Feature photo by: Simon Cudby
The 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship left Indiana and headed down the road to Buchanan, Michigan for round 4, and the first of two RedBud Nationals this Labor Day Weekend. In the 450MX Class, Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne took home his third overall win out of the just four rounds raced thus for in 2020. Zach was joined on the podium by HRC’s Chase Sexton (2nd) and Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia (3rd).
In the 250MX Class, GEICO / Honda’s Jeremy Martin won his third-straight overall—taking the red plate away from Dylan Ferrandis—with his first 1-1 day of 2020. The man with all the speed in ’20, Ferrandis, once again found himself battling back from bad starts and mistakes to finish 4th overall. Joining J-Mart on the 250MX podium was Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire (2nd) and Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Shane McElrath (3rd).
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from riders about their fourth outdoor MX race of 2020.
Zach Osborne: (1st in 450MX) “It was pretty much a perfect day for me. Two holeshots and wire-to-wire race wins for the overall. I’m really happy with my riding and my fitness, and my bike is working perfectly so I’m looking forward to Monday and the rest of the series. It’s a pretty special day for me at what is an iconic track. This is one of the best tracks in the world and it’s cool to grab my first ever 1-1 here. You never know what’s going to happen and my goal is to go out and get maximum points every time I’m on the track. The weather was cooler today, which helped, but it’s going to be important to get recovered to line back up again on Monday.”
Jeremy Martin: (1st in 250MX) “It was a crazy day. I was a good clip off the pace in practice. Dylan [Ferrandis] through down a lightning-fast lap time and I was like, ‘Alright, we need to go to work today’. I ended up getting a good start in the first moto and kept plugging away and working forward. I was able to win the first moto. I wasn’t super comfortable in moto 1, so we made some bike changes that definitely helped for moto 2. I got a little bit better start and Shane [McElrath] got out front and he kept jumping Larocco’s Leap and I was like. ‘Man, I don’t think I got this?’ I would get up on him and he would pull away and I was like, ‘Ah shit, I did all that work to get up on him and he would just jump the big jump and get away. he rode really really well, but I was able to get by him and get a little bit of a gap. I went into control mode and was able to go 1-1.”
Chase Sexton: (2nd in 450MX) “It was fun being back here for the first RedBud. I’m originally from the Midwest, so it’s nice riding a familiar track. Overall, the day was good. I qualified fourth and then in the motos went 3-4, which was pretty consistent. I had a lot of good battles and got second overall. The classes were all pretty close, so it was about being consistent both motos and trying to get results. I got a pretty good start in the second moto and almost had the holeshot, but got shuffled back a little bit. Overall we had a really good day with a first outdoor podium on the 450; looking forward to Monday.”
RJ Hampshire: (2nd in 250MX) “I didn’t have great starts in either moto but I had good speed and the bike was working good. We made the right call first moto with the tire and I had probably one of my better motos I think I’ve ever had. I’m stoked on a 2-5 for second overall. The team and I seem to be doing pretty well together so we’ll keep chipping away and take it race-by-race.”
Justin Barcia: (3rd in 450MX) “I was happy with qualifying and it was smooth and fast. In the first moto, I got a bad jump and got tangled up with a couple guys. I had my work cut out for me coming from the back of the pack. I passed a few guys on the last lap and that helped a lot. It wasn’t the result I wanted, but a good ride. In the second moto, I got off the line decently and was chasing the leader, but there were a few mistakes that kept me from catching him. The track was brutal. It was different from the usual RedBud. Third place is pretty cool since it could have gone a totally different way. We’ll get a short recovery before getting back at it on Monday.””
Shane McElrasth: (3rd in 250MX) “The track was tough today but it was good to be on the podium finally. The first moto I really struggled finding a flow and with line choice. I had a much better second moto after a few small changes and I’m excited to go racing again on Monday.”
Marvin Musquin: (4th in 450MX) “It’s always great to be here at RedBud. Going into the first moto, I felt really good and I was enjoying it. I wasn’t too far off Zach but we were both riding well at pretty much the same speed and I couldn’t come back on him. It was a tough second moto, I felt like I was riding good and aggressive but I was never able to get around those guys. I am bummed because I did the first one really well and the second one I’m not able to do the same, so I’ll try to work on that.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (5th in 450MX) “I was able to get a pretty good start and was in 2nd there and he [Justin Barcia] put a really aggressive move on me in classic BamBam style. I knew it was him and settled in there. He was riding great but I honestly felt like I had a little bit more pace, but it’s like walking in a field of landmines trying to pass the #51. I have a lot of respect for that guy and he was good, but I was just trying to find a smart way around him and couldn’t find it. Overall, I think rode great today and I’m really excited for Monday.”
