Cycle News Staff | August 22, 2021
Points leader Dylan Ferrandis chalked up his fifth win of the 2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Maryland after trading moto wins with 450MX Championship rival Ken Roczen.
And in the 250MX class, Jeremy Martin rang up his third overall win of the season, which moves him around Hunter Lawrence and into third in the championship.
450MX
Dylan Ferrandis captured his fifth win of the season. Photos: BrownDog Wilson
Roczen came into Budds Creek riding a wave of momentum after dominating both 450MX motos the previous week at Unadilla. The Honda rider was hoping to again chip away at Ferrandis’ lead in the championship, and it looked as though Roczen just might do that after winning the first moto at Budds Creek just ahead of Ferrandis, who was pressuring Roczen through the last few turns. For much of the moto, Roczen looked like he did at Unadilla but, this time, Ferrandis caught him at the end of the race and was right there when the checkers came out.
2021 Budds Creek Video Highlights
In moto two, Roczen again got out in front early but eventually found himself desperately trying to stay ahead of Ferrandis.
Ferrandis, who seems to always save his best for the second half of the motos, proved to be just too strong for Roczen on this exceptionally hot and humid day and passed him seven laps from the end.
Ken Roczen won the first 450MX moto.
Roczen, however, stayed close to the Yamaha rider but would slip back the last few laps, crossing the finish line 4.8 seconds behind Ferrandis saying after the race he gave it his all.
Ferrandis came into the race with a 39-point lead over Roczen in the Championship and leaves with the same 39 points after trading 1-2 moto finishes with Roczen, but with only three rounds left in the championship (Crawfordsville, Pala, and Sacramento), breaking even is a giant positive step towards winning his first 450MX Championship.
Eli Tomac was third overall with a 4-3. The Kawasaki rider was right there in the mix of things both motos and at times looked as though fans would get to see the “Tomac Attack” in action, but he just couldn’t pull off the passes he needed to get the win for the first time this season. Tomac, like all the top riders on the day at one time or another, was held by lapped traffic in both motos, which, for some reason, seemed unusually heavy at Budds Creek. Tomac, however, seemed to get the worst of it.
Roczen’s Honda teammate Chase Sexton was right there, as well. Sexton had two good starts and after a strong first-moto third, he had his eyes on the overall going into moto two. He passed both Ferrandis and Cooper Webb to get into second place and was challenging Roczen for the lead when he ultimately succumbed to Ferrandis and then dropped off the pace, later saying he was dealing with bike set-up issues in the moto. A 3-4 netted Sexton fourth on the day.
Webb had his starts down at Budds Creek. The KTM rider holeshot the first moto and started off second in the second moto but, as has been the case all season, Webb just did quite have the speed to challenge for a podium. The Supercross champ did, however, show signs of improvement outdoors in going 5-6 on the day for fifth overall.
Eli Tomac was right there for the win but couldn’t pull the trigger. He ended up third overall.
Joey Savatgy (6-7), Marvin Musquin (10-5), Dean Wilson (8-9), Coty Schock (7-11), and Max Anstie (9-10) rounded out the top 10 overall.
For Schock, on the FXR Chaparral Honda, ninth overall was a career-best for the young rider from Delaware.
Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger suited up after his big crash last week at Unadilla which left him with a sore lower back and was running inside the top 10 for a while before slipping back and pulling out just past the halfway point of the first moto. He did not return for the second moto.
Thirty-nine points still separate championship leader Ferrandis from runner-up Roczen, while Tomac lost ground in third. Tomac’s now 32 points behind Roczen but is 13 points clear of Sexton in fourth. Both Musquin and Webb overtook Justin Barcia (who did not ride due to injury) in the championship and are now tied for fifth with 240 points apiece.
250MX
Jeremy Martin took the overall win in the 250MX class for the third time this year.
It was a little bit of déjà vu for 250MX points leader Justin Cooper who, like at Unadilla, won the first moto (despite a fall) but struggled in the second moto and finished fourth, saying after the Budds Creek race he was dealing with an illness and wasn’t 100 percent. He ultimately went 1-4 (again like he did at Unadilla) for third overall.
Jett Lawrence, who is closest to the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha rider, Cooper, in the Championship, couldn’t capitalize. At least not much. The Honda rider had his chance for the overall win during the day but went 2-2 instead for second overall, gaining just one point on Cooper. He’s now three points back. Like Cooper, Lawrence said after the race that he was not feeling 100 percent coming into the Budds Creek race but did not immediately explain why.
There was still reason to celebrate in the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha pits at the end of the day with the team’s Jeremy Martin claiming his third overall victory this season, the most of anyone in the class so far this year.
Jett Lawrence went 2-2 for second overall.
After finishing third to Cooper and Lawrence in moto one, Martin came back with vigor in the second moto, grabbing the early lead and never looking back. He took the checkers 8.8 seconds ahead of Lawrence, who was followed across the finish line another 20 seconds back by his older brother and Honda teammate Hunter Lawrence, who went 6-3 on the day for fourth overall.
Martin is now third in the championship despite a crash and injuries that resulted in one DNF and two DNS’s earlier in the season.
Justin Cooper’s championship lead shrunk by one point. He leads Lawrence by just three points with three rounds left.
Rounding out the top five overall was Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner who is beginning to find his form again after what has been a disappointing season for the young star. Forkner had a shot at his first podium of the year in the first moto but saw that slip away after getting past by both Jett Lawrence and Martin late in the race. However, a 4-5 on the day was a confidence booster for the Missourian. CN
2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Round 9
Circle K Budds Creek National Motocross
Budds Creek Motocross Park
Mechanicsville, Maryland
RESULTS (August 21, 2021)
450MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
2-1 |
| 2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
1-2 |
| 3 |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
4-3 |
| 4. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
3-4 |
| 5. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
5-6 |
| 6. |
Joey Savatgy |
(KTM) |
6-7 |
| 7. |
Marvin Musquin |
(KTM) |
10-5 |
| 8. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
8-9 |
| 9. |
Coty Schock |
(Hon) |
7-11 |
| 10. |
Max Anstie |
(Suz) |
9-10 |
450MX POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 12 rounds)
| 1. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
392/5 wins |
| 2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
353/2 wins |
| 3 |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
321 |
| 4. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
308/1 win |
| 5. |
Marvin Musquin |
(KTM) |
240 |
| 6. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
240 |
| 7. |
Justin Barcia |
(GG) |
239/1 win |
| 8. |
Christian Craig |
(Yam) |
224 |
| 9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(Yam) |
217 |
| 10. |
Joey Savatgy |
(KTM) |
189 |
250MX Overall (Top 10)
| 1. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
3-1 |
| 2. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
2-2 |
| 3. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
1-4 |
| 4. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
6-3 |
| 5. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
4-5 |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
7-7 |
| 7. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
9-6 |
| 8. |
Ty Masterpool |
(GG) |
8-9 |
| 9. |
Dilan Schwartz |
(Suz) |
10-8 |
| 10. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
5-15 |
250MX POINT STANDINGs (After 9 of 12 rounds)
| 1. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
367/1 win |
| 2. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
364/2 wins |
| 3. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Yam) |
307/3 wins |
| 4. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
298/1 win |
| 5. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
270/1win |
| 6. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Kaw) |
220 |
| 7. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
195/1 win |
| 8. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
186 |
| 9. |
Colt Nichols |
(Yam) |
172 |
| 10. |
Max Vohland |
(KTM) |
168 |
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 |
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