2019 AMA Pro Motocross
Round Eight – Spring Creek
Images by Hoppenworld
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship held its eighth round of the 2019 season at Spring Creek MX Park for the 37th running of the Frescados Tortillas Spring Creek National on Saturday.
Heavy rainfall provided riders with challenging track conditions throughout the afternoon, where the 450 Class saw Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb sweep both motos for his first career victory in the premier class.
450 Championship leader Eli Tomac took 2-5 results but that was still enough to edge away further from Marvin Musquin in the championship chase as the Frenchman carded a 3-7.
Young Australian Hunter Lawrence raced to victory in the opening 250 moto for an overall Spring Creek podium and in doing so moved up to fourth in the championship standings.
Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo prevailed to take his sixth victory of the season in the second bout to extend his lead in the championship standings to 36-points over Dylan Ferrandis.
450 Moto One Report
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class moto, JGRMX Suzuki support rider Isaac Teasdale emerged with the first MotoSport.com Holeshot of his career over local hero Henry Miller.
As the 40-rider field charged out of the first turn, Webb blasted by Teasdale to take over the top spot and lead the opening lap. Miller was credited in second, while TPJ Racing rider John Short moved into third, just ahead of Teasdale.
Webb immediately took advantage of a clear track and quickly opened a gap over his competition, while Miller maintained his hold of second. Teasdale managed to get back around Short for third, however, it would be short lived as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac was on the move and wasted no time overtaking both riders.
Tomac’s march to the front continued as he tracked down Miller and took over the second position with an aggressive move around the outside of the first turn. Shortly after, Miller had company from Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin, who made the pass for third, shuffling Miller to fourth.
Over the ensuing laps Tomac used every inch of the racetrack to close in on Webb, and as the moto neared its completion Tomac found himself searching for a way past the race leader. However, Webb withstood the challenge and responded by picking up his pace, which kept Tomac at bay. When the checkered flag waved, it was Webb who held on to take the first 450 Class moto victory of his career by 11.8 seconds over Tomac. Musquin remained unchallenged en route to third. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne was fourth, while Miller finished an impressive fifth in front of the home crowd.
450 Moto Two Report
Moto 2 saw Webb carry the momentum from his first moto win to take his class-leading sixth MotoSport.com Holeshot over Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen and Short. As Webb and Roczen set the pace out front, several riders found themselves collected in a first turn pileup, including championship contender Musquin. Tomac was mired deep in the field as well, and fought to put himself inside the top-10 at the end of the opening lap.
Behind the lead duo, the battle for third began to heat up as Osborne closed in on Short, and eventually made the pass stick for third. Despite Webb’s strong riding out front, Roczen started bridging the gap and was able to make a successful pass attempt for the lead. Just a few corners later, Webb aggressively dove to the inside of Roczen to retake the lead.
While pushing the pace up front, Webb came up short on the landing of one of the uphill jumps, which forced him to the ground and allowed Roczen to inherit the lead. Webb was able to remount in second with Osborne just behind. As the race entered its final stages, Webb was relentless and chipped away at Roczen’s advantage. He soon found himself once again contending for the moto win and set his sights on the lead. With just two laps remaining, Webb made the pass stick on Roczen navigating the sand rollers. He quickly distanced himself, but Roczen laid it all on the line on the final lap to close to within less than a bike length as they navigated the final few corners.
Webb pushed all the way until the checkered flag, and was able to narrowly edge out Roczen by 0.3 of a second. Osborne finished in a distant third. Tomac, who endured through a tip over of his own, only managed to fight his way up to fifth in the conditions.
The 1-1 moto scores by Webb netted him both the first overall podium and overall victory of his career. He becomes the 69th different 450 Class winner in Pro Motocross history, and just the second to do so at Spring Creek MX Park.
Cooper Webb
“I really wanted that second moto win,” explained Webb. “I definitely put on a hard charge in Moto 2, but it was really nice to get the job done with a 1-1 and take both motos. With the success I had earlier this year [in AMA Supercross], it definitely elevated my expectations. There was a lot of stuff to figure out at the beginning of the outdoor season with setup, but I feel like we’re in a good position with where we’re at now. The break allowed me to get the bike in a good spot and kind of get myself mentally recharged.”
Osborne (4-3) and Tomac (2-5) ended up in a tie for the runner-up spot. However, Osborne’s better second moto finish of third gave him the tiebreaker, dropping Tomac to third.
Zach Osborne
“It was a good comeback weekend,” Osborne said. “I still have a lot of pain in my shoulder and just to be able to grind through it and go 4-3 for second overall is a really solid day for me and the team.”
Tomac’s unblemished podium streak in 2019 was good enough to extend his lead in the 450 Class standings to 38-points.
Marvin Musquin, who finished fourth overall (3-7), remains second.
Marvin Musquin
“I’m definitely not happy because the riding today was pretty good but the result is not what I wanted. I was looking forward to a good battle for the lead and to make up some points but that didn’t happen. Next week is Washougal and we’ll spend the week in California working with the team, so it will be good.”
Ken Roczen, who finished fifth (14-2), continues to hold onto third and trails Musquin by 11 points.
AMA Motocross 450 Results – Spring Creek 2019
Source: MCNews.com.au