New round, New winners in Glen Helen! (+Videos)
The second round of the AMA Motocross Championship was completed in Glen Helen. In the 250cc class we were looking forward to seeing how leader Joey Savatgy would do now that all eyes were on him. In addition, it immediately became clear in the qualifications that the Rockstar Energy Yamaha pilots Cooper Webb and the Martin brothers were clearly looking for rehabilitation. And then there was the odd man out, Austin Forkner, the newcomer to the professional circuit. He already showed in Hangtown that for him, riding a motorcycle is riding a motorcycle. And he showed that again during the qualifications in Glen Helen with a second time!
In the first moto we saw the older of the two Martin brothers, Alex, take the holeshot, Geico Honda Rookie Tristan Charboneau and teammate Cooper Webb. Rookie Charboneau quickly made way for Cooper Webb and then for Jeremy Martin, giving us a Yamaha top three. However, this was disrupted a little later by one Austin Forkner. The super talent who in turn had already passed Tristan Charboneau also passed reigning AMA 250 Motocross champion Jeremy Martin. Once past Jeremy Martin, Austin Forkner had to conclude that the leading duo A. Martin – C. Webb could no longer be seen in any field. A third place was therefore the highest possible achievement for the Pro Circuit Kawasaki pilot. The leading duo in turn fought a battle to determine who was the fastest teammate on this tough Glen Helen course. It was Cooper Webb who managed to take that fight in extremis. Alex Martin therefore finishes second, ahead of the already mentioned Austin Forkner, brother Jeremy Martin and Aaron Plessinger.
In the second moto we saw a holeshot from the reigning AMA 250 motocross champion, Jeremy Martin. The Rockstar Energy Yamaha pilot stayed ahead of Jessy Nelson's KTM and Austin Forkner's Kawasaki in the first corners. The holeshot of the youngest of the Martins was also the signal to take flight. The competition immediately had to realize that the pace that the numbero uno was maintaining was too high for them. A dominant victory was his just reward. Fortunately, there was something more going on behind JMart. Because after a poor start, the main players from the previous round, AMart and CWebb, had to fight their way to the front. It took a while, but a little after halfway through the race, Alex Martin finally found himself in the wheel of the second in the race, Jessy Nelson. However, the TLD KTM pilot had no intention of simply giving up. Both had their hands full until finally, a few laps from the end, Alex managed to push his way past Jessy Nelson. Cooper Webb, in turn, fought his way from eighth place to fourth in the second moto. But this left him short of the final victory in the National. This final victory went to Alex Martin, who managed to score his first overall of his career. With two second places, he remained one point ahead of brother Jeremy Martin and teammate Cooper Webb with 44 points. Austin Forkner had to settle for fourth place in the second moto after crashing while riding in second position. The top five was completed by Aaron Plessinger.
- Cooper Webb 14 Laps
- Alex Martin +02.573
- Austin Forkner +18.506
- Jeremy Martin +22.211
- Aaron Plessinger +32.071
- Jeremy Martin – 14 Laps
- Alex Martin +05.614
- Jessy Nelson +07.865
- Cooper Webb +14.624
- Austin Forkner +17.154
- Alex Martin (2-2) 44 Points
- Jeremy Martin (4-1) 43 Points
- Cooper Webb (1-4) 43 Points
- Austin Forkner (3-5) 36 Points
- Aaron Plessinger (5-6) 31 Points
- Alex Martin – 79 Points
- Cooper Webb – 77 Points
- Joey Savatgy – 76 Points
- Jeremy Martin – 75 Points
- Aaron Plessinger – 63 Points
In the 450cc class we saw a great time from Eli Tomac in the qualifications. The Kawasaki pilot was half a second faster than the German Ken Roczen, who in turn was half a second faster than Jason Anderson. Ryan Dungey was fourth to find a fence. However, that did not stop the KTM pilot from taking the holeshot in the first moto. This for Trey Canard and Ken Roczen. This Ken Roczen took his time to get up to speed, but once he started touring there was nothing that could hold him back, or so it seemed. Just over halfway through the race, the German Suzuki pilot passed Ryan Dungey with authority, so the race seemed to be over immediately. A gap was opened and Ryan Dungey also seemed to accept the mastery of the former MX2 world champion. But then it suffered from a defective air suspension. His KYB front fork had lost all its air pressure and the RCH Suzuki pilot was forced to slow down. Certain jumps were no longer jumped due to irresponsibility. Due to this technical defect, Ryan Dungey quickly closed the previously built up gap. Getting past Ken Roczen was now just a formality. The German was only busy with safely completing the remaining laps. After Ryan Dungey, he also saw Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac rush past. A fourth place was what number 94 managed to achieve in these difficult circumstances.
At the start it was quickly clear that Ken Roczen had resolved to get rid of the frustration. With a holeshot and a dominant performance from start to finish, he showed that that first moto, without bad luck, had also belonged to him. In the back of the German motocross idol, Ryan Dungey and Christophe Pourcel had also taken a good one. Ryan Dungey turned this good start into a solid race with a second place finish in the moto. Christophe Pourcel, who is still struggling with injuries sustained in supercross, had his best moto of the season. With an even pace he was able to limit the drop to seventh place. This for Justin Barcia, Phil Nicoletti and Marvin Musquin, among others.
The boys who did pass Christophe Pourcel included Eli Tomac. The Kawasaki pilot was eager to repeat the good performance of the first moto. But he didn't make it easy for himself due to his bad start. After the number three had worked his way past Christophe Pourcel, his teammate Jason Anderson had to make do. However, this was not Tomac's last victim. Because after Anderson it was Canard's turn, so Tomac finished third again. This time after Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey, and before Trey Canard and Jason Anderson. Ryan Dungey's first and second places were enough to take his first overall win of the season. This for Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac.
- Ryan Dungey – 15 Laps
- Jason Anderson +28.440
- So Tomac +34.073
- Ken Roczen +40.839
- Cole Seely +1:01.740
- Ken Roczen – 15 Laps
- Ryan Dungey +19.875
- So Tomac +28.959
- Trey Canard +52.775
- Jason Anderson +1:01.594
- Ryan Dungey (1-2) 47 Points
- Ken Roczen (4-1) 43 Points
- Eli Tomac (3-3) 40 Points
- Jason Anderson (2-5) 38 Points
- Trey Canard (7-4) 32 Points
- Ken Roczen – 93 Points
- Ryan Dungey – 91 Points
- Eli Tomac – 76 Points
- Jason Anderson – 73 Points
- Trey Canard – 62 Points
Glen Helen 250: Race Recap
Glen Helen 450: Race Recap
Not interested in the summaries but interested in the complete series? Then you can right here.
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