two laps to take the win. In Moto 2, I made a couple of mistakes that put me on the ground but leaving here with a second overall and healthy after two crashes is pretty good. We’re heading to Red Bud keeping the red plate and we’ll keep things rolling.”
Alex Martin: (2nd in 250MX) “[On collision with Austin Forkner] That normally doesn’t happen to me, but I sat behind Forkner…I started 8th in the first moto and tracked him down and was running behind him and was like, “Ah, the second moto. It’s gonna happen.” He was riding strong in the second moto. He wanted that win real bad. It got to the point where there was like four laps left where I was like I’m going to have to make a serious pass and try to get physical to do something. ‘Cause he was still riding pretty strong. I caught him from like 8 seconds back and Dylan was coming as well so we needed to get going. I had a line picked out in the back and for a couple of laps I thought about it and I finally pulled the trigger. I feel like I had the front wheel on him and he came over, we locked bars and the rest is history. Luckily I was able to get 4th. I went over and apologized to him. We don’t mean for those things to happen, but when you’re going for a win at the top level of the sport some times you kind of give her the berries a little too much. All in all, I’m happy to be on the podium in 2nd.”
Justin Barcia: (3rdin 450MX) “I led a few laps today. I didn’t have the greatest starts but I made the best of it the first couple of laps sprinting The track was difficult today–it was hard. I struggled quite a bit with line choices. All in all I’m happy to be on the podium, but like I’ve said in the past I kind of want more. I expect more out of myself but it’s good to be on the podium.”
Shane McElrath: (3rd in 250MX) “Actually, I broke my outdoor podium record today. I got two in a year. It’s a big step for me. Today I really struggled with the bike all day. I couldn’t really get it dialed in. With that, being on the podium feels like a win. For having an off day and not feeling very good, it;s good to be on the podium and also same with Alex, having two of the TLD / KTM guys up there. It’s nice.”
Ken Roczen: (5th in 450MX) “It was a little bit of a struggle. We made some changes to the bike to help me out a little bit, but you don’t want to make too many changes on race day. It’s still a learning curve after so much time off the bike. I’m trying everything at home to get back, but I feel like race shape is just going to take a little time. Today was brutal–super-hot and the track was pretty beat–plus I haven’t been here in a couple years. I fought it out, and I’m just going to continue working with the team and working on myself to get better. I’m healthy and got good starts again, so I’m pretty happy from that side. I’ve been going quite hard throughout the week, trying to put in more and more work, but I think sometimes it’s good to take it a notch down and fully recover. RedBud could be another hot one, so we’ll recover and hopefully have a good race next weekend”
RJ Hampshire : (4th in 250MX) “Really tough week on my body. First practice we were decent and then second practice I couldn’t even hold on to the handlebars. I think I was outside the top 20! First moto I got a decent start and was able to stay with the front pack for a few laps and then went down. Never really got going again and ended up seventh. Our plan going into that second moto was to just get a good start and not worry about going fast but just clicking off laps. I ended up holeshotting but got passed right away. By no means was I close to going the fastest but I was just clicking them off like we had planned. Third in the second moto for a fourth overall is a pretty big step considering my week. The team and I will continue to make progress”
Cooper Webb: (8th in 450MX) “First race back is in the books. 8-9 for 8th overall. Southwick was hot and rough to say the least! Have a lot of work to do to catch up but man it is nice to be back at the races! ”
Austin Forkner: (7th in 250MX) “”I’m happy with the way I’m riding right now and I expected to be on the podium today,” said Forkner. “We put in a lot of work this week and trained for the sand so I couldn’t have been more prepared. It’s really disappointing to have Moto 2 end the way it did when I was doing everything I could to run a clean race and put together two good motos. We are going to continue to work and we’ll be back at it next week at Red Bud.”
Phil Nicoletti: (9th in 450MX) “Southwick was good. I rode really well but I went down twice, and it took a little wind out of my sails. It was brutally hot today. I think everyone struggled a bit. I’m still making progress and I’m feeling better. I’m going to keep working to get ready for RedBud next week.”
