MOTO 1
Jeremy Martin’s unfortunate day at Glen Helen was a reminder that, no matter how invincible someone may look at any given time, things can shift rapidly in any instant. Once again, the first moto of the day at Thunder Valley, featured a huge shift, as Jeremy Martin stormed out to an early lead, and Marvin Musquin struggled after crashing midway through the race.
After grabbing the MotoSport.com Holeshot, Martin never looked back. He was out front and built up a solid lead, one that increased even more once Musquin encountered issues later in the race. Martin would go on to win the moto by 18 seconds.
In the early stages of the race, Martin was trailed by Jessy Nelson – who is coming off 4-4 finishes a week ago – and Marvin Musquin, the current points leader. About seven minutes into the moto, Nelson would go off the side the track, allowing Musquin to pass him by for second place. Nelson would regain the spot around the midway point of the race after Musquin went down though.
After his crash, Musquin struggled to get up to speed and was possibly having issues with his clutch lever. He was passed by numerous riders and settled into 14th place, where he would stay for the remainder of the race. And just like that, the championship gap between Musquin and Martin was narrowed down to just a single point. Musquin will enter the second moto still in possession of the points lead, but will he and his bike both be at full-strength?
Musquin wasn’t the only Red Bull KTM rider having a rough day – his teammate Justin Hill, who finished second overall last week, did not line up for this moto after crashing hard in practice earlier this morning.
WIth Musquin out of the running, a battle for second developed between Nelson and Zach Osborne. Osborne was one of the top riders in the 250 Class just a few years ago, but things have been challenging lately for the Rockstar Husqvarna rider. He entered the day with just one top-ten moto finish on the season, but has been staying with Eli Tomac in Colorado, meaning he’s had the chance to train at altitude – a very important factor for doing well at this track. And sure enough, in a battle that went down to the final lap, Osborne ended up with his best moto result of the season – second place. Nelson would settle for third, which is also his best result of the season.
“You gotta be on your toes, it’s a tricky track,” Martin said after the race. “I had a lot of close calls, and I’m sure other people did too.”
Just outside the top three was Christian Craig, who worked his way from 12th to fourth over the course of the moto. The fastest qualifier in practice today, 23-year-old Craig was recently plucked out of retirement to fill-in for Justin Bogle with GEICO Honda, and despite the fact that he’s never raced a 250 outdoors before, he looked quite comfortable in his first race back.
Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five.
MOTO 2
Today was the ultimate bounce-back for Jeremy Martin. After all his misfortune last weekend – which left the Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha rider scrambling to pick up positions and salvage points in both motos – Martin made up all the points he lost (and then some) in one round after completing a 1-1 sweep at Thunder Valley.
In the first moto, Martin ran away with the win after grabbing the MotoSport.com Holeshot. Meanwhile Marvin Musquin, the points leader entering today, crashed hard midway through the race and struggled to get up to speed. Musquin would settle into 14th place and finish there, but the championship lead was down to one point entering Moto 2 – effectively meaning that whoever finished better in that race would take control of the red plate.
Once again, Martin got the MotoSport.com Holeshot in the second moto. Zach Osborne, Jessy Nelson and Musquin had great starts as well, and Musquin soon moved into second place behind Martin. There was no touching Martin though – he pulled away from the pack, while Musquin rode his own race in second. It was enough to allow Martin to retake the points lead, as he now sits two points ahead of Musquin after three rounds.
THUNDER VALLEY 250 MOTO 1 RESULTS
1. Jeremy Martin
2. Zach Osborne
3. Jessy Nelson
4. Christian Craig
5. Adam Cianciarulo
6. Jordon Smith
7. Joey Savatgy
8. Chris Alldredge
9. RJ Hampshire
10. Matt Bisceglia
11. Kyle Peters
12. Shane McElrath
13. Aaron Plessinger
14. Marvin Musquin
15. Luek Renzland
16. Jackson Richardson
17. Mitchell Oldenburg
18. Alex Martin
19. Dakota Alix
20. Hayden Mellross
THUNDER VALLEY 250 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Jeremy Martin (1-1)
2. Zach Osborne (2-3)
3. Adam Cianciarulo (5-4)
4. Jessy Nelson (3-7)
5. Christian Craig (4-6)
6. Jordon Smith (6-5)
7. Marvin Musquin (14-2)
8. RJ Hampshire (9-10)
9. Aaron Plessinger (13-8)
10. Shane McElrath (12-9)
11. Kyle Peters (11-12)
12. Matt Bisceglia (10-13)
13. Mitchell Oldenburg (17-11)
14. Joey Savatgy (7-34)
15. Chris Alldredge (8-25)
16. Jackson Richardson (16-14)
17. Luke Renzland (15-15)
18. Dakota Alix (19-16)
19. Zack Williams (23-17)
20. Conner Elliott (21-18)