Welcome to the Racer X Race Day Feed, your one-stop shop for round 11 of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross from Mechanicsville, Maryland, at the Budds Creek National. We’ll be updating this post throughout the day with news, notes, and results from qualifying and the motos, so be sure to check back throughout the day. You can also follow Racer X on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to stay up on all the action.

Morning Report

Welcome to Budds Creek just outside Washington, D.C., and the penultimate round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Despite heavy rain on Thursday and last night, the track is in good condition. The track was sealed on Friday night, so the rain ran of to the edges, which are a bit sloppy, but the forecast is calling for sunshine all day, so it should dry out.

Temperatures are expected to reach the high 80s today with 66 percent humidity, so expect the conditions to favor the riders who are strong down the stretch.

First, some news on the injury front. AutoTrader.com/JGR Suzuki’s Justin Barcia will miss a third consecutive race due to a concussion sustained at Washougal. According to the team, Barcia has not been cleared by his doctors. They will announce a decision on his status for the final round next week. As we reported on Thursday in our Injury Report, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Alex Martin is out for the final two rounds due to a shoulder injury. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner is also out for the final two rounds due to a concussion. He spoke with our own Eric Johnson earlier this week.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne has a realistic chance of clinching his first career 250 AMA Motocross Championship. All Osborne has to do is not give up 13 points to second place Jeremy Martin and he will clinch his second championship this season after winning the 250SX East Region earlier this year.

---

In 20 motos, Osborne has yet to finish outside the top 10 in a moto, and has finished inside the top five in 18 of 20 motos, so if you’re a betting man, the odds are in favor of Osborne.

In the 450 Class, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin is making things interesting down the stretch, riding to six consecutive moto wins to cut Eli Tomac’s points gap to 31 with four rounds remaining. Still riding with a thumb injury that will require surgery directly after the season, Blake Baggett is still holding on to second in points, 27 back of Tomac.

---

Qualifying is about to get underway, stay tuned to our Race Day Feed for coverage.

---

First Qualifying Session

The first qualifying sessions have concluded at Budds Creek and it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson just edging out Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin for the top time in the 450 Class.

Wilson, Webb, and Musquin were the only riders to drop into the 2:12s in that session, with fourth place Cole Seely coming in at just over the 2:13 mark with a 2:13.034. Behind a 2:12.313 Wilson earned the top time just ahead of Webb’s 2:12.539 and Musquin’s 2:12.548.

Weston Peick and Blake Baggett also set a time within the 2:13 range, coming home fifth and sixth, respectively. Martin Davalos, Christian Craig, Justin Bogle, and Matt Bisceglia rounded out the top 10.

Eli Tomac struggled in the first session for a second straight week. His best time of the session—a 2:14.581—came on the fifth lap and was only 11th fastest overall. It was two full seconds off Wilson’s top time.

Everything appears to be clicking for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy. In the last three rounds, Savatgy has two overall wins and three moto wins. In the first 250 qualifying session at Budds Creek, Savatgy edged points leader Zach Osborne for the fastest time. Savatgy and Osborne were the only riders to qualify in the 2:10s. Savatgy’s 2:10.665 was just a tick fastest than Osborne’s 2:10.971.

Third fastest was last week’s overall winner, Jeremy Martin. A 2:12.373 put Martin ahead of Aaron Plessinger (2:12.578) and RJ Hampshire (2:12.625).

Chase Sexton, Adam Cianciarulo, Dylan Ferrandis, Steven Clarke, and Justin Cooper rounded out the top 10.

Second Qualifying Session

The second 450 qualifying session was much quicker, as the track continues to dry out under the baking Maryland sun. Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin took full advantage, lowing his time by nearly eight full seconds to top qualifying. Musquin’s 2:04.990 was the only time in the 2:04s in the 450 Class.

Eli Tomac rebounded from a disappointing first qualifying session to take second with a 2:05.488. Cooper Webb was third fastest with a 2:06.653.

Dean Wilson, who qualified first fastest in session one, was the only rider in the top 15 to have a worse time in session two. We’re not sure if Wilson had a problem in the second session, but he did complete all seven laps. His top time from session one was good enough for 14th overall.

