The pair were standout riders in their respective classes.
By Hayden Gregory
Ken Roczen returned to the winners circle in the 450 class, sweeping both motos in another dominant performance. In the first moto, Tomac and Roczen quickly separated themselves from the pack before embarking on a battle out front. Tomac defended several attempts from Roczen before the German finally made a pass stick.
Once in front Roczen kicked into another gear, pushing forward to claim his eleventh win of the season ahead of Tomac and Marvin Musquin in third.
The second moto played out similar to the first with Roczen finding the lead early before checking out on the field. Musquin finished 28 seconds behind Roczen in second while Tomac fought back from a poor start to claim third.
The double moto victory hands Roczen his sixth clean sweep of the season for a total of 13 wins from 16 motos.
“Today was tough as we were faced with a few challenges throughout the day, including a bent shifter during the second moto,” said Roczen. “Fortunately I was able to grab clean shifts in order to make sure that I did not take the chance of losing points. Overall I’m happy to walk away with another win, but I need to go home and improve my starts so we can get out front a little sooner.”
A 3-2 result by Musquin placed him second for the round, the best result of his rookie career.
“I love this track and I’m really happy that I was able to put together two strong motos,” said Musquin. “All I need to do is keep getting good starts and I know that I am capable of finishing inside of the top three each race. Eli [Tomac] and Ken [Roczen] are very strong right now, but I think we are slowly improving and getting closer to them.”
Eli Tomac scored third after finishing on equal points with Musquin. Roczen now leads the championship 55 points ahead of Tomac while Musquin is nearly a hundred points further back in third.
In 250 racing, Jeremy Martin broke through for his first round victory of the season. The opening moto saw the Martin brothers hit any early 1-2 with Cooper Webb and Joey Savatgy hot on their tails. Alex Martin held the lead as Webb rounded up his brother and continued to push forward. A small crash with three laps to race then gifted Webb the lead with Alex remounting in third place. Webb would go on to take out the race ahead of Jeremy in second and Alex third.
In moto two, Alex Martin scored his second holeshot of the day followed by brother Jeremy and Adam Cianciarulo. Alex once again lost control of his bike on the opening lap, losing a number of positions while Cianciarulo moved into the lead. By lap three Jeremy Martin controlled the race as Savatgy and Zach Osborne also made their way past Cianciarulo.
Savatgy then also made a mistake dropping to fifth, while Cooper Webb shot through the field. Webb moved into third before then making easy work of Osborne for second.
Jeremy Martin remained unchallenged claiming moto two victory and round honours in the process.
“Anytime you are able to win your hometown race in front of family and friends is a special moment,” said Jeremy Martin. “The last couple of weekends we have been able to turn things around and improve the bike, along with my health. I believe we are in a good position, but we need to start gaining some points on Cooper [Webb] so that we can take this championship down to the wire.”
Webb maintained his championship lead in second place after finishing on equal points with J Mart. Alex Martin rounded out the Spring Creek podium in third.
“I’m happy to leave with a moto win today and maintain our points lead in the championship,” said Webb. “The goal for me is always to win, but I knew Alex and Jeremy would be strong today and I’m happy to have been battling with them for the win.”
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend for the ninth round in Washougal, Washington.
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
1 Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
2 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (2-3)
3 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (3-2)
4 Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna (5-4)
5 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (4-5)
6 Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda (6-6)
7 Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (8-8)
8 Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (7-10)
9 Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, KTM (9-9)
10 Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (14-7)
450 Class Championship Standings
1 Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki – 387
2 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 332
3 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 243
4 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 215
5 Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna – 202
6 Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki – 171
7 Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 151
8 Justin Brayton Fort Dodge, Iowa, KTM – 144
9 Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda – 136
10 Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 131
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
1 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (2-1)
2 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (1-2)
3 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (3-4)
4 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (4-5)
5 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (5-6)
6 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (7-8)
7 Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki (8-9)
8 Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha (11-10)
9 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (10-11)
10 Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha (9-12)
250 Class Championship Standings
1 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 337
2 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 299
3 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 287
4 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 270
5 Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 237
6 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 221
7 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 217
8 Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki – 163
9 RJ Hampshire, Hudson Fla., Honda – 153
10 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 150
