Wil Hahn Claims Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award at Freestone
James Stewart and Eli Tomac Capture Oakley Bomb Awards

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (May 31, 2012) – The annual Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, stop at Texas’ Freestone Raceway is known for being one of the most mentally- and physically-challenging rounds of the entire championship. Despite that, GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn refused to let up in his quest for a strong showing in front of his hometown crowd to claim this week’s Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award.

In the opening moto of the 250 Class, Hahn encountered misfortune out of the gate, relegating him to the 40^th and final spot in the field at the conclusion of the opening lap. A native of nearby Decatur, Hahn began to go to work, picking off riders one-by-one. After working his way by 10 riders on Lap 2, Hahn continued to surge forward, eventually breaking into the top 15 on Lap 13, but he wasn’t done yet. When the checkered flag flew on Lap 17, Hahn had passed an astonishing 28 riders to finish 12^th in the moto. He followed up his impressive come-from-behind effort with a sixth-place finish in Moto 2, landing him eighth overall.

Hahn will be given the RC Hard Charger Award at the riders meeting prior to Saturday’s Toyota Thunder Valley National.

The Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program continued as well at Freestone, recognizing the 450 and 250 Class riders who lay down the quickest lap time of the day in timed practice. In the 450 Class, Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart claimed his second consecutive award, overcoming the initial fast lap set by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey to post a time of 1:59.126 in the final session. The time gave Stewart nearly a two-second advantage over the field and the distinction of the being the only rider to break the two-minute barrier.

In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac proved he would be the rider to beat in Texas, pacing the field with a lap of 2:01.858 to give him an edge of two tenths over his competitors.

Both Stewart and Tomac carried their qualifying momentum into the respective motos for each class, posting duplicate 1-1 moto scores en route to their respective overall victories. Each rider was awarded the one-of-a-kind Oakley Bomb trophy and earned a point towards the season tally that will determine an overall winner in the Fastest Lap Program at season’s end.

Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Totals

450 Class
James Stewart – 2 (Hangtown, Freestone)

250 Class
Blake Baggett – 1 (Hangtown)
Eli Tomac – 1 (Freestone)

This weekend’s Toyota Thunder Valley National will take place on Saturday, June 2 from Thunder Valley MX Park in Lakewood, Colo. Action kicks off at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Tickets for all rounds of the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship can be found at www.allisports.com.

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