Christian Craig, Martin Davalos, Cole Seely, Justin Bogle, Blake Baggett, Fredrik Noren, and Weston Peick rounded out the top 10 overall.

Like its 450 counterpart, the 250 times were much quicker in the second qualifying session. Last week’s winner Jeremy Martin was on fire in the second session, setting a 2:04.187 to take the quickest time by more than a full second over Zach Osborne. Martin’s GEICO Honda teammate Chase Sexton had his best qualifying session of the year, finishing third overall with a 2:05.902. Adam Cianciarulo and Shane McElrath rounded out the top five.

Joey Savatgy, who set the fastest time in the first session, had a huge crash prior to the drop down after the finish line early in second qualifying. Savatgy was helped to his feet and was favoring his leg before getting a ride back to the pits from his mechanic. We’ll provide an update on his status for the motos as soon as possible.

Aaron Plessinger qualified sixth fastest ahead of his teammate Dylan Ferrandis. RJ Hampshire, Kyle Cunningham, and Colt Nichols rounded out the top 10.

Update

Savatgy is out for both motos after aggravating a foot injury in his crash.

450 Moto One

Poll the industry at the beginning of the season and you would have been hard pressed to find anyone that thought Justin Bogle would win not one, but two motos in 2017. But after withstanding a furious late charge by Marvin Musquin in the first moto at Budds Creek, Bogle earned his second moto win of the year by less than a second.

Bogle’s RCH teammate Matt Bisceglia edged Martin Davalos for the holeshot in moto one. Bogle, Cole Seely, Weston Peick, and Marvin Musquin slotted in behind the leaders. Points leader Eli Tomac had his troubles off the start and was around 16th early.

Coming off back-to-back overall podiums, Davalos carried momentum into Maryland and quickly jumped into the lead in the first moto. It only lasted a few laps as Bogle, who won a moto earlier this season at Thunder Valley, took over the lead on lap three.

Early in the race Musquin was struggling to find a consistent rhythm and was stuck around sixth. But then he caught fire. On lap seven, he set a 2:02.633, the fastest lap of the moto and began to make his charge through the field. Two laps later, he moved into third after Cole Seely made a slight bobble. He wasn’t done there. With five minutes plus two remaining, he started to reel in Davalos, who was still putting up a fight for the lead. On lap 12 Musquin moved into second and was looking to make a charge toward a seventh straight moto win.

Luck was on Musquin’s side as Bogle missed the two-lap board by around 20 seconds, extending the race by one lap. Musquin was two seconds down at that point and running quicker laps than Bogle. Traffic played into the final three laps, but Bogle dropped down to a 2:04.865 on the final lap to withstand the late charge. The win snapped Musquin’s six moto win streak.

All the sudden Martin Davalos has become a podium machine. He picked up another in the first moto with a third. Seely took fourth ahead of Blake Baggett, who passed Matt Bisceglia late in the race. Tomac could only make his way up to seventh ahead of Weston Peick, Cooper Webb, and Christian Craig.

250 Moto One

It’s been a trying couple of weeks for Adam Cianciarulo. At the Washougal National, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit rider was inline for his first career overall until a half a lap to go in the final moto when he was passed by Dylan Ferrandis. Last week at Unadilla, he held the early lead over teammate Joey Savatgy before tipping over. Today, at the same track he made his pro debut at in 2013, Cianciarulo finally delivered his first career moto win in a wire-to-wire effort in the first moto.

It was Cianciarulo grabbing the holeshot over a pair of GEICO Honda’s in Jeremy Martin and RJ Hampshire. Zach Osborne, who is looking to capture the 250 championship today, was down in a first turn pileup, which started when Steven Clarke went over the bars. Clarke’s bike actually tagged Osborne on the back. Chase Sexton, Mitchell Harrison, Dylan Ferrandis, and Mitchell Harrison, among others, were also down in the first turn.

