Cycle News Staff | July 3, 2021
2021 RedBud Pro Motocross Rnd 4 Results. Dylan Ferrandis is beginning to establish himself as the rider to beat in this year’s Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship in the 450MX class after claiming his second overall victory of the year. Yes, the season is still young, but the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha Team rider is showing the pace and the grit to get it done, despite being a rookie in the field.
Ferrandis Wins RedBud
Dylan Ferrandis captured his third overall win of the four-race-old 450MX Championship. Photos: BrownDog Wilson
Ferrandis’ speed is no longer in doubt, and he has now shown that he has the tenacity and consistency to finish near the front of the pack every time he gets on the bike. He has been rock solid in the eight motos run this far.
In front of a large and enthusiastic crowd at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan, Ferrandis used a 1-2 moto combo to seal the deal for his third overall victory of the season. Ferrandis took the first moto win after passing some of the field’s top riders, including Cooper Webb, Ferrandis’ teammate Aaron Plessinger, who has been riding exceptionally well of late, former champ Eli Tomac and Ferrandis’ main Championship rival right now Ken Roczen.
Ferrandis passed Roczen four laps from the end and held him off with three seconds to spare at the finish.
Ferrandis started race two in fourth while battling for positions with Roczen, who actually passed Ferrandis before cashing and dropping to just inside the top 10. Ferrandis then went after Plessinger and passed him for second place three laps from the end.
Ferrandis’ next target was Tomac, who was just a few seconds ahead of him with little time left. But even Ferrandis knew he had almost zero chance of catching the veteran, Tomac, who is nearly impossible to pass late in a race, especially for the lead. But Ferrandis didn’t have to pass Tomac to get the overall and was happy to settle for second in the moto to clinch the overall victory and put more points between himself and Roczen.
Ferrandis was penalized a point in the first moto (and Roczen two points) for jumping on a cross flag when Dean Wilson crashed on the backside of a hill, but that would not figure into the overall results for the day (for either rider).
Eli Tomac won the second moto. He ended up second overall on the day.
Tomac put in two more solid rides after winning the second moto at the last round at High Point. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider went 4-1 for second overall.
Plessinger appears to be on the cusp of winning his first 450MX overall. Once again, the Yamaha rider rode well and was at one time or another fighting for the win in both motos. He even hung with Tomac and threatened him for a long time in the second moto before slipping back to third. His 3-3 on the day gave the fan-favorite third overall.
It was another tough day for Roczen. For the second race in a row, the Honda HRC rider finished just off the podium in fourth after going 2-6 at RedBud. Roczen had the first moto won until Ferrandis caught and passed him three laps from the finish. Roczen made a charge at the end of the moto but came up short. And then Roczen crashed hard approaching the halfway point of the second moto and then did what he could just to salvage a sixth in the moto.
Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) flew under the radar all day, posting two strong fifths for fifth overall.
Ferrandis, Tomac Moto Winners
Plessinger, Ferrandis and Tomac celebrate on the 450MX podium.
Chas Sexton, who fell in the first turn of the first moto, took sixth overall, followed by Webb, Justin Barcia, Joey Savatgy and Brandon Hartranft.
Adam Cianciarulo’s championship hopes took a big hit at RedBud. After taking sixth in the first moto, the Kawasaki rider went down during the first lap of the second moto and went on to finish 23rd (no points) on a twisted bike.
Ferrandis now leads Roczen by 14 points in the 450MX Championship. Plessinger is third another 22 points back of Roczen.
Hampshire Wins 250MX
Despite a number of crashes on the day, RJ Hampshire captured the overall win in the 250MX class.
In the 250MX class, RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) showed a ton of grit as well en route to the overall win. Hampshire nearly won the first moto despite crashing multiple times. Each time he hit the ground, he battled back to fight for the win but came up just short, settling for runner-up honors behind winner Jett Lawrence (Honda HRC).
