250 East/West Finals Spoiler Report
In the 250 East final, Gavin Faith grabbed the holeshot, but Tyler Bowers quickly sliced past and took the lead. Behind him, the title contenders, Wil Hahn and Marvin Musquin battled through the field, with Blake Wharton and Kyle Cunningham also in the battle. As the race unfolded, Bowers pulled a solid lead, while Hahn eventually moved into second and Musquin took third. Late in the race, Musquin had to start making things happen, and he did, first catching Hahn and taking second. But Musquin needed to win and hope Hahn stayed in third, however, it looked like he was too far back to challenge Bowers. However, championships have a way of motivating riders to get to the next level, and Musquin stepped up huge, dropping down to the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, and making up nearly three seconds on Bowers. In the final corner, he got close enough to show Bowers a wheel, but Bowers held on, taking his first career win. Musquin’s close second was the result of a valiant effort, but, he ultimately came up three points short of Hahn.
Hahn’s title was made especially difficult after a big crash in the whoops on the final lap of practice. His hand might even be broken, but he gutted it out, finished third, and collected his first professional championship. All in all, a great ride by both title contenders, and, a big win for Bowers.
Next came the West final, and Zach Osborne nailed the holeshot. Soon Martin Davalos was around and into lead. Title contenders Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac were a few spots back, but they caught fire and moved forward, Roczen eventually getting the second. But then Tomac found another gear and started getting aggressive, making all kinds of moves and eventually passing Roczen to take second. The defending west champ then set off after Davalos, and he closed the gap quickly to take the lead. At this point, Tomac had enough to take the title, but Roczen, too, was on the gas and pushing to get Davalos. It would come down to Roczen passing Davalos or not, and he pulled it off late, passing into second to steal the points lead back. That would do it, Tomac pulling off a clutch win, but Roczen staying strong and taking the title with a second place.