MOTO 1: With a light, but steady, rain falling on Budds Creek Motocross Park, Ryan Dungey led the first 450 Class moto wire-to-wire to claim his fourth moto win of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Dungey raced out to claim the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award, then led every lap of the race en route to a ten-second margin of victory. He has won the 450 Class overall at Budds Creek three years in a row and four of the last five years, and Dungey could extend that streak with another strong outing in Moto 2.
Dungey’s strong start propelled him to victory. (Photo: Chris Ortiz)
Behind Dungey, Ken Roczen would quickly pass Christophe Pourcel for second place. The top six riders – Dungey, Roczen, Pourcel, Justin Barcia, Blake Baggett and Broc Tickle – began to break away from the rest of the field a bit and settled into their respective positions for much of the moto.
Unable to mount a charge towards Dungey, Roczen eventually fell into the clutches of Pourcel late in the race. Despite riding a steady race in second place for nearly 30 minutes, Roczen lost the position to Pourcel with about 1:30 left on the countdown clock. In the closing laps, the RCH Suzuki rider also dropped spots to Barcia and Baggett, leaving him fifth overall and costing him valuable points in the championship race.
MOTO 2: It was a wild, unforgettable day at Budds Creek Motocross Park. Among the day’s events: severe weather that caused a two-hour delay and nearly resulted in the cancellation of the final 450 Class moto. Fortunately for Justin Barcia, the race did take place, and it resulted in the first moto win and first overall win of his 450 Class career in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
The first moto was dominated by Ryan Dungey. After securing the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award, the Red Bull KTM rider went on to lead every lap of the race without truly being challenged. He also benefitted from a late fade by Ken Roczen, his main rival in the point standings. Roczen ran in second place for nearly 30 minutes after passing Christophe Pourcel on the opening lap, but over the final four laps of the race, he dropped spots to Pourcel, Justin Barcia and Blake Baggett, landing him fifth, while Pourcel and Barcia secured podium spots in second and third, respectively.
It was business as usual for Dungey in the first moto. (Photo: Matt Rice)
Then came the heavy rains. Severe thunderstorms caused the start of the second moto to be delayed from its original 4 p.m. ET start time, and there was even talk that the track might be too damaged for another race. It left the riders with a lot of downtime to hang out and await a decision, and ultimately, once the track was deemed capable of running the moto, the gate drop was set for 6 p.m.
With the two-hour delay passed, Dungey got another good start in Moto 2, although he lost out on a second holeshot to Barcia. However the conditions got the better of the Red Bull KTM rider, and Dungey went down on the opening lap and ended up losing his front fender. The mistake knocked him out of contention, as he crossed the line in 21st at the end of the opening lap and would spend the rest of the moto salvaging positions.
Out front, Barcia just checked out. He built up a large lead and went on to win the moto by about 18 seconds to earn the first 450 Class moto win of his career, His 3-1 results gave him the overall victory as well – also a career first. He’s been showing solid improvement throughout the season, and this win gives him a major confidence boost heading into the second half of the season.
Barcia was in control in Moto 2. (Photo: Matt Rice)
“The momentum’s huge,” Barcia said after the race. “I don’t care if it’s muddy or not – that’s probably the best I’ve ever ridden on my Yamaha.”
Barcia looked to be enjoying himself throughout the moto and clearly felt right at home racing in the mud. “I was just having so much fun,” he said. “Today reminded me of being back in New York.”
Another impressive note about Barcia’s win: his team swapped three engines on the bike over the course of the day.
Pourcel earned the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier distinction in practice, then had a pair of top-three moto finishes. (Photo: George Crosland)
Behind Barcia in the second moto, a great battle took place for second between Pourcel and Baggett. The position changed hands a few times, as each rider found opportunities to capitalize on the other’s mistakes, and both Pourcel and Baggett admitted after the race that they legitimately had fun racing each other. Baggett ended up with second place in the moto, but Pourcel’s 2-3 moto finishes were still enough to put him second overall. Baggett (4-2) finished just behind him in the overall standings.
As for Dungey, he finished the moto in 12th but thanks to his victory in the first moto, he didn’t lose any points to Roczen in the championship battle. The two riders finished in a tie for fourth overall with 34 points apiece on the day. Dungey will maintain his 37-point championship lead heading into next Saturday’s round at RedBud.
The whole JGR Yamaha team was ecstatic after Barcia’s win. (Photo: George Crosland)
450 Moto 1 Recap:
450 Moto 2 Recap:
450 MOTO 1 RESULTS
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Christophe Pourcel
3. Justin Barcia
4. Blake Baggett
5. Ken Roczen
6. Broc Tickle
7. Jason Anderson
8. Wil Hahn
9. Justin Brayton
10. Weston Peick
11. Phil Nicoletti
12. Tommy Hahn
13. Kevin Rookstool
14. Gannon Audette
15. John Short
16. Jesse Wentland
17. Kyle Cunningham
18. Jason Brooks
19. Jeremy Smith
20. Heath Harrison
450 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Justin Barcia (3-1)
2. Christophe Pourcel (2-3)
3. Blake Baggett (4-2)
4. Ken Roczen (5-4)
5. Ryan Dungey (1-12)
6. Jason Anderson (7-7)
7. Broc Tickle (6-9)
8. Phil Nicoletti (11-5)
9. Tommy Hahn (12-6)
10. Wil Hahn (8-14)
11. Justin Brayton (9-17)
12. Kyle Cunningham (17-10)
13. Tony Archer (40-8)
14. Weston Peick (10-34)
15. Fredrik Noren (38-11)
16. Cody Gragg (22-13)
17. Gannon Audette (14-20)
18. Kevin Rookstool (13-37)
19. Nick Ferrell (33-15)
20. John Short (15-32)