Today concludes not only the Red Bull Lake Elsinore National, but the entire 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship as well. And if you're a pro motocross racer whose name isn't Ryan Villopoto or Eli Tomac, you're probably glad to see the season conclude. Now, before the long, barren wasteland known as the off-season kicks into gear, join us for one final National race report as we tell you how it all went down at Lake Elsinore.
Words by Aaron Hansel and Jordan Roberts
Photos by Simon Cudby
Josh Grant pulled a mean holeshot—his fourth of the season—around the newly located Lake Elsinore start. He was able to hold off a charging Ryan Villopoto quarter of the race.
Villopoto eventually got around Grant after the JGR/Toyota Yamaha rider had a couple of minor bobbles.
Ryan Dungey was able to get around Barcia, and then Grant, with just two laps left.
Trey Canard rounded out the top five with a solid ride.
Josh Grant tied Ryan Villopoto for Motorcycle-Superstore.com holeshots...
...but required an I.V. after shortly after the end of the first moto and wasn’t allowed to race the second moto.
Grant’s JGR teammate Justin Brayton got the second moto holeshot...
...but Villopoto overtook the lead just a few corners later.
Dungey and Barcia were also able to get by Brayton and the top three began to separate from the field. Though the top three were riding their own race, plenty of riders were swapping positions inside the top ten. Jake Weimer emerged as the top rider in that pack. Canard crossed the finish line in 27th after the first lap, and amazingly enough, he ended the race in 10th.
The last 450 overall of the season went to the new champ, Ryan Villopoto. Ryan Dungey and Justin Barcia—Team USA’s MX1 and MX3 riders—rounded out the podium.
You can't tell from this picture, but Zach Osborne pulled a wheelie all the way down the start stretch to take the holeshot.
Cudby Photo
Ken Roczen took the lead early in this moto and just dominated. He won by a large margin, and even when Eli Tomac got into second, Tomac wasn't able to really close the gap on Roczen
Cudby Photo
Marvin Musquin had a good race going early but it was cut short when he cased a big double and coughed up a bunch of positions.
Cudby Photo
After the race Tomac said he didn't get along well with the track, but he was still impressive. When he passed Jeremy Martin for second in moto one, he used the last bump in a roller section to jump on top of a tabletop and streak by while Martin was floating in the air above the jump. The crowd in the immediate area went crazy, and for good reason. It was one of the best passes of the season.
Cudby Photo
Martin put in a very strong ride to finish third ahead of his teammate Cooper Webb.
Cudby Photo
Adam Cianciarulo didn't have the best day. A crash in this moto relegated him to fourteenth, and after the moto he was banged up and was experiencing numbness in his arm, which prompted him to skip moto two.
Cudby Photo
Martin and Osborne both had strong performances in the unrelenting Southern California heat, finishing third and fifth respectively.
Cudby Photo
Zach Osborne banged out another holeshot in moto two, but fell off the pace early. He picked things back up for the second half and got several positions back to take fourth.
Cudby Photo
Blake Baggett, who got a bad start in moto one and eventually pulled out after a crash, came on strong in moto two. After taking the lead early he completely gapped everyone, and when Tomac started closing in Baggett responded by stabilizing the gap. He won the moto easily but was docked one position for jumping under a wheels-on-the-ground flag.
Cudby Photo
Cooper Webb (175) led some laps early but started falling off the pace and lost a few positions. He got a spot back when Jason Anderson, who was running third after a terrible first moto, crashed hard and pulled out. Webb picked up more steam in the second half and got back into third, which is where he finished the moto to take his first podium overall of the season.
Cudby Photo
Ken Roczen just didn't have the speed he had in the first moto, and his lap times weren't competitive with those of Blake Baggett and Eli Tomac. After a crash he finished the moto in seventh but somehow managed to still take second overall.
Cudby Photo
Tomac racked up another win, Roczen took second and Webb took the first, and last, podium overall of his rookie season.
Cudby Photo
450 Official Results
- Ryan Villopoto 1-1
- Ryan Dungey 2-2
- Justin Barcia 5-3
- Jake Weimer 8-4
- Tyla Rattray 7-6
- Trey Canard 4-10
- Mike Alessi 12-5
- Brett Metcalfe 10-8
- Andrew Short 6-12
- Broc Tickle 11-11
- Josh Grant 3-38
- Justin Brayton 14-9
- Ryan Sipes 13-14
- Malcolm Stewart 9-18
- Weston Peick 33-7
- Ben LaMay 16-13
- Nick Wey 17-17
- Michael Byrne 23-15
- Phil Nicoletti 15-37
- Zack Freeberg 22-16
450 Point Standings
- Ryan Villopoto 563
- Ryan Dungey 507
- Justin Barcia 411
- Trey Canard 332
- James Stewart 289
- Jake Weimer 275
- Andrew Short 262
- Broc Tickle 236
- Mike Alessi 229
- Josh Grant 228
- Justin Brayton 201
- Tyla Rattray 198
- Malcolm Stewart 197
- Phil Nicoletti 190
- Chad Reed 157
- Ryan Sipes 147
- Weston Peick 102
- Ben LaMay 83
- Brett Metcalfe 81
- Clement Desalle 58
250 Official Results
- Eli Tomac 2-1
- Ken Roczen 1-7
- Cooper Webb 4-3
- Jeremy Martin 3-5
- Zach Osborne 5-4
- Wil Hahn 6-6
- Marvin Musquin 9-10
- Justin Bogle 8-11
- Blake Baggett 33-2
- Martin Davalos 11-9
- Justin Hill 13-8
- Cole Seely 10-12
- Jessy Nelson 12-14
- Darryn Durham 15-13
- Kyle Cunningham 7-35
- Matt Bisceglia 16-15
- Shane McElrath 18-17
- Adam Cianciarulo 14-40
- Ryan Zimmer 20-16
- Jason Anderson 17-32
- Eli Tomac 552
- Ken Roczen 493
- Marvin Musquin 411
- Blake Baggett 395
- Zach Osborne 356
- Jeremy Martin 300
- Justin Bogle 291
- Jason Anderson 260
- Cooper Webb 255
- Kyle Cunningham 228
- Cole Seely 223
- Justin Hill 217
- Wil Hahn 172
- Darryn Durham 171
- Martin Davalos 168
- Adam Cianciarulo 138
- Joey Savatgy 89
- Blake Wharton 85
- Alex Martin 82
- Kyle Peters 55
