Second 250 Moto

Jeremy Martin knew he needed to claim the overall at his home race if he had any chance of a three-peat in the 250 Class. In the second 250 moto he left nothing to chance, sprinting out alongside his brother Alex off the start. The elder Martin held the early lead, but made a mistake in a corner on the opening lap and was shuffled back to around tenth. Alex’s crash actually slowed Jeremy enough that Adam Cianciarulo was able to jump into the lead. With first moto winner Cooper Webb buried back around tenth off the start, Jeremy knew he need to quickly get around AC and open a gap. And he did, taking a lead he wouldn’t relinquish on the third lap. Five laps after taking the lead, Martin had already built an eight-second lead over second and won the moto by just over seven seconds.

As we mentioned above, Webb was buried off the start but as he showed last week at Southwick—and throughout the season, really—he’s able to really put on a charge late in the motos. He did it again at Spring Creek, charging past the likes of Aaron Plessinger, Joey Savatgy, and Zach Osborne into second by around the ninth or tenth lap. Although he was too far back to really mount a charge—he was more than thirteen second back upon moving into second—a second place finish gave him second overall for the day and more importantly, he tied Jeremy Martin on points for the day.

The overall podium would come down to a three-way battle between Savatgy (who held second at one point but made a mistake) Alex Martin and Plessinger. After his early crash, Alex had worked back to the Plessinger and Savatgy battle for fourth and caught fire late in the moto, passing both riders with two laps to go to grab the final overall podium spot at his home race. Savatgy would hold on for fifth with Plessinger in sixth. Martin Davalos, Cianciarulo, Arnaud Tonus and Mitchell Harrison would round out the top ten.

First 450 Moto

For a brief moment early in the first 450 moto at Spring Creek, it appeared we would have a repeat of last week at Southwick, with the two titans of the class—Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac—squaring off. And they did—for a lap or two anyway, before Roczen took it to another level.

Tomac, sensing he needed to get to the front early after Roczen was nearly two seconds faster in practice, quickly passed Justin Barcia for the lead on the opening lap. Roczen struggled getting around Barcia, but finally made the pass near the end of the first lap. Tomac wasn’t able to take advantage of the early clear track and only led by 1.5 seconds up after the opening lap. Roczen quickly applied the pressure to Tomac and by lap 5 had taken the lead for the first time. With a clear track, Roczen was unstoppable, quickly opening a five second lead and that he would stretch to just over seven at the finish.  

Tomac actually had to deal with pressure from Marvin Musquin at points in the moto after a small crash, but he was able to turn thing around late and finished second. Musquin would take third.

After taking the opening moto holeshot, Justin Barcia would finish fourth ahead of Christophe Pourcel.

Following a four-race absence, Trey Canard looked good in his first race back taking sixth ahead of rookie Benny Bloss, who is really starting to come into his own the last few weeks. BTOSports.com-KTM-WPS teammates Andrew Short and Justin Brayton finished eighth and ninth.

In his first race back since Hangtown, James Stewart finished tenth. It marked the first time in 2016 Stewart has completed a moto. Dean Wilson finished one spot behind in eleventh in his first race since tearing his ACL in January.

Quick Notes
Holeshot: Justin Barica
Margin of Victory: 7.23 for Roczen
Fastest Lap: 2:10.005 for Roczen 
Podium: 1.) Ken Roczen; 2.) Eli Tomac; 3.) Marvin Musquin

First 250 Moto

We knew coming into Round 8 of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross that 250 points leader Cooper Webb would have his hands full with the Martin brothers, Jeremy and Alex, at a Spring Creek facility they grew up at—their parents own and operate the facility—riding thousands of laps at the Minnesota track during their careers. Alex and Jeremy have settled back in Minnesota for the summer, but they don’t actually ride the track that much—they’ve built another track close to Spring Creek—due to other races at the facility. Still, the brothers were favorites to claim the overall today.

It wasn’t the two-time defending 250 champion Jeremy that shined early in the first moto, it was his older brother Alex, the long-time privateer, who is enjoying a career year in his first season with Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha. The brothers were 1-2 coming out of the first corner, but Webb was lurking. Webb worked past Jeremy early in the race and would begin pressuring Alex for the lead—his relentless pursuit lasting the entire moto.

At the midway point in the moto, Alex and Webb began to build a gap over Jeremy—reaching eight seconds at one point. Webb would draw close, only to see Alex build his lead again. The pressure was really on Alex with three laps to go. Webb drew to within a second and was really pressing the issue. Webb’s hard charge forced Alex into a mistake, as he laid the bike down in a corner. It allowed Webb through for the first time in the race; Jeremy would get by as well.