Eli Tomac: (6th in 450MX) “The way the moto scores fell was a little frustrating. Zach (Osborne) got the starts today and that seems to be where I fell behind. Everyone was really close in pace, so I wasn’t able to come up through the pack like I normally am able to. I was doing everything I could, and I would run up on the end of the train at the end of the moto, but that wasn’t good enough. I feel good for the next race, we’ll recover and be fresh for Monday.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (4th in 250MX) “It was a tough day for me and I’m disappointed about how my day ended. I had a crash in the first moto and hurt my body a bit. Then I got a bad start in Moto 2. I finished fourth overall and lost some precious points in the championship. I’m a little behind in points now, but it’s not the end of the world and I will regroup for our next race on Monday.”
Christian Craig: (7th in 450MX) “Overall the first round at Redbud was pretty good. Both motos I had better starts compared to the other rounds, which I was happy with. In the first moto I ran in fourth for a while, holding off [Eli] Tomac for about half the moto, then unfortunately had a tip-over, leaving me in seventh. In the second moto I ran my own race in eighth basically the whole time. We made a couple bike changes for the second one, which weren’t in the right direction, but no excuses; I need to be better and stay with those top guys. I’m happy to have had two consistent motos and excited to be back racing here in a couple days!”
Broc Tickle: (9th in 450MX) “I was excited to come here. I live close by and consider this my home race. I enjoy the track a lot. Today overall, I felt like it was solid. It was a baby step in the right direction. I was in the mix and just slowly lost sight of the guys in front of me. The second moto, I wanted to do the same thing as Moto 1, but came around the first lap a little further back than I wanted. I was able to get up to ninth and fought hard for that today. The track was difficult. It was not as deep as it normally is and much edgier. I’m looking forward to coming back on Monday. I’d like to get better starts and keep our goal of pushing for that top five.”
Cameron Mcadoo: (7th in 250MX) “It was definitely not the normal RedBud dirt that we are used to here. I am happy with how my starts have been going, but just need a little more intensity to keep the front guys from moving too far away in the early parts of the race. I am fully confident in our bike and team, we’ll be making any needed adjustments to come out stronger on Monday.”
Ty Masterpool: (8th in 250MX) “It was so good to be back. We got third in qualifying and third in the first moto, which was great. Overall I felt good, I just made some small mistakes. In the second moto I got a really bad start and just tried to salvage it from there. I’m really hyped to be back”
Dean Wilson: (11th in 450MX) “I came in a little battered and bruised from last week’s crash and the effects afterward were definitely a lot worse than I thought. I pushed through the day and ended up 11th, which is not great but all we can do is heal up a bit and come in on Monday better.”
Justin Cooper: (9th in 250MX) “It was a tough day. We got off to a good start with second in qualifying, but unfortunately, I got really screwed up on both starts. Everyone was riding at a good pace. I got stuck in the pack and didn’t make passes quickly enough. We will come back in a few days and fight for a better result.”
Stilez Robertson: (13th in 250MX) “In the first moto, I got a good start and went way too wide in the second turn and just rode super tight all moto. In the second moto, I got a bad start and was about 24th around the first turn but I worked my way up to 14th. I rode better but we’re still not where we should be, so we’re going to keep working and try again on Monday.”
Darian Sanayei: (14th in 250MX) “This track got very rough as the day went on and it was harder and harder to ignore that I wasn’t completely 100 percent. I was very happy with my starts. The Kawasaki KX250 was really a rocket out of the gate and I am happy we could put it up front at the start. I’ll keep working to get stronger and faster, luckily we get another go on Monday.”
Mitchell Harrison: (18th in 250MX) “It was definitely not the day I was hoping for. I felt good coming into the race, even though there weren’t the crazy fans we love to see on the sidelines. My first moto start wasn’t good and I wasn’t able to make any moves forward. The second moto I was so happy to be up front, but a crash broke some stuff on my bike and I couldn’t keep going. We’ll regroup for Monday and really strive for a finish my hometown supporters can be proud of.””
Jalek Swoll: (19th in 250MX) “Today had its ups and downs. The first moto I wasn’t really feeling like myself and then I had a tip-over and finished outside the top-20. I put that moto behind me and the second moto was a lot better. I hung around 10th for about 10-15 minutes and unfortunately got a little bit tired and went back a few positions. I’m looking forward to the next round and getting some positives in there.”
