The Yamaha rider finished 2-1 in a brilliant display of racing.
By Hayden Gregory
The first 250 moto got underway with another holeshot to Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo, ahead of teammate Joey Savatgy and GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith. The lead was short-lived however as a small crash dropped Cianciarulo a number of places with Smith taking control of the race.
Point’s leader Savatgy moved past Smith on lap five showing too much speed for the rest of the field. Cianciarulo battled his way back into second place before yet another crash saw him drop out of the top ten. Cooper Webb was the benefactor of the incident moving into podium contention before also making his move on Smith for second place.
Savatgy would pull away to claim his fifth moto win of the season nine seconds ahead of Webb. Smith was unable to hold his speed over the closing stages as Zach Osborne made a move into the final podium position.
Moto two got underway with a flurry of riders scrambling over the opening few turns. Out in front Shane McElrath, Alex Martin and Joey Savatgy looked to make their stamp on the race. On the second lap Savatgy hit the dirt, crashing all the way to eighth place as Smith moved into third.
McElrath and Martin began to open up a sizeable gap on the field. Savatgy had amazingly moved all the way back into fourth place before another crash saw him once again drop deep into the pack.
Quietly going about his work was moto one runner up Cooper Webb. The Yamaha rider was picking off riders before finding himself in a podium position by lap ten. One lap later Webb had moved into second place before moving right behind McElrath with one lap left to ride.
Showing sensational speed Webb made a move on his man, cruising past McElrath to clinch his first race win of the season and in doing so also claimed the round overall.
“I’m just tired of losing. These fans are awesome. I could hear them out there and it kept me going,” said Webb. “This is what I consider to be a home race, so I’d rather win this race more than any other. I just cannot thank all these fans enough for their support.”
Savatgy maintained his championship points lead after a 1-7 result handed him second place for the round.
“The first moto was good. I got a good start and rode my own race,” said Savatgy. “I’m just very frustrated right now and disappointed in myself. I shouldn’t have made those mistakes [in the second moto] and I lost a lot of energy just trying to keep my bike running. We still got second and have the red plate [as points leader], but we lost some valuable points today and need to bounce back next weekend.”
McElrath claimed his first career podium finish in third after a fantastic 5-2 performance.
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend with the RedBud National in Buchanan, Michigan.
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (2-1)
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (1-7)
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (5-2)
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda (4-6)
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (6-5)
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (3-10)
Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (10-4)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (19-3)
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (9-9)
Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki (12-8)
250 Class Championship Standings
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 205
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 193
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 173
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 158
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 152
Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 138
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 131
RJ Hampshire, Hudson Fla., Honda – 103
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda – 100
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 96
