The final round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships at the inaugural Red Bull Lake Elsinore National created plenty of pre-week hype as the 250 and WMX titles were still very much within reach for six riders.
As Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett was putting the final touches on a brilliant first moto performance, the title hopes for GEICO Honda teammates Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia were fading away under the boiling Southern California sun. In the second moto, a crash from Tomac, and a subsequent second place finish from Baggett put the final nail in the coffin for GEICO Honda and gave Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki its second consecutive 250 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
In the 450 Class, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey rode to another dominating performance, capturing his tenth straight overall along with wins in 18 of 20 motos. MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi once again proved to be a formidable foe but was unable to muster enough of a charge down the stretch to challenge the two-time 450 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle put the final touches on a breakout rookie season, rounding out the 450 podium.
A surprise entrance from 2012 WMX World Champion Chiara Fontanesi threw a wrench in the WMX title chase. The Italian was dominant in her maiden voyage in the States, taking the overall via a 1-1 performance. Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jessica Patterson entered the final round with five-point lead over American Honda’s Ashley Fiolek and 10 points over Lucas Oil Troy Lee Design Honda’s Tarah Gieger but was nursing a hand and ankle injury. Fiolek was able to take advantage and clinched her fourth WMX Championship when Patterson had to bow out of the second moto due to the aforementioned ankle injury.
450 Class
Moto 1
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 1 |
2:43.648 |
11 |
2:46.063 |
Ryan Dungey |
| 2 | 2 |
2:44.038 |
10 |
2:47.595 |
Mike Alessi |
| 3 | 3 |
2:48.559 |
5 |
2:50.812 |
Broc Tickle |
| 4 | 4 |
2:49.723 |
9 |
2:52.616 | Tyla Rattray |
| 5 | 5 |
2:50.169 |
8 |
2:53.535 |
Jake Weimer |
| 6 | 8 |
2:52.740 |
3 |
2:57.515 |
Andrew Short |
| 7 | 29 |
2:52.876 |
3 |
3:08.094 |
Austin Politelli |
| 8 |
6 |
2:53.830 |
7 |
2:55.968 |
Kyle Regal |
| 9 | 12 |
2:53.852 |
13 |
2:57.927 |
Justin Brayton |
| 10 | 11 |
2:54.171 |
10 |
2:57.952 |
Jimmy Albertson |
Moto 2
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 1 |
2:41.360 |
4 |
2:45.022 |
Ryan Dungey |
| 2 | 2 |
2:42.556 |
3 |
2:46.795 |
Mike Alessi |
| 3 | 4 |
2:44.754 |
8 |
2:48.790 |
Tyla Rattray |
| 4 | 3 |
2:45.628 |
5 |
2:47.880 |
Broc Tickle |
| 5 | 5 |
2:46.815 |
8 |
2:49.102 |
Justin Brayton |
| 6 | 7 |
2:47.078 |
3 |
2:50.466 |
Nico izzi |
| 7 | 6 |
2:47.616 |
3 |
2:50.090 |
Josh Grant |
| 8 |
10 |
2:47.852 |
3 |
2:53.138 |
Christian Craig |
| 9 | 30 |
2:47.928 |
3 |
2:50.730 |
Fredrik Noren |
| 10 | 9 |
2:48.392 |
5 |
2:51.198 |
Jake Weimer |
No surprises here as Dungey ended his 2012 campaign atop the lap charts once again—a spot he’s held firmly for a majority of the season. Dungey and Alessi were clearly a step above the field—setting lap times three and four seconds a click faster than Tickle and company.
Mike Alessi set the second fastest lap times in both 450 motos.
