The High Point MX National is a staple in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, and there’s a reason: the fans. Even though the forecast was calling for rain, the fans still came out and sat through two pretty brutal rain bursts during the day, and they largely held out.
What the fans witnessed was a display of skill, speed and fitness, in the 450cc class by reigning 450cc Supercross champ Ryan Dungey of the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team. And in the 250cc class, the fans witnessed riders tackling some very diverse conditions, and as would be expected, consistency paid off.
450cc
Muscle Milk/JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant grabbed the start at the beginning of the first 450cc moto, and for a while it looked like he was going to be able to hold on for the win, but Dungey caught fire late in the moto and chased Grant down, passing him on the 10th lap of 16 for the lead. From there, Dungey quickly made a break for it, while Grant appeared to settle for second in front of Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short.
Ryan Dungey took off with yet another 1-1 performance at High Point. He now leads the points.
Steve Cox Photo
The only racer who really made any headway in the moto was TLD/Lucas Oil Honda’s Ben Townley, who started the race at the tail end of the top five, had a fall, then worked his way up from seventh back into fourth. Behind him came Motoconcepts Yamaha’s Matt Goerke, then GEICO Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe, and then Jagermeister KTM’s Mike Alessi, who actually started fourth.
Defending champ Chad Reed, of the Monster Energy Kawasaki team, finished 12th after reportedly having a rock knock his goggle lens out.
Short led the moto and looked like he may be close to getting his first 450cc moto win, but Dungey worked his way through the field until, on lap five, he grabbed second. Over the next five laps, he chipped away at Short’s lead, and he made the pass stick on lap 10, then quickly pulled away.
Dungey took the win – now four in a row – and the overall, while Short finished second just in front of Metcalfe, who came through from sixth to third.
Short was second overall, while Metcalfe was third.
With the win, and Reed’s misfortunes, Dungey now leads the championship with 126 points over Metcalfe on 101, then Alessi on 98, Reed with 95, and Townley with 87.
250cc
In Texas, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel didn’t have great starts. At High Point, he did. The rain had begun to fall at the start of the first 250cc moto, and Pourcel took the holeshot, but trouble on the second lap handed the lead to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Justin Barcia, who then led Pourcel’s teammate Tyla Rattray, FMF KTM’s Tommy Searle, Pourcel and his teammate Jake Weimer.
Tyla Rattray used a 2-2 score to land the 250cc overall win.
Steve Cox Photo
Barcia put on a clinic. He went out and dominated the opening moto going away in the slop – which was drying out by the end of the moto – while Rattray hung on for second in front of Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, Pourcel and Dean Wilson. Then came Searle and Weimer, both of whom fell during the course of the moto.
Over the first few laps, Rattray chased down Wilson, who fell and handed second to Rattray. Wharton eventually worked his way into third, just in front of his teammate Trey Canard, who amazingly finished the first lap in 21st and climbed through the field to fourth. Fifth went to Broc Tickle over Wilson, Davalos, Wil Hahn, Baggett and the rest of the field.
With his 2-2 finish, Rattray won his first-ever AMA overall over Pourcel and Wharton.
Rockstar Energy High Point National
High Point Raceway - Mt. Morris, Pa.
June 12, 2010
Round 3 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (1-1)
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (3-2)
- Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (6-3)
- Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (4-6)
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (7-5)
- Matt Goerke, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (5-7)
- Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki (11-4)
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (2-24)
- Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha (10-11)
- Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Yamaha (9-12)
450 Class Championship Standings
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 126
- Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 101
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 98
- Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 95
- Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda, 87
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 82
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 79
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 76
- Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 71
- Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 55
250 Class (Moto Finish)
- Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (2-2)
- Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki (4-1)
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda (8-3)
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki (3-9)
- Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki (5-6)
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha (9-5)
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (14-4)
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda (1-21)
- Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Yamaha (11-7)
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (7-11)
250 Class Championship Standings
- Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki, 129
- Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki, 102
- Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki, 100
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 93
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 90
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha, 89
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 80
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 79
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 72
- Tommy Searle, England, KTM, 60
