Jason Anderson takes day victory, while championship remains exciting!!
In addition to the 250cc colleagues, the AMA 450cc pilots also took action in Budds Creek. It became an interesting match for the viewers and fans of the title pretenders Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac, because what was initially going to turn into a Technical Knock Out for Eli Tomac ultimately became a match zero!
In the first moto it was Ken Roczen who managed to take the holeshot. The German Honda pilot quickly got Eli Tomac in his wheel and after a few laps of the race, Eli Tomac took the lead over Ken Roczen. This was it for Eli Tomac's race, the competition saw the Yamaha pilot back at the finish. However, what happened behind him was much more interesting for us and actually for him too. Because Tomac's direct competitor for the title Sexton' had a particularly bad opening of the competition and came just inside the top thirty after one round. The exciting championship, which at that time was held with a difference of one point, suddenly seemed to turn in Eli Tomac's favor. However, this was not counting Chase Sexton who fought like crazy for thirty minutes plus two laps to eventually finish seventh. A loss of a lot of points, but a loss that is still manageable.
Meanwhile, Jason Anderson on his Kawasaki finished second, Ken Roczen third and Ryan Dungey and Christian Craig rounded out the top five. For Antonio Cairoli, who was also present again, this was not the series he hoped for, perhaps due to a lack of race rhythm or for some other reason he only finished nineteenth and on one lap.
The second heat started with a holeshot for Joey Savatgy, but he quickly lost the lead to Ryan Dungey. The Red Bull KTM pilot, who has returned from retirement, managed to keep Ken Roczen behind him for two laps and the other. Ken Roczen, Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton became involved in an interesting battle in which the pilots had a bit of a leapfrog, so to speak, and each took turns in the lead. Halfway through the race, Chase Sexton also realized that this took too much energy and time and he took the lead, and he would not relinquish the lead in the race. Behind the HRC pilot, Jason Anderson successfully defended his second place against Ken Roczen. And where was Eli Tomac? This time it was Eli Tomac who, after starting just inside the top ten, clearly failed to find his rhythm. We saw a completely different Eli Tomac driving who hardly made any progress and he finished fifth, after Ryan Dungey. The second series was also less successful for Tony Cairoli and he finished sixteenth.
Just before Antonio Cairoli, that second series had not gone as Eli Tomac wanted. Because all the points he had managed to score in the first heat had completely evaporated to just two points. Two points ensure that Eli Tomac is once again in the lead of the championship by one point! The AMA Motocross title fight in the 450cc is a two-race event with the Ironman National and Fox Raceway II (a.k.a. Pala).
Due to their irregular series, both title fighting cocks were not eligible for the day's victory. This went to Jason Anderson on his Monster Energy Kawasaki, by finishing second twice he had 44 points. This was three points more than second in the daily total Eli Tomac who scored forty-one with his victory and a fifth place. The podium was completed with Ken Roczen who finished third twice, good for forty points.
Budds Creek: Series 1 Results – 450 Class
1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 17 Laps
2. Jason Anderson (KAW), +13.599
3. Ken Roczen (HON), +15.891
4. Ryan Dungey (KTM), +18.569
5. Christian Craig (YAM), +22.787
6. Dylan Ferrandis (YAM), +28.136
7. Chase Sexton (HON), +29.448
8. Justin Barcia (GAS), +33.255
9. Joseph Savatgy (KAW), +35.542
10. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), +1:03.300
11. Benny Bloss (KTM), +1:07.592
12. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), +1:13.173
13. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), +1:25.880
14. Alex Martin (YAM), +1:29.709
15. Justin Rodbell (HUS), +1:37.937
16. Fredrik Noren (KTM), +1:41.044
17. Shane McElrath (YAM), +1:41.869
18. Dean Wilson (HUS), +1:42.430
19. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), +1 Rnd.
