Steve Cox | June 30, 2018
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results: Anybody who has won a World Motocross Championship very likely is good in the sand. The same can be said of many racers from Florida. We all knew before round six of the 2018 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championships that Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac is also very good in the sand, as is Monster Energy Yamaha’s Justin Barcia. The Southwick National could’ve gone all kinds of ways, but the way it went ended Tomac’s 2018 undefeated streak.
AutoTrader/Yoshimura/JGR Suzuki’s Justin Bogle got the holeshot in moto one, his first race back since the San Diego Supercross last February. He was immediately shuffled back as Honda’s Ken Roczen (former World Champ) took over the lead and Barcia snuck into second. A few laps later, just as Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin (former World Champ) began putting pressure on Barcia, Barcia went by Roczen, and Musquin followed suit. Only a few turns later, Tomac also got by Roczen as the four-way battle for the lead picked up steam. Barcia held Musquin off for almost two laps before Musquin finally made the pass stick, and Tomac followed him through.
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results
Marvin Musquin (pictured) dueled with Eli Tomac throughout the first moto and ended up crashing trying to beat the defending champ, but in moto two it was Tomac who went down, handing the moto win and overall to Musquin. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
For almost 10 laps, Musquin held Tomac at bay while the duo pulled away from Barcia in third, and in the final four laps, the pace picked up dramatically out front as Tomac began to really pressure Musquin, but Musquin wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t until the pair of rivals were approaching the white flag that Tomac finally got a run around the outside of Musquin and made a pass stick, even with Musquin and Tomac making contact on the corner exit as Musquin attempted to block the pass attempt.
To his credit, Musquin dug deep and tried to match Tomac’s pace so that he could make a pass on the final lap, but a slight miscalculation had Musquin land out in the soft dirt on the side of the track and he went down pretty hard. Tomac took the win, while Musquin got up in plenty of time to still finish second in front of Barcia, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Blake Baggett, Roczen, and Baggett’s teammate Benny Bloss.
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results
Eli Tomac had one of the most determined rides of his career to take the win in the first moto at MX338, but he crashed while leading the second moto – twice – and was forced to settle for second overall on the day. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
Bogle got the holeshot again in moto two while Tomac hit the first turn outside the top 10. Musquin took the lead right away and somehow Tomac managed to slice his way up to second before the end of the opening lap, then went right by Musquin for the lead a lap later. It looked like the race for the lead was over at that point, with Tomac pulling out over 15 seconds on Musquin, but then Tomac went down, highsiding into a right-hand turn as he tucked the front end on entry. His clutch lever bent way out of the way, and the bars bent as well, Tomac got up just in front of Musquin and again began pulling away, pulling out to a six-second lead just a couple of laps later when he went down a second time, which he later blamed in part on his bent-up motorcycle from the first fall.
The second fall was enough for Musquin to race by, and Tomac slowed it up for the remainder of the race. Musquin took the moto win, and overall, over Tomac, Barcia, Baggett, Roczen and Bloss again.
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results
Justin Barcia led briefly in the first moto and ended up with a strong 3-3 in the Massachusetts sand. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
The finishing order of the top seven in moto two also reflected the overall finishes of those racers, and Tomac leaves Southwick with the exact points lead he came into the race with; 32 points over Musquin at the halfway point in the championship. The series picks up again next Saturday at legendary RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan.
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results
2018 Southwick 450cc National MX Results
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