Feature photo by: Simon Cudby
The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship went to the sand of Southwick and Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin (450MX) and Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (250MX) scored wins in the two classes.
Cianciarulo was joined on the 250MX podium by the two Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s two title contenders, Dylan Ferrandis (2nd) and Justin Cooper (3rd). In the 450MX class, Musquin was joined on the podium by Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne (2nd) and Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac (3rd).
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their Southwick National race at The Wick 338.
Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450MX) “Qualifying first meant a whole lot coming into the races today. I was so pumped to grab the holeshot in the first moto! It was a long moto, when you lead like that the whole time it feels like forever but it was super important to win that one because everyone was right there. I didn’t get the same start in the second moto but I worked my way through to second and it was good for the overall. It was tough out there physically, but we stayed consistent and came away with the overall.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (1st in 250MX) “I’ve learned so much since I turned pro and I have an amazing team to lean on to make sure I’m fully prepared each moto. After pushing hard in Moto 1 and the track at its worst in Moto 2, I just didn’t have anything to keep the lead, but felt comfortable where I was at. I can’t say enough good things about the team. It just feels so good to be able to bounce back after last weekend. I’m so grateful.”
Zach Osborne: (2nd in 450MX) “I had a really good day. I did struggle badly in qualifying but all-in-all I had a good day with 3-1 finishes. I was able to get my first moto-win in the 450 class and I’m super stoked to get that out of the way and really happy to just keep making progress.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (2nd in 250MX) “I feel like even with the heat, I’m still alright. It’s nice to get another moto win. We improved between the motos after going the wrong way for moto one. We talked a lot and we figured it out for moto two. I’m exhausted but happy to be up here and we’ll go after the overall again next weekend.”
Justin Cooper: (3rd in 250MX) “The track was the roughest I’ve ever ridden Southwick. Not that I’ve been here much, but even watching it on TV has never seemed to be this rough. I made some good changes between motos but the breaking bumps were really tightening my back up and I just wanted to make sure we maintained through the whole moto. It was gnarly and a really physically and mentally demanding track. I gave it my all out there today.”
Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450MX) “Today ended up being a little tougher than I anticipated. The heat combined with the tough demands of a sand track and constantly being pelted with sand and rocks wore me out. I’m happy to be leaving with another podium finish and the points lead. Now that we’re heading into the second half of the season, I’m going to remain focused on this championship and keep striving for those overall wins.”
Cooper Webb: (4th in 450MX) “Southwick was a step in the right direction for me. The day went well and it’s definitely the best I’ve ridden so far. Heading to RedBud, I really enjoy racing there and hopefully I can get on the podium.”
Jason Anderson: (5th in 450MX) “My weekend went pretty sub-par. We’ll take fifth overall and look forward to improving that for next week.”
Alex Martin: (6th in 250MX) “Qualifying went significantly better this weekend with logging the seventh-fastest time. I managed a decent start in the first moto, only to have it last for three corners with a silly tip-over crash. I felt like I rode well to go from about dead last to eighth, before a small crash put me back to tenth. I overcame a mid-pack start in the second moto to finish fifth. I am still frustrated with my starts. I will continue to make that a priority this week leading up to RedBud.”
Justin Barcia: (6th in 450MX) “In moto one, on the start I clicked neutral and pretty much came from outside the top 30 to sixth. I felt like I rode well but not one of those races I’m really thrilled with. The second moto I just missed my gear and had a bad start. Just one of those days and we’ll keep plugging along. Red Bud is a good track for me and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
Freddie Noren: (7th in 450MX) “I had an awesome start with the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing crew in finishing seventh overall. Having the support system of everyone around me this weekend was more helpful than I can explain. I couldn’t ask for a better bike in the Suzuki RM-Z450. I’m excited for the remainder of the season”
Colt Nichols: (8th in 250MX) “Bike was great all day and I’m honestly happy with the changes we have made in the past week or so. Conditions were brutal. The typical Southwick rough and tough you could say. I’m bummed I had a crash first lap of the second moto but that’s racing. We get to try again next weekend.”
Cameron McAdoo: (9th in 250MX) “Southwick never fails to be gnarly! With a bad gate pick in moto 1, I took a risk going all of the way inside, and unfortunately, a couple guys fell into me in the first turn and I went down so we came from around 35th to 11th in moto 1. Second moto got a much better start and ended up 6th giving me 9th overall. I am very happy with the way my body recovered from last weekend, and we will continue to work to get better!”
Dean Ferris: (8th in 450MX) “I had a terrible start in moto one and had put in a really big fight. I am quite happy with the moto and wasn’t too far behind some really big guys. In moto two, i ended up going down and it was really physically demanding. I’m glad it’s over and we can focus on the next race.”
Ken Roczen: (9th in 450MX) “I was coming into Southwick fairly excited, though struggling a little bit recovering from last weekend’s race. Still, I came in with full motivation and a new fork setting that unfortunately didn’t work out very well for me in the first moto. On top of that, I could’ve recovered a little better from the weekend before, but I knew that I went out there and gave my best. For sure it wasn’t what we were looking for, but we’re going to continue working hard on the bike and I’m going to continue working on myself to get back in top shape and get back to winning races. For now I have to take it as it is, but I’m going to keep my head up and hope for a much, much better result from RedBud. I’m going to do everything I can throughout the week to prepare myself and get back to the very top. Other than that, there’s not much to say about my result besides we’re not very happy with it and are looking to turn it around next weekend.”
Joseph Savatgy: (13th in 450MX) “The first moto didn’t turn out the way we wanted but I’m glad things came together for the second. The team and I have been working so hard to get back to where we need to be and dial things in in order to be ready on race day, so I’m disappointed that my overall finish wasn’t better. We’ll regroup and give it another shot next weekend at RedBud.”
Ty Masterpool: (12th in 250MX) “First moto I got a mid-pack start but worked my way up to eighth. In the second moto I went down on the second lap and was in dead last place. Then I had to do a pit stop to fix the bike but still ended up 15th so if I can keep it up I might be able to break into the top 10.”
Mitchell Oldenburg: (16th in 250MX) “It started off really good in qualifying but I just didn’t have it today when it came to the motos. It was a tough track and it’s not easy when you’re not at your best. We’ll go back and work hard this week to try and make up for it next weekend at Red Bud.”
Jordan Bailey: (17th in 250MX) “The day started out pretty good, I had my best qualifying position for an outdoor national. In the second moto, I was trying to push but about halfway through I just really started feeling the effects from last week in Florida and I didn’t have much left for the rest of the race. So, this week I’ll work on getting back to 100% and head into RedBud.”
Aaron Plessinger: (17th in 450MX) “I learned a lot today. I knew I had to start somewhere and now I know what I need to go home and work on. My starts need help and keeping up the intensity throughout the moto were big ones for me today. Once I get that, I should be able to turn out some good results. I know there will probably not be another race as gnarly as this so I’m looking forward to progressing.”
Kyle Peters: (20th in 250MX) “I had a great start in the first moto and was right with my teammate Alex Martin. He stuffed his front end in a sand berm and almost took me down, so I dropped back a bit. I had a good pace going while running 12th and tipped over halfway through the race. Then I crashed on the first lap and caught a handlebar in the ribs that were already injured. I couldn’t breathe and unfortunately wasn’t able to finish the moto. The track got gnarly. There weren’t any places where you could relax.”
Martin Davalos: (33rd in 250MX) “It was a rough day at the wick to say the least. I had some good get-offs but I’m thankful to be okay. I’ve been putting in a constant fight this year both mentally and physically but I won’t give up. It’s not in my nature to stop trying. Each weekend is another opportunity to break through.”