20. Jerry Robin (GAS), +1 Rnd.
21. Jeremy Hand (HON), +1 Rnd.
22. Chris Canning (GAS), +1 Rnd.
23. Jeremy Smith (KAW), +1 Rnd.
24. Henry Miller (KTM), +1 Rnd.
25. Cullin Park (HON), +1 Rnd.
26. Jacob Runkles (GAS), +1 Rnd.
27. Bryson Gardner (HON), +1 Rnd.
28. Scott Meshey (HUS), +1 Rnd.
29. Grant Harlan (KAW), +1 Rnd.
30. Kevin Moranz (KTM), +1 Rnd.
31. Ricci Randanella (KAW), +1 Rnd.
32. Tanner Ward (KAW), +1 Rnd.
33. Tristan Lane (KTM), +1 Rnd.
34. Rob Windt (YAM), +2 Rnd.
35. Matthew Burkeen (YAM), +2 Rnd.
36. Vincent Luhovey (KAW), +2 Rnd.
37. Jackson Gray (HUS), +3 Rnd.
38. Josh Gilbert (HUS), +11 Rnd.
39. Jeffrey Walker (KTM), +12 Rnd.
40. Marshal Weltin (SUZ), +14 Rnd.
Budds Creek: Series 2 Results – 450 Class
1. Chase Sexton (HON), 17 Rounds
2. Jason Anderson (KAW), +04.236
3. Ken Roczen (HON), +08.600
4. Ryan Dungey (KTM), +09.606
5. Eli Tomac (YAM), +10.385
6. Joseph Savatgy (KAW), +11.186
7. Christian Craig (YAM), +34.583
8. Justin Barcia (GAS), +45.814
9. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), +54.442
10. Fredrik Noren (KTM), +1:01.153
11. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), +1:04.724
12. Dean Wilson (HUS), +1:07.249
13. Alex Martin (YAM), +1:24.090
14. Shane McElrath (YAM), +1:29.994
15. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), +1:54.584
16. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), +1:59.627
17. Chris Canning (GAS), +1 Rnd.
18. Jeremy Hand (HON), +1 Rnd.
19. Justin Rodbell (HUS), +1 Rnd.
20. Henry Miller (KTM), +1 Rnd.
21. Grant Harlan (KAW), +1 Rnd.
22. Josh Gilbert (HUS), +1 Rnd.
23. Bryson Gardner (HON), +1 Rnd.
24. Jacob Runkles (GAS), +1 Rnd.
25. Jeremy Smith (KAW), +1 Rnd.
26. Kevin Moranz (KTM), +1 Rnd.
27. Jace Kessler (HON), +1 Rnd.
28. Tristan Lane (KTM), +1 Rnd.
29. Vincent Luhovey (KAW), +1 Rnd.
30. Charlie Putnam (HUS), +2 Rnd.
31. Rob Windt (YAM), +2 Rnd.
32. Matthew Burkeen (YAM), +2 Rnd.
33. Jackson Gray (HUS), +4 Rnd.
34. Scott Meshey (HUS), +6 Rnd.
35. Cullin Park (HON), +8 Rnd.
36. Tanner Ward (KAW), +8 Rnd.
37. Dylan Ferrandis (YAM), +11 Rnd.
38. Ricci Randanella (KAW), +13 Rnd.
39. Benny Bloss (KTM), +15 Rnd.
40. Jerry Robin (GAS), +15 Rnd.
Budds Creek: Overall Results – 450cc Class
1. Jason Anderson (KAW), 44 Points
2. Eli Tomac (YAM), 41 pts
3. Ken Roczen (HON), 40 pts
4. Chase Sexton (HON), 39 pts
5. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 36 pts
6. Christian Craig (YAM), 30 pts
7. Joseph Savatgy (KAW), 27 pts
8. Justin Barcia (GAS), 26 pts
9. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), 23 pts
10. Malcolm Stewart (HUS), 19 pts
11. Fredrik Noren (KTM), 16 pts
12. Alex Martin (YAM), 15 pts
13. Dylan Ferrandis (YAM), 15 pts
14. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), 14 pts
15. Dean Wilson (HUS), 12 pts
16. Shane McElrath (YAM), 11 pts
17. Benny Bloss (KTM), 10 pts
18. Justin Rodbell (HUS), 8 pts
19. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), 7 pts
20. Chris Canning (GAS), 4 pts
Standings in the AMA 450cc National Championship (10/12)
1. Eli Tomac (YAM), 449 Points
2. Chase Sexton (HON), 448 pts
3. Jason Anderson (KAW), 369 pts
4. Ken Roczen (HON), 344 pts
5. Christian Craig (YAM), 303 pts
6. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 300 pts
7. Justin Barcia (GAS), 272 pts
8. Aaron Plessinger (KTM), 253 pts
9. Joseph Savatgy (KAW), 222 pts
10. Shane McElrath (HUS), 176 pts
11. Garrett Marchbanks (YAM), 161 pts
12. Alex Martin (YAM), 151 pts
13. Benny Bloss (KTM), 137 pts
14. Marshal Weltin (SUZ), 102 pts
15. Fredrik Noren (KTM), 98 pts
16. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), 96 pts
17. Brandon Hartranft (SUZ), 89 pts
18. Max Anstie (HON), 45 pts
19. Dylan Ferrandis (YAM), 43 pts
20. Chris Canning (GAS), 42 pts
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven – Photo: Monster Energy Media
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