Early in the race Martin and Hampshire both applied pressure to AC, Martin cutting the lead down to just over a second on lap six. But Cianciarulo was up for the challenge, extending his lead to 4.7 seconds by lap 11 and then even further at the end. He sealed the deal on his first career moto win by 6.2 seconds at the checkers.

Meanwhile, Osborne was putting in a furious charge through the pack, salvaging a ton of championship points in the process. By lap seven (of 17) Osborne was already up to 13th, after starting in 36th, and on the verge of making his way into the top 10. On lap 11, Osborne got around Sexton for eighth, which is where he would finish.

Jeremy Martin extended his slim hopes for a third 250 title by finishing second ahead of Hampshire. Shane McElrath put in one of his best rides of the season in fourth. Aaron Plessinger finished fifth ahead of Kyle Cunningham. Colt Nichols, who was caught up in the first turn and started 26th, came back to an impressive seventh. Osborne took eighth, with Sexton and Sean Cantrell rounding out the top 10.

Harrison came back to 11th, one spot ahead of Luke Renzland, who was also down in the first turn.

450 Moto Two

Whatever was going on with Eli Tomac the last few motos was erased in the second moto at Budds Creek. Tomac answered the call and rode to a dominating performance en route to his first moto win since Southwick.

For a second straight moto, it was the RCH duo of Matt Bisceglia and Justin Bogle leading the field into the first turn. They were joined by Blake Baggett. Riding the momentum of his second moto win of the year, Bogle quickly jumped into the lead over his teammate and Baggett.

In desperate need of points, Baggett quickly closed on Bogle for the lead. On the fourth lap, he dove to the inside and took the lead for the first time. The front-runners had more trouble looming, as Tomac was making a charge. After starting around sixth, the points leader was putting in a clinic coming through the field and got around Bogle for second on the same lap he lost the lead. At that point he was down 2.9 seconds on Baggett.

On lap six, after a few failed attempts at making a go for the lead, Tomac started on the outside of the rollers prior to the finish and cut to the inside to take the lead. The following lap Tomac made a mistake which allowed Baggett and Bogle to close back in. A few laps later Baggett made a big mistake of his own and Bogle closed in, but this allowed Tomac to start to get away. He never looked back from there, winning the moto by 7.4 seconds. Baggett held on for second over Bogle.

Marvin Musquin gained just one point on Tomac on the day after he got a terrible start in moto two. He came from 16th after the first lap to finish fourth. Dean Wilson, Weston Peick, Cooper Webb, Christian Craig, and Matt Bisceglia rounded out the top 10.

Behind 1-3 moto scores, Bogle claimed his first career overall. Musquin took second overall ahead of Tomac.

250 Moto Two

It wasn’t always easy on a today which started with a pileup in the first turn, but Zach Osborne stood strong and clinched his first career 250 AMA Motocross Championship with a brilliant performance in the second moto.

The holeshot went to Shane McElrath, with Jeremy Martin, Osborne, and first moto winner Adam Cianciarulo all in tow. Once Osborne got around Martin it appeared his hopes of clinching today would go up in smoke as his bike began to emit white clouds. Apparently it was coming from his clutch, and Osborne was able to reload and make another run. But McElrath, who finished fourth in the first moto, was holding strong, hoping to outlast Osborne and capture his first career overall as AC sat in fourth. On the seventh lap, Osborne’s championship hopes became a whole lot clearer, as Jeremy Martin went down. He didn’t need it, but on the same lap he moved into the lead, passing McElrath through the rollers.

With Osborne out front, this moved Cianciarulo into the overall, but he had company from Star Racing Yamaha teammate Aaron Plessinger and Colt Nichols. Not wanting a repeat of Washougal, AC regrouped and took the inside line on lap 12 in the rollers to move into second.

Cianciarulo never made a charge at Osborne, but he finished just 1.7 seconds back in second, clinching his first career overall. McElrath took a solid third over Plessinger, Nichols, Martin, RJ Hampshire, Justin Cooper, Chase Sexton (who came from dead last after hitting the gate on the start), and Mitchell Harrison.

The championship is Osborne’s second on the year, after he clinched the 250SX East Region in dramatic fashion earlier this season.