Glen Helen Motocross Results 2017
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (May 27, 2017) – The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its lone visit to Southern California on Saturday for the second round of the 2017 season. When the dust settled, Team Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin came away with his first career 450 Class win while entering points leader Eli Tomac endured through misfortune aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki.
The first 450 Class moto saw Musquin claim the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of the Team Honda HRC duo of Cole Seely and Christian Craig. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Grant was right behind in fourth, while his teammate Eli Tomac, last week’s winner and points leader, started outside the top 10 in 12th. The clear track for Musquin allowed the Frenchman to assert himself into the lead, where he gradually built a lead over the field. Seely was able to establish a solid hold on second, while Grant started apply pressure on Craig for third, taking over the position on Lap 1. Behind the lead group Tomac was on a mission, passing three riders on Lap 1, and then another pair on Lap 2. He moved into sixth on Lap 3 and set his sights on the top five. As Tomac continued his climb through the field, Grant was making a run for second on Seely, successfully taking over the runner-up spot on Lap 6. By this time Tomac was in the top five and still charging. He passed Seely for fourth on Lap 8 and then quickly closed in on Craig for third, moving into podium position on Lap 10. Tomac then set his sights on his teammate for second. He closed the deficit and make quick work of a pass on Grant to take over the position on Lap 13.
Despite a late charge Tomac was unable to catch Musquin, who took the first moto win of his career 5.8 seconds ahead of his rival. Grant followed in third.
As the field roared into Glen Helen’s famed Talladega turn to start Moto 2 it was Craig who came away with the Motosport.com Holeshot, closely followed by RMATV/MC-WPS-KTM’s Blake Baggett, RCH/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Justin Bogle, and Autotrader/Monster Energy/Suzuki/JGRMX’s Justin Barcia. The podium finishers from the first moto were spread throughout the field, with Grant in the top five, Musquin deep in the top 10, and Tomac nearly mid-pack.
When the field came around to complete the opening lap Grant crashed while running fifth. Grant picked up his motorcycle just as Tomac approached, triggering a quick sequence of events that saw Tomac briefly lose control, veer towards Grant, and then straight off the track. Tomac attempted to reenter the race, but appeared to be suffering from an issue with his front wheel or brake. He slowly made his way around the track and into the mechanics area for attention. He eventually returned to the track in 35th, but lost a lap to the leaders.
Baggett showed patience and then made his move on Lap 4. Baggett was able to fend off Anderson for a couple laps, but the Husqvarna rider took control of the moto on Lap 6. Two laps later Craig crashed out of third and out of the race, giving the spot to Musquin.
” I’m just tying to be smooth and safe, but fast at the same time. At a track like this today it’s really easy to make mistakes,” said Musquin. “It may not have looked like I was out of control, but I was nervous out there and trying to keep it on two wheels. To come out of Glen Helen with a win is really good. We also have the points lead, so I’m just going to keep trying to be consistent and not make any mistakes.”
Musquin’s win, combined with Tomac’s ninth-place finish (2-19), moves the Frenchman into the championship points lead for the first time in his career. He currently holds a 15-point lead over Tomac. Baggett moves into third, 26 points out of the lead. 250 Class
The opening 250 Class moto saw GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin surge out to the Motosport.com Holeshot, with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy in second and CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha’s Bradley Taft in third. By the completion of the opening lap Martin, who was also the fastest qualifier, had opened up a healthy advantage over Savatgy that he would never relinquish. Despite an up and down outing at the season opener last weekend, Savatgy rode strongly in second and easily asserted himself in the runner-up spot.Taft was forced to deal with heavy pressure from Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner, in addition to Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Colt Nichols. Taft was able to hold onto the spot for a couple laps while Nichols and Forkner battled for fourth, but on Lap 3 Nichols was able to get past both Forkner and Taft to move into third. Forkner followed into fourth and continued to chase Nichols until his bike lost power on Lap 6 and forced him out of competition. In his absence, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger made a charge through the field after starting seventh. Plessinger methodically worked his way forward and moved into fifth following Forkner’s misfortune. Plessinger was shadowed in his journey to the front by Osborne, with the championship leader overcoming a 13th-place start to slot into sixth.
Plessinger and Osborne continued to close in on Nichols in the second half of the moto, with Plessinger grabbing the final podium spot on Lap 11. Osborne followed Plessinger into fourth.
Martin led wire-to-wire to take his first win of the season, and his first for GEICO Honda, crossing the line 9.1 seconds ahead of Savatgy, who was never challenged for second. Plessinger rode to an impressive third.
Martin picked things up where he left off in Moto 2, sweeping the Motosport.com Holeshots for the day with another impressive start. However, his fortunes changed as the field went up the 400-foot Mt. Saint Helen obstacle when Martin lost control of his Honda and veered off the track. He was forced to restart his motorcycle and eventually reentered at the tail end of the field.
Behind the lead group Tomac was on a mission, passing three riders on Lap 1, and then another pair on Lap 2. He passed Seely for fourth on Lap 8 and then quickly closed in on Craig for third, moving into podium position on Lap 10. Baggett was able to fend off Anderson for a couple laps, but the Husqvarna rider took control of the moto on Lap 6. Two laps later Craig crashed out of third and out of the race, giving the spot to Musquin. Taft was able to hold onto the spot for a couple laps while Nichols and Forkner battled for fourth, but on Lap 3 Nichols was able to get past both Forkner and Taft to move into third.
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