Hear from the riders following round ten of the Lucas Oil pro Motocross Championship.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450MX) “Both motos for me were really good and my starts were as good as they’ve been all year. The first one, I was about third and made some quick passes. I got myself in the lead and put down a few good laps. Towards the end, I tapered down and played it safe to make sure we got the win. I grabbed the holeshot in the second moto, which is an amazing feeling. I feel like my starts have been a lot better. I just put the hammer down. I think Marvin (Musquin) went down so I had a super-huge gap. I just tried to stay focused and not do anything stupid. We had another really good day. We need two more weekends just like that.”
Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 450MX) “I had a great start and when I made the mistake I was like, “Oh, I’m fine. I save it”, but then I went down. (laughs) In the craziest spot. [Screw U section] That hill is so steep. I was bummed and I was like, “Oh man, that could of been over.” I had to go all the way down, turn around, and come back up. I did my best. After that my heart rate was up and it was pretty tough, but I passed all those guys. I saw Eli Tomac was there pushing from behind. It was a tough weekend. It was super hot today.”
Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450MX) “This weekend had it’s ups and downs. The first moto I rode pretty well but unfortunately couldn’t hang with the leader. I did what I could and brought it home second. In the second moto I didn’t get the start I needed, in this stacked field you have to be at the front right out of the gate to be at the front when the checkers fly. A third overall isn’t what we want though, time to go home, do the homework and put the Monster Energy Kawasaki back on top of the podium.”
Benny Bloss: (4th in 450MX) “It was definitely a good day. I can’t thank all the KTM people and the Husky team enough. We had no idea if we were going to be able to race today so to be able to go off [best results ever] was pretty sweet. Everything seems to be clicking with the team and getting better and better. I really like the team [BTO Sports / KTM] and I really like the bike so hopefully I’ll be up here some more.”
Matt Bisceglia: (10th in 450MX) “It was a decent day for my first race back after missing a few rounds. I took a little bit of time off after my crash at Southwick. It was a good day with the 9-10. I think my pace was a little bit faster in both motos. It was good. Unadilla hasn’t exactly been the best place for me in the past, so keeping in the top-10 was a good accomplishment. I’m looking forward to the final two rounds. Those are two of my favourite tracks. I’m looking to stay in the top-10 and maybe even try to crack the top-five. That would be awesome.”
Aaron Plessinger: (2nd in 250MX) “This was my first overall podium of the year so far. I feel great about it! It was awesome—it was a great day. I got off to a pretty horrible start in the first moto. I think I was like 25th on the first lap. Then I worked my way all the way up to third and battled with [Joey] Savatgy for the last few laps and it was gnarly. I got off to a really good start in the second moto—in like fifth. I made some passes and Alex [Martin] went down in front of me. I ended up third in the second moto and second overall. ”
Austin Forkner: (3rd in 250MX) “On the first start I earned the holeshot and held the lead until the red flag. On the restart I was in a rut behind another rider that went down and was held up pretty bad. I pushed all the way to the end, passed a couple guys on the final lap and finished seventh. In the second moto I had an amazing start and lead the race for almost the whole moto. I was passed towards the end of the moto and immediately afterwards they red flagged the race. Had I known that was going to happen I would have sent it to keep first, but you live and learn. The track was really tough today and the conditions were even worse, but I managed to have solid results and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Justin Hill: (4th in 250MX) “I gotta say, the track was gnarly. Probably the gnarliest race I’ve ever raced and I’ve raced here before so that’s saying something. I feel like I’m fresh. I have a new meaning—a new purpose—and I’m excited for the future. Today was tough and I would of been happy to end the race early except for my good friend Jessy Nelson who had a crash. He was conscious when they took him off, but everybody pray for him, please. Other than that, I rode good, had a good day and it’s something to build on.”
RJ Hampshire: (5th in 250MX) “We put in a lot of work over the break to get our bike back where it needs to be. Huge changes on the bike that paid off. A small tip over late in the first moto kept me out of the top five, but I was able to charge through the pack in the second moto to end the day with a fifth overall. That’s my first top five of the outdoor season, really happy with all the changes we made. I’m really looking forward to these last two rounds now!”
Alex Martin: (7th in 250MX) “Yeah, it’s kind of a mixed emotions day. To be selected to Team USA [at MXoN] is such an honor, but then in the first moto I went down. I was good before the restart, but then I went down. I came from 40th up to 13th. Then in the second moto I was running third and had a little tip over. I think I found out I moved up to second in the points so there were some highs and lows for sure. I had some stomach issues all day and it was hard to keep things down. You don’t want that to happen on a race like this—it was hot, humid and brutal today.”
Tristan Charbonaeu: (9th in 250MX) “To start, we didn’t get to our hotel until 11 p.m. Friday night, then we had to get some type of food so I wasn’t able to fall asleep until about midnight. Then I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to head to the track and get set up for practice! I was only 21st in practice, the track was deep and I struggled in a couple sections. Race one, I got a terrible jump off the gate, came around way back, used a lot of energy charging through the pack and then they threw the red flag out for a restart. So we went back to the gate and put gas back in the bike. The good thing is, I pulled a nice top ten start, held it there through the moto and came out 10th in moto one. Next moto had a better gate pick, got a good gate and pulled another top ten start. I charged up to seventh, and then me and Martin Davalos came together around halfway through, putting me back a few positions. I came out 10th in moto two, also. 10-10 for ninth overall is not bad on the day, I always want to do better but it’s progress on how the last two rounds have gone.”
Martin Davalos: (12th in 250MX) “I really haven’t ridden that much in the past two weeks due to my shoulder injury. It’s been a challenge. I’m just glad I was safe after Washougal and am happy I was able to put in two solid motos. The strength in my shoulder just isn’t where it should be. I was on the ground quite a bit but I was able to fight back and give it my best. My shoulder is ok, just really sore. I look forward to more therapy. It’s just going to be a matter of time to get everything back to 100%. I need to get my strength back in order to hold on to the bike. The track here was brutal – really rutted – which made it more challenging for me. I’m really happy that I walked out of here safe”
Jordon Smith: (15th in 250MX) “I started off the weekend trying to get back into the race pace in practice and didn’t really qualify too great. We were making changes on the bike all throughout practice and into first moto to try and get it where it needed to be. The whole GEICO Honda crew did a great job of getting it where I wanted for the motos and I felt good. Unfortunately, we had a little electrical issue in the first moto and I had to pull off on the first lap. The crew worked hard to figure out the problem and get me back out there for moto two, but I got a bad start since I was all the way on the outside of the gate. I made quite a few passes on the opening lap and tried to be smooth and consistent throughout the race. The track was brutal and it was really hot so there were lots of guys falling and fading back so I just tried to stay steady. I was able to make it all the way back to seventh place before the red flag came out and they ended the race. I was pretty happy with that finish. It felt good to be back at the races and I’m looking forward to finishing out the season strong at the final two.”
