MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The twelfth and final round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, featured an exciting afternoon of action in the series' second visit to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. While Red Bull KTM's Ken Roczen secured his first career major title on U.S. soil, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard was enjoying the thrill of his first 450 Class victory following a truly dominant afternoon. In the 250 Class, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Jeremy Martin capped off his championship-clinching performance from the week prior with another convincing effort that put an exclamation point on his breakout year.
Through partnerships with series sponsors, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will recognize the riders who achieve the series' specialty awards all summer long. Each week, MX Sports Pro Racing will recognize the riders who are able to lay claim to the Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program, the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in each moto, and the Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award throughout the 2014 season.
The Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program is designed to present a unique challenge for the 2014 season, providing a different twist by recognizing the rider who sets the fastest lap of practice in both the 250 and 450 Classes. Each rider will receive special Oakley Bomb trophy, specially designed by the brand.As the season wears on, the total number of Oakley Bomb awards a rider receives will be tallied into a final season total. The competitor with the most awards at season's end will be presented with an Elite Oakley Time Bomb II Swiss Automatic Watch.
Consistent overnight rain leading into last Saturday's finale resulted in a wet track for the riders as they first took to the revamped layout at Miller Motorsports Park. While conditions consistently improved as the day wore on, practice became a battle of logging the cleanest lap possible on a challenging, ever-changing race surface.
In the 450 Class, GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac captured his second consecutive Oakley Bomb Award, bringing his season total to three. Tomac's time of 1:57.313 was over a second quicker than Roczen in second (1:58.715) and Canard in third (1:58.996). These three riders were the only premier class competitors able to break the two-minute mark in practice.
While Tomac's late surge in fast laps ultimately landed him with the second-highest total of the 2014 season, Roczen had already wrapped up the Elite Oakley Time Bomb II Swiss Automatic Watch with the most fastest laps of the season in the 450 Class at four. Roczen was officially awarded the one-of-a-kind timepiece in Utah, providing an added bonus on arguably the most memorable day of the young German's career.
In the 250 Class, the series' most dominant qualifier, Christophe Pourcel, once again put his Valli Motorsports Yamaha on top of the charts to finish the 2014 season with nine of the 12 Oakley Bomb Awards. Pourcel's time of 1:53.861 was the fastest of all competitors on Saturday, and sat nearly three seconds ahead of Martin in second. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Chris Alldredge posted a career-best third-place effort in just his third career start.
The Motosport.com Holeshot Award is brand new to Lucas Oil Pro Motocross this season and it awards $500 to the rider who gets the holeshot of each moto - in both the 450 Class and 250 Class - at every round of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. A total of $2,000 will be up for grabs at each event between the two classes, thanks to Motosport.com.
The Motosport.com Holeshot Award proved to be the key to Canard's afternoon, as the veteran was first to the line in both 450 Class motos and simply checked out on the field from there. Canard became the hottest rider in the series heading into Utah, winning two of his last three motos and finishing second overall in back-to-back weeks. The momentum didn't stop at Miller Motorsports Park, as Canard led every lap of competition to secure the first win of his 450 Class career.
In the 250 Class, a pair of newer names put themselves at the front of the pack. In Moto 1, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb edged out his teammate Martin to claim his first Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the 2014 season. However, Webb was soon overtaken by Martin and ultimately settled for a runner-up finish in the moto and $500 extra in his pocket. The second moto was similar in that Martin just missed out on being the first across the line, but this time Rockstar Energy Racing's Joey Savatgy beat him to it to earn his second Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season. Savatgy fended off Martin briefly before settling in and battling his way to a seventh-place result.
The RC Hard Charger Award is entering its sixth season in 2014. Named after Ricky Carmichael, the most winning motocross rider of all time, the award recognizes the one competitor at each of the 12 rounds of the championship who overtakes the highest number of his fellow racers in any of the four championship motos between the 250 and 450 Classes.The award is a testament to "The Greatest of All Time" or "The GOAT" and his never-give-up attitude over the span of a career that warranted 10 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross titles and 102 wins - two feats that will likely never be duplicated. All recipients of the RC Hard Charger Award are given a custom-designed trophy.
