When the 450s headed out Eli Tomac was fast early on and things didn’t change—his second lap of the session (2:08.757) held up as fastest for the entire qualifier. He put in another fast one on his fourth lap, which was faster than everyone else’s fastest lap, but it wasn’t quite quick enough to edge his first time. Ken Roczen, meanwhile, didn’t seem like he was too interested in competing for a fast lap in this one. Not that he was off the pace, he just seemed like he was focusing more on checking out the track and spotting lines than anything else. He only put in a single fast one, a 2:10.380, which put him sixth fastest. His second fastest lap was a 2:23.467.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the lap times stack up in the second session. The track will be rougher, which will have an impact on lap times. In fact, the track changed enough just in the 250 qualifier that Tomac’s fastest time was actually slower than Nichols’ fastest time. On the flip side, the track is going to be more broken in. We’ll see how it all shakes out when the riders go back out for the second qualifier shortly.

Qualifying – Session Two

Justin Cooper was great last week at Hangtown, and if his lap times are any indication of how he’ll do in today’s motos, he’ll be popping more champagne at the end of the day. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider lit up the track in the second session, setting an incredible 2:06.917 in his fourth lap. Adam Cianciarulo was second-fastest, but he was still about a second-and-a-half slower than Cooper. Cianciarulo’s teammate, Garrett Marchbanks, was last week’s fastest 250 qualifier but wasn’t able to do it again today. He was ninth-fastest and even pulled off the track for a little bit after casing a jump hard. 

Elsewhere Dylan Ferrandis seemed like he was struggling to find his flow in this one. At times it looked like he was fighting his bike, and he was having a hard time putting together a fast lap. His fastest lap, a 2:09.767, was good enough for sixth fastest, but three of his five laps were at or above the 2:30 mark. Ferrandis is a superb rider so it’s a little puzzling, although he’ll no doubt be ready to rip when the gate drops.

In 450 action Ken Roczen came out of the gate swinging On his very first timed lap it was obvious Roczen was going faster than he’d gone all day, and when he crossed the line the stopwatch confirmed it. His time, a 2:07.107, would hold as the fastest lap of the session too. Several laps later Eli Tomac put in a hot lap, but came up short of Roczen’s time by about three tenths of a second. Roczen would only put in one more fast lap during the qualifier, a 2:07.714, but he looked smooth while doing it, just like last week at Hangtown.

250 Moto One

Justin Cooper kicked off the first moto of the day with a holeshot, followed by  his teammate, Colt Nichols. Hunter Lawrence ran third, with Jordon Smith and Thomas Covington rounding out the top five. Adam Cianciarulo, didn’t get the jump he needed from the outside gate and started the race outside the top ten.

Not long into the race Smith was all over Lawrence and started looking for an opportunity to pass. It came when Lawrence made a small mistake in a corner and ended up drifting wide. Smith tried to squirt around the outside but ended up getting into Lawrence. The two bounced off each other a few times and both ended up going down. Although they were a little slow to get up, both rejoined the race. Moments later Lawrence collided with some debris on the track and had to pull out after his bike started leaking oil.

In third place Chase Sexton and RJ Hampshire were putting on a tremendous battle, with Sexton applying all kinds of pressure to Hampshire. Cianciarulo, who was moving up steadily, lurked behind them waiting for a chance to join the fray. Hampshire eventually started getting away, which prompted Cianciarulo to pull the trigger and slice by Sexton.

Up front it was all Cooper, who just wouldn’t stop laying down heaters. As a result, he had about four seconds on Nichols at roughly the halfway point. As the race wore on both Cianciarulo and Hampshire, who were having a fantastic battle of their own, caught Nichols. At this point spots started swapping around like baseball cards. First Cianciarulo knifed around Hampshire, only to see Hampshire get him right back and slide by Nichols. With less than a lap remaining Cianciarulo was chomping at the bit to get around Nichols, and when Nichols made a small mistake with just a few turns remaining, Cianciarulo pounced and took third.

Elsewhere Dylan Ferrandis didn’t have the race he wanted. He crashed early in the race and had to come from way back. He was able to salvage a seventh, but you know that’s not where a title contender wants to be.

450 Moto One

This moto was wild. Blake Baggett nabbed the holeshot but a quick-acting Ken Roczen wasted no time in taking over the lead. Baggett then found himself under pressure from Jason Anderson, who was riding with a crazed energy. He’d zap Baggett, only to overshoot the next corner and give the position back. This continued until Marvin Musquin came up behind Anderson, sparking a battle between the two. Then something caused Baggett to crash and he was forced into the mechanic’s area, where a new front wheel was installed.