Chase Sexton: (8th in 250MX) “”Southwick, I had a pretty good day going with qualifying fourth out of practice and then getting a fifth in the first moto even with having a tip over mid moto. Second moto had a really good start but connected with a few riders in the first turn which put me on the ground. The rest of the moto I had some more falls and it was just an overall rough moto for me. It’s too bad because I felt pretty good riding. I’m really looking forward to these last six nationals and I’m ready to put two solid motos together this next weekend at RedBud! It’s time to be a podium contender every weekend”
Weston Peick: (10th in 450MX) “Southwick was tough. I got off to a rough start. On Friday, I crashed hard during press day and hurt my shoulder. I was going into Saturday banged up. In the first practice, we made some changes in order to find a good setup for the sand. We went one direction, but I struggled with it in the first moto. I got tangled in the first turn, but made some passes and settled into a groove. We made some suspension changes for the second moto, and that was better. I went down in the first turn and came through the pack pretty quickly, but then I collided with a rider while passing for 10th. I had to dig deep, and I came back to 11th. Overall, it was a bad weekend, but I played it safe and salvaged some points.”
Mitchell Harrison: (9th in 250MX) “I love Southwick. I love the sand. I hit the gate in the first moto and crashed a few times. I rode like I know how to in the second moto and felt really strong. I came back to a sixth. I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence going into RedBud, which is my home race.”
Justin Bogle: (23rd in 450MX) “My starts were awesome. Pretty much everything else beside that was far off. Fortunately, I got the first race out of the way. I felt good in the first half of the motos, but Southwick was hot and gnarly. I’m adjusting to racing again, because it has been so long since I’ve seen a gate drop. It was a shock to the system. Southwick wasn’t one of my best days, but I do know that there’s a lot more, so I’m not too worried about it. Things will come here soon.”
Michael Mosiman: (10th in 250MX) “This was my first time at Southwick. It was actually really fun. I had good practice times. My starts weren’t great, but I charged. The first couple of laps were brutal with the sand, but I just started moving ahead. I started 21st in the first moto and ended up 10th, so that was good. I got collected with Forkner straight out of the gate in the second moto. I started moving up but then went down after jumping into an area I wasn’t familiar with. I got up slowly and started getting the flow again. I worked my way up to 11th, and I ended up 10th overall. I’m making progress.”
Cameron Mcadoo: (11th in 250MX) “Southwick had some ups and downs and we had to fight hard all day. Ended up ninth in moto 1, but moto two was tough. I ran into a down bike on the start and crashed. I put my head down and made a lot of passes on the first lap, and I was happy about that, but I ended up sliding out in a corner and was back to 40th again! I then worked my way to 13th. The 9-13 for 11th overall isn’t exactly what I wanted, but I can see the positives. We’ll put in some more work this week and be ready for RedBud”
Jordan Bailey: (12th in 250MX) “Southwick is a sand race, and it was brutal. I crashed twice in the first moto, but my starts were good all day. I was in sixth for a long time in the second moto then got shuffled back and ended up 10th–which is my best finish so far. I’m going to keep building every weekend, and I’m looking forward to RedBud.”
Joey Savatgy: (14th in 250MX) “The track was tough today and it ate a lot of guys up,” said Savatgy. “I felt good in qualifying so it was a bummer to go down in Moto 1. My team did a great job to get me back out there for Moto 2 and we ran a good race. We need to focus on some better starts to put us out front and we’ll be right back in it. I’m looking forward to turning it around next week in Michigan.”
James DeCotis: (21st in 250MX) “It was fun being involved with press day. I was able to go home and see some family, and also visit some of the spots I like to eat at. Everything was going smoothly. I qualified 13th in timed practice, and I didn’t care too much about my position because I was feeling good. In the first moto, I really wanted to get the start. I had a good jump out the gate, and my Suzuki laid down the horsepower in the sandy start. I came around in third and moved into second. Then I rode tight and let the pressure of that event get to me. I wasn’t hitting my marks. I ended up crashing about halfway through the moto, so that set me back. I ended up 20th. I had a good jump in the second moto, but someone ended up tucking their front end and crashing into me. I fell and somehow managed to get my boot caught in the engine. When I pulled my foot out my boot pulled off a radiator hose. My bike was pouring coolant for half of the moto, but then it finally gave up. It was a freak thing”
Justin Hill: (40th in 450MX) “I felt like a fish out of water in the sand. I could have pulled it together and had a really good start in the first moto. I’m fairly certain someone ran me over. That’s why I fell over. I was third when that happened. A foot peg caught me. I really couldn’t feel my arm immediately after the impact. I got on the bike and pushed, but my arm was still numb. It was determined that I should seek additional medical advice after I pulled off the track, so I went to the emergency room and had bad lacerations. The doctors did some nerve tests. That’s why I sat out the second moto. I’m not sure how I pushed through the first moto! It must have been adrenaline. It’s one of those things. If there’s anything I can take from the weekend, it’s crazy what can be accomplish.”
