Feature photo by: Octopi
The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to Pala, California’s Fox Raceway for the first time since 2011 for round two and the 2019 Fox Raceway National, and it was Monster Energy / Kawasaki taking the wins in both classes. Both Eli Tomac (1-1 in 450MX) and Adam Cianciarulo (3-1 in 250MX) put their Kawasaki’s on the top step of the podium and both left with the red plate in hand.
AC was joined on the 250MX podium by two Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s for the second week in a row. It was once again Justin Cooper on the 2nd step of the podium, but this time Colt Nichols was replaced by his teammate Dylan Ferrandis in 3rd. Colt finished 5th, making it the second week in a row with three Star Yamaha’s in the top five.
On the 450MX podium with Tomac was Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin in 2nd and HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen&mdashwho lost the red plate—in 3rd. Rookie 450MX rider Zach Osborne was 4th for the second Saturday in a row on the Rockstar / Husqvarna. Zacho may just be getting started.
Check out some quotes from the podium finishers and quite a few other riders from round two
Eli Tomac: (1st in 450MX) “Man, today is one of those days where all of that hard work pays off. I came back out to California this past week to do some testing with the team and as you can see it really paid off. I had that feeling today where you are just one with the motorcycle and when you find that flow there is nothing stopping you. That first moto at the halfway point I just got angry and was over the roost, so I was stoked to get the win. In the second moto I had a much better start and just waited for the right time to strike. I can’t thank my whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team for all of their hard work this past week. It was rewarding to repay them by going 1-1 and getting that red plate back. I am excited to go to Colorado next weekend and defend my home turf.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (1st in 250MX) “I wasn’t really aware of the overall during the race, I just wanted to win the moto. The first moto – the start just didn’t work out for me. I used a lot of energy in that first race. In the second moto, Hunter (Lawrence) was riding really good so I knew I had to turn it up a little after he went down. Two outdoor wins in the row feels good. It felt like a long time coming to finally get my first two years ago so this feels great to start with two wins”
Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 450MX) “Coming from Hangtown, I had a rough week with only a little bit of riding on Thursday and Friday so I didn’t have much expectation. I just wanted to get back to my full potential and I feel like today I was back to myself. I’m glad to be back on the podium with second overall and happy with my riding.”
Justin Cooper: (2nd in 250MX) “Overall it was another solid day. I’m really striving for the win though, so to come close again is disappointing. It’s also fueling the fire. I was looking to be at front [in Moto 2] but I wasn’t riding as aggressive in the middle of the race and it cost me at the end. I couldn’t catch the front guys and had to settle for second. I am really happy with the bike and team, we will keep fighting to be on top. We are so close! I’m blessed to be in this position so far in the season and pleased that all the hard work is paying off. It’s just going to take a little more to get the job done. I’m really looking forward to getting that win this season.”
Ken Roczen: (3rd in 450MX) “I’m pretty happy with today. Obviously, we want to win but we also have a championship mentality and are in this for the long run, so I’m totally fine with third place. This was my first national here at Fox Raceway and it was a tough day. The track was gnarly so you really had to be smart. I didn’t feel the greatest so to still come out with a podium is good. I got a good start and led for most the first moto, but unfortunately I made a couple big mistakes, where I almost slid out and crashed. That allowed Eli [Tomac] to close in and get by me. I grabbed another good start in the second moto and just tried to do the best I could. I managed to get around some guys and into third, but toward the end I really had to fight to hold the position because Zach [Osborne] was right on me. I’m happy with how I pushed to the end. We’ve got a lot of racing left so I’m looking forward to next week.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (3rd in 250MX) “In the first moto, I had a crash with Adam (Cianciarulo) and I was way back. I had to push really hard to make it up into the top 10. I didn’t really expect to make the podium and wasn’t really worried about it in the second moto. After the start, I tried everything I could but couldn’t make it up to the rest of the guys. It’s really cool to make it back up on the box after missing out last weekend. I’ll try hard next weekend to get back in the championship chase. It’s a long season.”
Zach Osborne: (4th in 450MX) “It was a pretty solid day for me with 5-4 finishes and I have to be content leaving California healthy. This track was brutal today. This is the one that I was the most nervous about as far as the schedule goes and I came out with two decent results. I feel good about my position moving forward and I’ll just keep hammering.”
Chase Sexton: (4th in 250MX) “We had some long testing days and I think it paid off, I felt a lot better than last week. My starts were not there this weekend. Second moto, I came from last to trying to pass for third but ended up falling over. Then I had to go back to work on [Justin] Cooper, and I think he got a second wind and I did everything I could but I couldn’t get him. Coming from that far back, you spend a lot of energy. Fifth overall is okay, we’re making progress, kind of the same way we started the season in supercross. I feel like I should be battling for wins, and I was up there in the first moto, I mean, I got fifth and was only 3.8 seconds behind the leader! So I can’t be too upset. We’re looking forward to Colorado making a few adjustments on the bike, but not too much”
Jason Anderson: (5th in 450MX) “My weekend went pretty good. The first moto, I kind of just hung in there for a fourth place and stayed with the guys. The second moto, I was riding good but I didn’t really have it in me to up the pace comfortably, so I tried to latch onto third and fourth and do my best to finish strong.”
