The second round of the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships kicked off today at the Freestone, Texas facility located about an hour and a half from Dallas. As usual, the weather is going to prove to be a factor here as temperatures are expected to be in the low 90’s with humidity that makes it feel well beyond that. Thankfully though, it’s not going to be as hot as past races here.
The track has seen some improvements from last year with corners modified to add some flow to the track, and the famous Texas 12-pack of sand whoops are back and ready to test the very best.
Fantasy motocross players be aware that Canada’s Cole Thompson is making his season debut in the 450 class and easily qualified 24th on the day.
After last week we expected Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart and KTM’s Ryan Dungey to be two of the top racers and in practice today, they proved that both are ready to continue their great race from Hangtown. Generally speaking the times from the first session hold up as the better ones because of the track getting rougher and rougher but Stewart proved that theory wrong as he soared to the top of the charts with a time just under two minutes in the second session. He was the only guy to do a sub-two minute time. Dungey, who was the fastest in the first session, is second in times and Jeff Ward Kawasaki’s Josh Grant used a line where he was jumping from the single jump into the sand section to grab third in times. His fastest lap also came in the second session. Mike Alessi and Andrew Short both appeared to have bike problems in the first set of practices but both riders easily made it into the field with their second session times. Rebounding from a poor first round was JGR Yamaha’s Kyle Regal who ended the practice times in eighth. His teammate Davi Millsaps, who scored a second in a moto last week, struggled with presumably an elbow injury to a 23rd best time.
Eli Tomac set the fastest lap in the 250 Class.
Simon Cudby photo
In the 250 class it was GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac who used his first session time to leap to the top. Tomac’s led races before here at Freestone but in the past the weather has gotten to him. Tomac’s hoping that this year, 2012, things change. The man who was at the top of the board for most of the first practice and won Hangtown last week, Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Blake Baggett, was second. The BB gun made a last lap run for the top spot but came up a bit short. As it is, he’ll go to the gate second although here in Texas, there are plenty of great spots for the start.
Rockstar Suzuki’s Jason Anderson was third in a great showing for him and his team and the two Red Bull KTM teammates Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin (who’s battling a hand injury) were 4th and 5th.
All in all a great day of racing is expected here in Texas and the cloud cover had produced some nicer temperatures for right now.
Remeber first motos begin at 2:00 PM EST on FUEL TV and Allisports.com. And be sure to follow Racer X Online on Twitter for race analysis.
450 Qualifying Times
1 7 James Stewart Suzuki RMZ 450 1:59.126
2 5 Ryan Dungey KTM 450 SX-F 2:01.096
3 33 Josh Grant Kawasaki KX 450F 2:01.11
4 25 Broc Tickle Kawasaki KX 450F 2:01.341
5 50 Nico Izzi Yamaha YZ 450F 2:01.528
6 800 Mike Alessi Suzuki RMZ 450 2:01.622
7 24 Brett Metcalfe Suzuki RMZ 450 2:02.228
8 36 Kyle Regal Yamaha YZ 450F 2:02.761
9 32 Tommy Hahn Honda CRF450R 2:02.944
10 48 Jimmy Albertson Suzuki RMZ 450 2:03.157
250 Qualifying Times
1 17 Eli Tomac Honda CRF250R 2:01.858
2 12 Blake Baggett Kawasaki KX 250F 2:02.064
3 44 Jason Anderson Suzuki RMZ 250 2:02.518
4 70 Ken Roczen KTM 250 SX-F 2:02.561
5 38 Marvin Musquin KTM 250 SX-F 2:02.624
6 20 Justin Barcia Honda CRF250R 2:03.163
7 51 Travis Baker Honda CRF250R 2:03.229
8 58 William Hahn Honda CRF250R 2:03.468
9 956 Blake Wharton Suzuki RMZ 250 2:03.973
10 19 Kyle Cunningham Yamaha YZ 250F 2:04.120
Click HERE for complete qualifying times.