Mere weeks after being crowned Canadian Motocross National Champion, Canadian Colton Facciotti earned a tremendous opportunity to go head-to-head against America's elite. Facciotti took the place of an absent Malcolm Stewart at Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda and had high hopes of being able to achieve success against the world's best riders in the most prestigious series on the planet. However, the Canadian Champ had his resiliency tested in the opening moto after getting tangled with Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jake Weimer off the start and crossing the line in dead last, 40th place. Facciotti showed why he was able to earn the title up north with an impressive come-from-behind effort, passing 24 riders en route to 16th place and earning the RC Hard Charger Award in the process. While he didn't necessarily achieve the results he was hoping for, the award is no doubt a consolation and memento of his foray to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Several riders showed their ability to fight through adversity in Utah as the first turn off the start proved to be a focal point of attrition throughout the afternoon. Riders like BTO Sports KTM rider Andrew Short, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Fredrik Noren, GEICO Honda's Zach Bell and Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda's Jessy Nelson all had their work cut out for them in one of the motos, and each passed at least 15 riders to earn their results.
2014 Specialty Award Winners
Oakley Fastest Lap Program
450 Class
- Glen Helen - Ryan Dungey
- Hangtown - Ken Roczen
- Thunder Valley - Trey Canard
- High Point - Ken Roczen
- Muddy Creek - Eli Tomac
- Red Bud - Ken Roczen
- Budds Creek - James Stewart
- Spring Creek - Ken Roczen
- Washougal - Ryan Dungey
- Unadilla - Trey Canard
- Indiana - Eli Tomac
- Utah - Eli Tomac
250 Class
- Glen Helen - Christophe Pourcel
- Hangtown - Christophe Pourcel
- Thunder Valley - Christophe Pourcel
- High Point - Jeremy Martin
- Muddy Creek - Christophe Pourcel
- Red Bud - Christophe Pourcel
- Budds Creek - Christophe Pourcel
- Spring Creek - Christophe Pourcel
- Washougal - Marvin Musquin
- Unadilla - Christophe Pourcel
- Indiana - Jeremy Martin
- Utah - Christophe Pourcel
Motosport.com Holeshot Award
450 Class
Glen Helen
Moto 1 - Josh Grant
Moto 2 - Ken Roczen
Hangtown
Moto 1 - Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 - Jake Weimer
Thunder Valley
Moto 1 - Josh Grant
Moto 2 - Trey Canard
High Point
Moto 1 - Chad Reed
Moto 2 - Chad Reed
Muddy Creek
Moto 1 - Eli Tomac
Moto 2 - Ryan Dungey
Red Bud
Moto 1 - Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 - Ken Roczen
Budds Creek
Moto 1 - Justin Brayton
Moto 2 - Ryan Dungey
Spring Creek
Moto 1 - Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 - Eli Tomac
Washougal
Moto 1 - Justin Brayton
Moto 2 - Justin Brayton
Unadilla
Moto 1 - Justin Brayton
Moto 2 - Justin Brayton
Indiana
Moto 1 - Ken Roczen
Moto 2 - Trey Canard
Utah
Moto 1 - Trey Canard
Moto 2 - Trey Canard
250 Class
Glen Helen
Moto 1 - Jeremy Martin
Moto 2 - Jeremy Martin
Hangtown
Moto 1 - Zach Bell
Moto 2 - Jeremy Martin
Thunder Valley
Moto 1 - Jessy Nelson
Moto 2 - Zach Bell
High Point
Moto 1 - Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 - Christophe Pourcel
Muddy Creek
Moto 1 - Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 - Justin Bogle
Red Bud
Moto 1 - Matt Biscegila
Moto 2 - Joey Savatgy
Budds Creek
Moto 1 - Justin Bogle
Moto 2 - Jeremy Martin
Spring Creek
Moto 1 - Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 - Christophe Pourcel
Washougal
Moto 1 - Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 - Christophe Pourcel
Unadilla
Moto 1 - Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 - Christophe Pourcel
Indiana
Moto 1 - Jessy Nelson
Moto 2 - Jessy Nelson
Utah
Moto 1 - Cooper Webb
Moto 2 - Joey Savatgy
RC Hard Charger Award
- Glen Helen - Josh Grant (+22)
- Hangtown - Andrew Short (+24)
- Thunder Valley - Fredrik Noren (+21)
- High Point - Shane Sewell & Zack Williams (+14)
- Muddy Creek - Josh Grant (+29)
- Red Bud - Fredrick Noren & Joey Savatgy (+21)
- Budds Creek - Dean Wilson (+21)
- Spring Creek - Jason Anderson (+25)
- Washougal - Tevin Tapia (+18)
- Unadilla - Cade Clason & Luke Renzland (+17)
- Indiana - Killian Rusk, Christophe Pourcel & Josh Grant (+22)
- Utah - Colton Facciotti (+24)