Eli Tomac, who didn’t get a great start, was running fifth and working on getting around Cooper Webb. The battle was close for a few laps and it seemed as though Tomac would make a move on Webb at any moment. But Webb had other ideas and started slowly getting away from Tomac. The race was approaching the halfway mark at this point and after a wild first half, the guys were starting to get a bit spread out and there wasn’t much battling going on. That changed momentarily when Webb made a small bobble, which allowed Tomac to attack and take over fourth. Tomac immediately started gapping Webb and went after Anderson, who was about five seconds ahead. With about seven minutes left Tomac had reeled Anderson in and was hovering over his shoulder. A small mistake from Tomac temporarily gave Anderson some breathing room, but it wasn’t long before Tomac was right back on Anderson’s rear wheel.

Up front Musquin was on fire and had almost completely eliminated Roczen’s once large lead. It looked like the two were going to stage an epic two-man dual for the win, until Tomac, who’d gotten by Anderson, started creeping up and joined the fight. With a minute remaining it was extremely tight, with all three riders in the air at the same time as they sailed over jumps. Then Tomac pulled a classic Tomac, lit the burners, and went around Musquin, then Roczen, and left both riders behind and disappeared with the win. Roczen hung on for second, with Musquin, Anderson, and Zach Osborne, who passed Webb on the final lap, rounding out the top five of what was a very exciting moto.

250 Moto Two

Shane McElrath nailed the holeshot, with Alex Martin, Justin Cooper, and Ty Masterpool following. Adam Cianciarulo made some moves early and just a few turns in found himself in fourth and working on getting around Cooper. It didn’t take long either—Cianciarulo set himself to make a move on the inside of Cooper, took Cooper wide, and took the spot. Up front McElrath continued to lead but Martin was all over him. But then Martin bobbled, which allowed a determined Cianciarulo to zip by and go to work on McElrath. Moments later Cianciarulo came in hot on the inside of McElrath and stole the lead. Cianciarulo checking out almost seemed like a foregone conclusion at this point, but Hunter Lawrence, who’d been busy coming through the field, had other ideas and tucked in behind Cianiarulo, about a second back. Lawrence kept Cianciarulo honest for a bit before Cianciarulo started pulling a gap, but then Lawrence started reeling him back in! At the halfway point he’d gotten back within a second of Cianciarulo. The charge appeared to end when Lawrence made a mistake on the inside of a right hander, which allowed Cianciarulo to open it back up.

Roughly ten seconds back was Dylan Ferrandis, who’d worked his way up after a so-so start, while Cooper and Chase Sexton ran fourth and fifth. Martin, who’d challenged for the lead at one point, had settled in for a lonely sixth.

Back up front Lawrence had reeled Cianciarulo back in yet again and was able to make the pass with about six minutes left. Lawrence immediately put in a sprint and built a cushion between himself and Cianciarulo. At this point the overall win was in Cooper’s hands, but only if he could hold off a hard-charging Sexton for fourth. It appeared as though Cianciarulo wouldn't end up needing the assist, however, because Lawrence crashed all by himself  coming out of a right hander, which handed the lead, and overall, back to Cianciarulo. But Lawrence wasn’t out of it just yet though, and after regrouping he turned a lap that was two-and-a-half seconds faster than Cianciarulo to reinsert himself into the fight. A minor mistake from Cianciarulo with two laps remaining allowed Lawrence to tighten it up a bit more, but Cianciarulo was able to stretch it back out a bit, giving him all the breathing room he needed to hold on for the win. Lawrence took second, with Ferrandis, Cooper, and Sexton filling the top five.

450 Moto Two

Blake Baggett rocketed out of the gate in an effort to take his second holeshot of the day, but was narrowly edged by his teammate, Justin Bogle. Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac weren’t far behind though, and after the two dispatched Baggett they wasted no time in doing the same to Bogle. Musquin led, but Tomac was less than a second behind in the opening laps. Ken Roczen, meanwhile was slowly moving up after starting in about eighth. About seven minutes in Roczen ran fourth and was creeping up on Jason Anderson, who was about a second-and-a-half behind Tomac. As the race progressed Musquin slowly added about a second to his gap over Tomac, while Roczen had been able to get around Anderson to take over third.

At the halfway point Anderson found himself coming under pressure from Zach Osborne, but the battle to watch was up front between Musquin and Tomac. Musquin’s gap was completely gone, and after the two spent multiple moments side by side, Tomac finally made a move stick and took off with the lead. Several spots back Osborne had passed Anderson and wasn’t far behind Roczen with about ten minutes remaining. Osborne was able to take little slivers out the gap between himself and Roczen as the laps ticked off, and with five minutes remaining he was breathing down Roczen’s neck. Time and time again Osborne tried to make a move, but Roczen responded and shut him down every time. Then, slowly, just as steadily as Osborne had reeled in Roczen, Roczen started stretching it back out, and with two laps left he was no longer feeling the pressure of Osborne’s onslaught.

When the checkers flew it was Tomac crossing the line roughly eleven seconds in front of Musquin. Roczen, Osborne, and Anderson completed the top five.