It’s round ten of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship today at the famed Unadilla track in western New York. The facility has hosted some epic races over the years and despite some rain in the days leading up to the race, it’s prepped perfectly and ready to go.
The 450MX class comes roaring in with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto holding a 34-point lead over Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. Honda Muscle Milk rider Justin Barcia is in third and fourth is Millville winner Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.
In the 250’s, it’s GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac with a nice lead on Dungey’s teammate Ken Roczen. The German had a DNF due to a crash at Millville and lost the points lead for the first time since the opening round.
Missing in action in the 450MX class at Unadilla is Rockstar Racing’s Ryan Sipes who injured a finger. Making their return to the 450MX class is an Aussie who’s racing in Canada named Brett Metcalfe and a New Yorker named Bobby Kiniry. Both riders will be threats for top tens today.
In the 250MX class we will see a couple of top amateur racers making their professional debuts in GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia and Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Shane McElrath. As we’ve seen before many times, the top riders from Loretta Lynn’s are often good enough to break into the top ten at their first races.
And in practice it was the second sessions that provided the fast times. We saw a couple of amazingly quick laps by both Villopoto and Tomac and somehow Tomac, on the 250, set the overall fastest lap on the day. And to that we say, WOW.
The 450 guys took turns one-upping each other with James Stewart, MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi and Barcia all holding the top time at one point. But in the end it was Villopoto who was over a second faster than Barcia to take home the Oakley Bomb Award for the fourth time in a row.
And of course in the 250’s it was Tomac standing all along with his best time that was so very fast. Defending champion Blake Baggett of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team was second, GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne was third and Roczen was fourth.
As of right now it’s Villopoto and Tomac who stand above everyone else after practice and it looks good for them but anything can happen once the gate drops. Stay tuned to Racer X for updates throughout the day.
450MX Qualifying Times
1 2 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki KX 450F 2:16.323
2 51 Justin Barcia Honda CRF450R 2:17.837
3 800 Mike Alessi Suzuki RMZ 450 2:18.785
4 10 Justin Brayton Yamaha YZ 450F 2:18.977
5 1 Ryan Dungey KTM 450 SX-F FE 2:18.987
6 7 James Stewart Jr. Suzuki RMZ 450 2:19.326
7 33 Josh Grant Yamaha YZ 450F 2:19.527
8 41 Trey Canard Honda CRF450R 2:19.753
9 29 Andrew Short KTM 450 SX-F FE 2:20.512
10 32 Malcolm Stewart Honda CRF450R 2:20.632
250MX Qualifying
1 17 Eli Tomac Honda CRF250R 2:15.590
2 1 Blake Baggett Kawasaki KX 250F 2:18.252
3 338 Zach Osborne Honda CRF250R 2:19.198
4 94 Ken Roczen KTM 250 SX-F 2:19.245 2:32.077
5 21 Jason Anderson Suzuki RMZ 250 2:19.280
6 77 Jeremy Martin Yamaha YZ 250F 2:20.387
7 44 Darryn Durham Kawasaki KX 250F 2:20.863
8 25 Marvin Musquin KTM 250 SX-F 2:20.994
9 40 Martin Davalos Kawasaki KX 250F 2:21.391
10 292 Adam Cianciarulo Kawasaki KX 250F 2:21.424