Colt Nichols: (5th in 250MX) “Overall a little disappointed with how the day ended up after feeling really good, but we get to try again next week. My bike was great and I’m really happy with the progress we made this past week. The track was tough today, mostly because passing seemed to be hard. Everyone was getting jammed up a bit at times. I’m really looking forward to next week and am ready to head back east.”
Cooper Webb: (6th in 450MX) “I didn’t the best starts today and just struggled to work my way to the front. I feel like I rode consistently but not at the pace I needed to be at. I’m looking forward to getting back to Florida and getting back into the routine of things this week so we can come out swinging at Thunder Valley.”
Garrett Marchbanks: (7th in 250MX) “This was a much better race for me, even with the bad starts. Knowing I was able to come through after being so far back gives me motivation for the upcoming races. I just need to nail down my starts and we’ll be right up there fighting for a podium”
Michael Mosiman: (8th in 250MX) “My starts were poor today. The first one, I kind of wheelied out of it so we made a little adjustment for the second moto and then the gate flinched and I hit it, so I was dead last. It’s brutal out there when you’re really charging for 30 minutes but I’m pleased with my fitness. 8-11 finishes are not what we work for and not what we wanted but all things considered, I’m happy with how I rode.”
Justin Barcia: (8th in 450MX) “I didn’t get a great flow in the morning and didn’t qualify my best, but going into the moto I knew I would do better. Ended up finishing seventh In the second moto, where the track got even more rough. I’m still building up my fitness and getting stronger coming off of my injuries from earlier this year. All in all it was a decent weekend. I’m glad to leave Fox Raceway healthy, but definitely looking to keep improving and getting better. I’m looking forward to Thunder Valley, I usually do good there.”
Hunter Lawrence: (9th in 250MX) ““Bittersweet weekend here at Fox Raceway. Started off the day solid with third and fourth in the qualifying sessions. First moto had a good start and worked my way into third and then a rock broke my oil filter cap so all the engine oil was draining out and it was dying on the lap just before the accident with Smith happened [Jordon Smith and Lawrence came together and both crashed]. The crash didn’t cause the bike problem, it was already happening, and then it locked up on the downhill where we came together. Lucky to have no injuries. The next moto was cool! Average start from all the way outside and worked my way up to first. I was really feeling it, but I washed the front wheel out and ended up second. Such a big week and I want to give a huge thank you to the team, we rode five days in a row this week, with three big testing days to improve the bike from last weekend, then press day and then race day so it was a big week for us and we are happy to see it pay off in relation to speed and how the bike handled!”
RJ Hamshire: (10th in 250MX) ““Felt really good all day and was happy with my bike. First moto I didn’t get a great start and struggled the first couple laps. I hung in there and just started flowing, late in the moto was so much fun. Top 5 finishing within 4 seconds is crazy! I was definitely happy with the second [place finish. Second moto the gate flinched so a few of us hit the gate. 100 percent, that race should have been red flagged. The whole first lap I was expecting a red flag, and I was not happy that it didn’t come out. So my start was terrible, and then as I was making my way through the pack, AMart [Alex Martin] got sketchy and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, he smoked me and I ended up going down pretty hard. When we hit he broke my water pump which caused the DNF. A lot of positives from the weekend and could have been a different ending with a red flag. Oh well, heal up and be ready for Colorado!”
Christian Craig: (11th in 250MX) “Overall, I had some good improvement from the first round. Worked my way to sixth in the first moto and felt good. Second moto I got a terrible start but worked my way to around ninth but unfortunately had a second-to-last-lap crash which forced me to lose a couple spots. Would have had a solid overall if I hadn’t crashed but overall I’m happy with my improvements and look forward to next weekend!”
Martin Davalos: (14th in 250MX) “The track was tough today and I am still pretty sore from my crash last weekend. I did my best to find smooth lines but on a track like this you’re not going to find that. I am happy to see the progress in Moto 2 and will look forward to Denver to get back in the top 10.”
Cole Seely: (10th in 450MX) “My starts really held me back today. I was happy with my riding and how I felt on the bike, so it’s a bummer my results didn’t reflect it more. In the first race I got a bad start and went down on the second lap. I spent the whole race trying to just make up as many spots as possible. I got another bad start in the second. You can’t put yourself in such a bad spot in the beginning and expect to get a solid result. I do think I did a decent job making up positions and was happy with the intensity and pace I held. My fitness is definitely coming back, so there were some positives to take away from the weekend”
Ty Masterpool: (15th in 250MX) “I was happy with my riding the first moto. I think it was smart and solid but I got a bad start and had to work my way up. The second moto – talk about adversity. I got a great start and then just went downhill from there, but I’ve been taking every mo”
Dean Ferris: (11th in 450MX) “I feel like I started the weekend solid, making improvements. First moto was pretty solid and had to dig pretty deep for that one. In the second moto, I got more comfortable with the settings and was pushing toward the front. I ended up having a crash but pushed as hard as I could. All in all we are making progress and will keep working toward improving.”
Thomas Covington: (17th in 250MX) “Today started out pretty good, I got off to a good start and ran in the top-10 for most of the first moto, so that was a step forward for me. In the second race, I ended up hitting the gate with a few guys next to me and I just had a tough time finding my rhythm for the rest of the moto. I’m going to go back to work this week and try to make another step.”
Jordan Bailey: (20th in 250MX) “It was a tough day. We’re working on getting things dialed for Colorado to get some better results because this bike is a really good bike, I’m just not racing that great. We’re going to go back to work and improve, that’s all we can do right now.”