Simon Cudby photo
250 Class
Moto 1
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 2 |
2:41.730 |
10 |
2:46.432 |
Eli Tomac |
| 2 | 1 |
2:42.452 |
8 |
2:45.685 |
Blake Baggett |
| 3 | 4 |
2:44.456 |
7 |
2:48.327 |
Marvin Musquin |
| 4 |
3 |
2:45.024 |
8 |
2:47.809 |
Justin Barcia |
| 5 | 6 |
2:45.830 |
8 |
2:48.229 |
Ken Roczen |
| 6 |
5 |
2:46.911 |
7 |
2:49.158 |
Wil Hahn |
| 7 | 8 |
2:47.444 |
5 |
2:50.510 |
Blake Wharton |
| 8 | 10 |
2:47.605 |
9 |
2:50.763 |
Jeremy Martin |
| 9 | 7 |
2:48.291 |
13 |
2:49.175 |
Malcolm Stewart |
| 10 | 31 |
2:48.759 |
6 |
2:51.216 |
Jason Anderson |
Moto 2
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 2 |
2:39.190 |
14 |
2:43.426 |
Blake Baggett |
| 2 | 1 |
2:42.431 |
9 |
2:44.211 |
Justin Barcia |
| 3 | 3 |
2:43.825 |
10 |
2:46.184 |
Marvin Musquin |
| 4 | 14 |
2:44.156 |
14 |
2:49.115 |
Eli Tomac |
| 5 | 11 |
2:44.503 |
3 |
2:51.621 |
Justin Bogle |
| 6 | 4 |
2:45.422 |
8 |
2:46.759 |
Wil Hahn |
| 7 |
5 |
2:45.546 |
4 |
2:47.745 |
Jason Anderson |
| 8 |
6 |
2:45.730 |
5 |
2:47.765 |
Malcolm Stewart |
| 9 |
8 |
2:46.323 |
8 |
2:48.514 |
Blake Wharton |
| 10 |
17 |
2:46.412 |
3 |
2:55.441 |
Alex Martin |
Tomac stole the show in the first moto with his unworldly performance on lap 10, where he laid down a 2:41.730 to trim Baggett’s lead to a second. But the amazing lap left Tomac gasping for energy, and unable to challenge Baggett late in the moto, as he labored across the line to finish second.
Overshadowed by Tomac’s first moto lap time—partly because he had the title in hand—was Baggett’s scorching 2:39.190 on lap 14 in the second moto. The lap was a full two seconds faster than any other lap of the day in the 250 Class and it occurred on LAP 14, just in case you missed that part. The guy already had both the title and overall wrapped up with his 1-2 scores, but he was still digging into the final lap of the season to try to get one more moto win.
Blake Baggett was on fire late in moto two.
Simon Cudby photo
WMX Class
Moto 1
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 4 | 3:10.325 | 6 | 3:14.853 | Jessica Patterson |
| 2 | 1 | 3:10.393 | 4 | 3:12.902 | Chiara Fontanesi |
| 3 | 2 | 3:11.533 | 3 | 3:14.700 | Ashley Fiolek |
| 4 | 3 | 3:12.970 | 6 | 3:15.427 | Mariana Balbi |
| 5 | 6 | 3:15.375 | 5 | 3:17.278 | Jacqueline Strong |
Moto 2
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 1 | 3:03.015 | 3 | 3:05.294 | Chiara Fontanesi |
| 2 | 3 | 3:03.801 | 5 | 3:08.262 | Ashley Fiolek |
| 3 | 28 | 3:04.763 | 3 | 3:06.455 | Jessica Patterson |
| 4 | 2 | 3:05.074 | 3 | 3:07.534 | Mariana Balbi |
| 5 | 5 | 3:05.865 | 5 | 3:08.975 | Tarah Gieger |
With injuries and inconsistencies keeping the drama pegged all season, the WMX Class didn't even need a new star at the finale to go down as one of the craziest events in the history of the class. But it got one in Fontanesi, who wasn't even jumping a few of the bigger jumps around the track, yet was still fast enough to track down early-leader Fiolek to get the lead in the motos. Patterson's result was a dissapointment, but, her desire showed via her fast lap in the first moto, where she was digging deep to get to the front.
