Searle Earns 3rd Overall at Red Bud
Searle had a great jump at the start of the first moto coming off the ski jump inside the top five. He finished the first lap in 4th and continued to stay there behind Ryan Dungey, Jake Weimer and Bret Metcalfe for the majority of the moto. Meanwhile his teammate, Wil Hahn, checked in at 6th place on the first lap – his best start of the season. Martin Davalos, in only his second race back since injury, was inside the top ten at the start but got caught up in a domino effect crash that came from the outside and worked its way in at the first corner. The crash took Davalos and fellow KTM rider Max Anstie along with approximately five other riders to the ground. Davalos and Anstie were amongst the last to recover and had a lot of time to make up when they returned to the race.
At the end of the moto Searle had remained consistent and finished 5th while Hahn earned his best moto finish of the season in 9th. Davalos and Anstie charged as hard as they could from their dead last positions to finish 20th and 21st. “It was just unfortunate that I got tangled up in a crash on the start. I didn’t even see it coming. I’m a little sore but will be ready for the second moto,” commented Davalos.
And ready he was – Davalos nailed the holeshot on the start of the second moto followed by an impressive KTM line up with Anstie in 2nd and Searle in 7th as the riders headed down the ski jump past the KTM/FMF MX Fan Experience area where they were greeted with cheers and applause from the happy KTM fans. The excitement continued as Davalos led the first four laps before the lead was taken over by Christophe Pourcel. Davalos, who has been struggling with endurance since coming back from injury, stayed strong and put in a remarkable ride to finish 5th overall the second moto. Anstie hung on to finish behind him in 6th earning his career best moto finish. Searle stayed on the gas and passed from his 7th place start to an impressive 2nd overall. He maintained that position to finish 2nd overall and 3rd for the day. Hahn finished 14th.
“I felt really good in the second moto. This was the closest I have been to a moto win. I feel I am improving each race and know that I am getting closer to earning a win. I would love to put my Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM on the top spot of the podium,” remarked Searle.
In the 450 Motocross class, Jagermeister/MDK/KTM rider Justin Brayton had a great start as the gate dropped for the first moto. He was 3rd going into the first turn but washed out and quickly picked up his bike to get back in the pack. By the end of the first lap he had moved up to 13th. He passed one rider on the next lap and moved to 12th and when Jason Lawrence crashed a lap later he moved to 11th. He then began a seven lap battle with Jimmy Albertson and eventually passed him and moved into 10th on lap eleven of the race. Nearing the last lap Brayton lost control and went over the bars. Despite his crash he still managed to recover a few positions and finish 11th overall for the moto.
The second moto had a similar start for Brayton. He started great, well inside the top ten, but slid out on the first lap falling to 19th. The rest of the moto he spent catching up to the front runners. By the end of the moto he had charged his way into 11th. His 11-11 scores earned him 10th overall for the day.
Overall Results 250 Motocross:
- Jake Weimer (2-4)
- Christophe Pourcel (8-1)
- Tommy Searle (5-2)
- Brett Metcalfe (4-3)
- Ryan Dungey (1-8)
- Justin Barcia (3-7)
- Kyle Cunningham (7-11)
- Matt Lemoine (10-12)
- Wil Hahn (9-14)
- Martin Davalos (20-5)
- Ben Evans (12-13)
- Max Anstie (21-6)
- Tyla Rattray (6-37)
- Blake Wharton (34-9)
- Sean Borkenhagen (15-15)
Overall Points 250 Motocross:
- Christophe Pourcel – 255
- Ryan Dungey – 246
- Tommy Searle – 191
- Brett Metcalfe – 179
- Tyla Rattray – 175
Overall Results 450 Motocross:
- Josh Grant (2-1)
- Chad Reed (1-3)
- Ivan Tedesco (4-2)
- Andrew Short (3-4)
- Cody Cooper (6-5)
- Ricky Dietrich (5-6)
- Michael Byrne (7-7)
- Tyler Bowers (8-9)
- Nick Wey (10-8)
- Justin Brayton (11-11)
Overall Points 450 Motocross:
- Chad Reed – 240
- Andrew Short – 219
- Ivan Tedesco – 200
- Josh Grant – 198
- Michael Byrne – 145
11) Justin Brayton – 99
