By The Numbers
1
First career point scored by Alex Ray on Saturday with 19-12 moto results. In 13 previous starts in the 450 Class, Ray’s best moto finish was 22nd in the first moto at Washougal last year. Ray finished 18th overall in his first ride as a fill-in for Monster Energy Yamaha. His previous best overall finish was 28th overall at RedBud in 2016.
6
Seconds a lap faster Eli Tomac went on lap 13 (of 14) than Jason Anderson, who was second-place finisher in the moto.
9
Seconds a lap faster Eli Tomac went on the final two laps than Marvin Musquin, who was third-place finisher in the moto.
9
Laps led over the two 450 motos by Eli Tomac, who went 1-1 on the day.
12
Laps led by Jason Anderson in moto two. Anderson finished third overall with 4-2 moto scores.
7
Laps led by Ken Roczen in the first 450 moto. Roczen finished fifth overall with 3-8 moto scores.
1-1
For the first time in his career, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger went 1-1 to claim a 250 overall. In his two previous wins in the class, Plessinger only won one moto.
3
Points scored by former Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Chris Alldredge in the 450 Class riding a KTM 250 two-stroke. It’s the first time a rider has scored points in the class riding a two-stroke since the late Cody Gragg did it with a 13th-place finish in a muddy second moto at Budds Creek in 2015. Alldredge finished 18th in moto one and was running inside the top ten in moto two before he got a flat tire.
QUOTES FROM AROUND THE PADDOCK
Justin Barcia | 6-4 for fourth overall in 450 Class
“Glen Helen was a challenging track; it was very difficult. I made it through the day, and that’s a positive for sure. The goal is to be on the podium every weekend, but I came up a little short on that this weekend. I have a few little things I can work on at home and keep building, but there were positives: I was fairly quick all day and the bike was good—we made some great changes because I struggled a little in the first moto and we went in the right direction with the changes for moto two, which is always nice. I felt comfortable on the bike and the track was a difficult Glen Helen, it’s a gnarly one, so I’m glad I got out of here safe and healthy and didn’t lose too many points.”
Weston Peick | 7-5 for sixth overall in 450 Class
“Glen Helen is my hometown track, and I would have liked to do better. The conditions were pretty tough on my hand, with all of the uphills and downhills. The track put a lot of stress on my hand, which took me out of my groove. The first moto went fairly well. It took me some time to find a good pace, and I ended up in seventh. We made some suspension changes between motos and found some new things that will help for this upcoming weekend at Lakewood. The second moto at Glen Helen went quite a bit better. I moved into third for a few laps and settled into a pace. I’m happy with the result, given the circumstances of my hand.”
Phil Nicoletti | 10-7 for eighth overall in 450 Class
“My starts were pretty good in both motos. Realistically, I should have been 8-7, but I swapped out going into the sand in the first moto. I hit a kicker, got slammed to the ground, and had a bit of whiplash. I ended up tenth, which was a bummer. I struggled with a little bit of speed. I’ve never been that comfortable at Glen Helen. The goal was to not fight the track, but I found myself doing that more than I should have. We made a few changes to the RM-Z450 in order to find a better level of comfort, and we’re going in the right direction. All in all, I’m having fun and doing my best to remain consistent while trying to build. I have more in the tank, and I’m looking forward to showing what I’m capable of.”
Gripless Baggett
Blake Baggett put in a pretty incredible ride in the second moto, coming from 37th to ninth following a crash early in the moto. Even more impressive, Baggett did it without a grip after it was ripped off in the crash.
Injuries
Christian Craig
As we reported yesterday, Christian Craig will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL sustained in the first moto at Glen Helen on Saturday. The injury will sideline Craig for the remainder of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season. This is the third consecutive year Craig has been injured at Glen Helen. He fractured his tibia and fibula in 2016 and sustained a hand injury there in 2017.
Kyle Cunningham
Following an eighth in the first moto on Saturday, Kyle Cunningham had a huge crash midway through moto two and was taken off the track by the Alpinestars Medical Unit. It appears Cunningham escaped major injury, as he wrote on Instagram, “We will be back in no time.” We’ll have more information later this week.
Cunningham got to pit with his supercross team, H.E.P. Suzuki, which competed in the opening Lucas Oil Pro Motocross rounds out west. When the series moves east, H.E.P. Suzuki will stay home, and Cunningham will have his bike transported by the Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki team.
Jake Masterpool
After an impressive rookie debut in the 450 Class at Hangtown, Jake Masterpool was a scratch for Glen Helen. Masterpool wrote on social media that he went down at press day and was unable to line up.
250 Rookie Report
Garrett Marchbanks | 7-10 for eighth overall
“Other than being in the top ten, a goal of mine is to learn something every time I’m on the track,” Marchbanks said in a statement. “Everyone gets bad starts, but it’s how you come back that makes all the difference. With the bike we have, I am confident that we’ll get a start here soon.”
Jordan Bailey | 14-13 for 13th overall
“It was chilly today,” said Bailey in a team statement, “but the track held up pretty well. I definitely made progress. I didn’t get off to a good start in my first race, but I made a lot of passes to finish 14th. I got a better start in my second moto and was ninth for the majority of the race but then got shuffled back. I’m looking forward to a better finish next weekend in Colorado."
Brandon Hartranft | 35-16 for 19th overall
Enzo Lopes | 19-21 for 22nd overall
“The day started off well, as I rode hard in practice,” Lopes said in a team statement. “I was running in 14th position in the first moto, but I started making mistakes everywhere. While trying to gain ground, I fell and stalled the bike, which put me in a hole. I had a decent start in the second moto and was running12th for half of the moto. Unfortunately, the track got me once again when I crashed and fell back. The track was super rough and rutted, with bumps everywhere. Luckily, I didn’t get hurt. The takeaway is that I got more experience and track time with the guys. The class is stacked, but it’s nice to run a high-level pace.”
Video of the Week
Skip Bayless Jason Weigandt with some pretty hot takes this week.
(Note: Obviously Weege was joking and trying to be “funny.” At least we think—nah, hope—that’s the case. Anyway go to 2:50 and watch Tomac’s reaction to talk of a perfect season.)