In race two, Hampshire worked his way to the front, eventually passing leader Justin Cooper and building up a comfortable lead—but Hampshire went down again late in the race, handing the lead back to Cooper, who went on to win the race, with Hampshire taking a close second.
Hampshire was awarded the overall win with his 2-2, bettering Cooper’s 4-1.
Justin Cooper won the second 250MX moto.
Cooper was leading the first moto when he went down at the end of the first lap.
Lawrence got a bad start in the second moto and things only got worse when he went down on the first lap. However, he charged his way up through the pack to get sixth. His 1-6 was good enough for a trip to the podium in third.
Fourth overall went to Lawrence’s older brother and teammate, Hunter, (3-4), while Jeremy Martin (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), who was back in action from an injury, rounded out the top five overall with a 5-3.
Previous-round winner Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) didn’t get the starts he wanted and ended up going 8-14 for 10th overall.
In the 250MX Championship, Jett Lawrence still leads Cooper, 172-164. Hunter Lawrence is third with 128 points. CN
Hampshire is the fourth different rider to win a 250MX National this season.
2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Round 4
Twisted Tea RedBud National
RedBud MX
Buchanan, Michigan
RESULTS (July 3, 2021)
450MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
1-2 |
| 2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
4-1 |
| 3 |
Aaron Plessinger |
(Yam) |
3-3 |
| 4. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
2-6 |
| 5. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
5-5 |
| 6. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
8-4 |
| 7. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
7-9 |
| 8. |
Justin Barcia |
(Gas) |
9-8 |
| 9. |
Joey Savatgy |
(KTM) |
10-10 |
| 10. |
Brandon Hartranft |
(Suz) |
11-13 |
250MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
2-2 |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
4-1 |
| 3. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
1-6 |
| 4. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
3-4 |
| 5. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
5-3 |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
6-5 |
| 7. |
Pierce Brown |
(Gas) |
7-7 |
| 8. |
Stilez Robertson |
(Hus) |
12-8 |
| 9. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
10-11 |
| 10. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
8-14 |
450MX POINT STANDINGS (After 4 of 12 rounds)
| 1. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
179/3 wins |
| 2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
165/1 win |
| 3 |
Aaron Plessinger |
(Yam) |
143 |
| 4. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
132 |
| 5. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
129 |
| 6. |
Justin Barcia |
(Gas) |
121 |
| 7. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
116 |
| 8. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
104 |
| 9. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
102 |
| 10. |
Marvin Musquin |
(KTM) |
90 |
250MX POINT STANDINGs (After 4 of 12 rounds)
| 1. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
172/1 win |
| 2. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
164/1 win |
| 3. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
128 |
| 4. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
111/1 win |
| 5. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
108 |
| 6. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
108/1 win |
| 7. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Yam) |
103 |
| 8. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
99 |
| 9. |
Colt Nichols |
(Yam) |
97 |
| 10. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
87 |
2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Schedule
| Rnd 1 |
May 29, 2021 |
Fox Raceway National |
Pala, CA |
| Rnd 2 |
June 5, 2021 |
Thunder Valley National |
Lakewood, CO |
| Rnd 3 |
June 19, 2021 |
High Point National |
Mt. Morris, PA |
| Rnd 4 |
July 3, 2021 |
RedBud National |
Buchanan, MI |
| Rnd 5 |
July 10, 2021 |
Southwick National |
Southwick, MA |
| Rnd 6 |
July 17, 2021 |
Spring Creek National |
Millville, MN |
| Rnd 7 |
July 24, 2021 |
Washougal National |
Washougal, WA |
| Rnd 8 |
Aug 14, 2021 |
Unadilla National |
New Berlin, NY |
| Rnd 9 |
Aug 21, 2021 |
Budds Creek National |
Mechanicsville, MD |
| Rnd 10 |
August 28, 2021 |
Ironman National |
Crawfordsville, IN |
| Rnd 11 |
Sept 4, 2021 |
Pala National |
Pala, CA |
| Rnd 12 |
Sept 11, 2021 |
Hangtown National |
Sacramento, CA |