Webb would hang on to win the first moto over Jeremy Martin. Alex would finish third after withstanding a late charge by Joey Savatgy. Star Racing Yamaha would claim four of the top five spots, with Aaron Plessinger finishing fifth. Rookie Austin Forkner took sixth ahead of teammates Adam Cianciarulo and Arnaud Tonus. Luke Renzland was ninth with the fifth Star rider, Mitchell Harrison, tenth.

Quick Notes
Holeshot: Alex Martin
Margin of Victory: 3.13 for Webb
Fastest Lap: Alex Martin, 2:14.564
Podium: 1.) Cooper Webb; 2.) Jeremy Martin; 3.) Alex Martin

Second Practice

If you were going to put down a fast lap at Spring Creek, it needed to come in the second timed session. Joey Savatgy (2:14.912), the fastest qualifier in session two, put down a time that was nearly six full seconds faster than Jeremy Martin’s (2:20.872) time from the first session.

Ken Roczen doesn’t typically put much stock into qualifying, but he was out to prove a point today. His 2:10.040 was nearly two seconds faster than second place Eli Tomac (2:11.965) and an incredible three seconds faster than third place Christophe Pourcel (2:13.143).

Marvin Musquin bettered his time from the first session by more than three seconds, but it was only good enough for fourth overall. The returning Trey Canard sat atop the leaderboard early after putting down a 2:13.773 on the second lap of the session. He wasn’t able to improve upon that time and qualified fifth overall.

Justin Barcia, Broc Tickle, James Stewart, Benny Bloss and Justin Brayton would round out the top ten. In his first race since January, Dean Wilson qualified 11th.

If not for slower riders impeding his progress, Savatgy could have set an even quicker time than his 2:14.912. Savatgy was on a heater late in the second session but went down in the corner while dealing with a slow rider. Still, he was able to set the fastest time on the final lap and will have first gate pick this afternoon.

Cooper Webb was also strong late in the session, setting a 2:15.310 on the final lap to take second. Jeremy Martin, the fastest rider in the first session, was only third quickest in the second practice. His 2:15.364 just edged rookie Austin Forkner’s 2:15.407.

Adam Cianciarulo, like Jeremy Martin and Forkner, also briefly held the top spot in the session, but he couldn’t improve upon the 2:16.184 he set early and qualified sixth. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alex Martin, Martin Davalos and Kyle Cunningham would round out the top ten.

First Practice

The first sets of practices are complete at Spring Creek and we have a surprise at the top of the 450 leaderboard. Marvin Musquin set the fastest time in the 450 class with a 2:17.163, more than a full second faster than Ken Roczen, who put down a 2:18.729.

Eli Tomac was nearly three full seconds off Musquin’s time, and he sits third with a 2:20.094. Justin Barcia, the returning Trey Canard and James Stewart, Christophe Pourcel, Broc Tickle, Dean Wilson and Weston Peick round out the top ten.

No surprises at the top of the 250 leaderboard, as Jeremy Martin set the fastest time at his home track with a 2:20.872. Former points leader Joey Savatgy was second, but nearly two seconds behind with a 2:22.251. Minnesota natives took three of the top five spots with Alex Martin and Mitchell Oldenburg setting the third and fourth fastest times. Arnaud Tonus was fifth, with points leader Cooper Webb in sixth.

Morning Report

Welcome to Spring Creek and Round 8 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship from Millville, Minnesota, where Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac tries to build off his first overall of the season last week in Southwick. Meanwhile, in the 250 class, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb has caught fire, winning three straight races to open a 37-point lead over Joey Savatgy in what was once a tightly contested championship chase.

Entering Round 7 of the championship last weekend at The Wick 388—which was back on the schedule for the first time since 2013—Tomac had led just one lap on the season. That bears repeating: Eli Tomac had led just one lap through six rounds of the championship. That changed, and in a hurry, last Saturday. Tomac led 19 of the 32 laps en route to his first 1-1 performance of the season. That’s the good news. The bad: Tomac still trails Ken Roczen by 47 points entering the weekend. Last weekend was the first time all season Roczen had failed to win at least one moto, and just the second time all season he’s lost the overall.

If Jeremy Martin is to get back into the thick of the championship and defend his 250 title, he must win this weekend at his home track. Jeremy’s parents own and operate the Spring Creek facility and Jeremy has experienced tremendous success here in his three professional seasons, winning here in 2014 and finishing no worse than fourth overall. Obviously, Alex, his older brother, is also a favorite at the track.

But, they will have to go through Cooper Webb who is rolling right now after a slow start to the season due to a wrist injury. Webb won the overall here last year, besting Jeremy, and is a favorite to do the same again this year.