During last week’s season opener we saw a storm roll in on Friday, which canceled the one and only press ride scheduled for the championship. The morning qualifying sessions were a bit of a muddy mess as several riders got stuck in deep mud holes, but eventually the track was in prime condition come the motos. The rutted track turned out to be a tricky first round as we saw and heard riders talk about the difficulty with pushing the pace. With a small mistake in one section, riders could lose time on their competition way easier than they could push and make up time. But this week, with rain on Friday—and scattered thunderstorms expected throughout the day today—we could be in for a muddy mess today. For all those PulpMX Fantasy players out there, remember to make your picks based on guys who are good in muddy conditions *cough* Justin Barcia *cough* and make sure to check out our injury report on the latest info of who is in and who is out for today.

In this year's nine-round championship, today will be a huge factor. Championship hopefuls, such as Hunter Lawrence, rebounding from last week and earning valuable points today can be key, especially if title favorites struggle. Lawrence

The riders will be set to take to the track shortly for the first time. Continue to follow along for updates from practice all the way through the final checkered flag of the day.

Reminder: the second motos today will be broadcasted live on NBC. You will want to make sure you are tuned in for those races. Below is the full broadcasting schedule for today.

First (and only) Timed Practices

250 Class

In the first qualifying session, the track was a little sloppy and muddy was flying but the riders were still able to push it. When the 250 Class B session ended, Joey Crown topped the group with a 2:02.986. Crown was expected to return (after a concussion suffered in supercross) next weekend but with the second round moved from Washington to Tennessee, Crown made the drive.

In the 250 Class A session, Shane McElrath was leading with a 1:57.971. Near the end of the session, McElrath’s Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha teammate Dylan Ferrandis taking over the top spot with a 1:57.179. With the abbreviated schedule today due to the weather, Ferrandis claims the top 250 Class qualifying spot.

“On this day, confidence doesn’t mean a lot,” Ferrandis said. “The track was good, I was surprised. Track was in perfect condition. In the mud, you never know. It’s always a tough day in the mud. ...Yeah, I feel really good. My bike is working great…keep improving. I feel good.”

450 Class

In the first and only 450 qualifying session, points leader Zach Osborne’s day did not start off the way he wanted it to. Osborne’s bike was not starting due to an electrical issue and the team quickly got to work as Dave Feeney started looking into what the issue was. Feeney began tearing parts off the bike in order to get into the electronics (underneath the seat) as more Rockstar Energy Husqvarna mechanics came to help. For several minutes the team tweaked what they could but nothing was working, as the bike would not fully fire up.

While the top ten in points get grandfathered into the motos even if they don’t run a time within the top 36 times, the rule states that said rider must complete at least one qualifying session in order to be grandfathered in. With the weather impacting today’s race day schedule, there will not be any last chance qualifiers for Osborne to sneak in by. So Osborne has to complete at least one qualifying lap in order to compete in the motos. We then received word that Osborne would be able to jump from the A session to the B session, so if the crew could fix the issue and get the bike fired up, Osborne could put in at least one lap in that second 450 session.

Osborne watched as the crew continued to tweak the bike and click the electric start. With no luck, this process was repeated. And repeated. And repeated. Then the group grabbed another gas tank to put unto the bike.

More people came to assist in any way they could and at one point, Red Bull KTM mechanic Carlos Rivera came over to help the Husqvarna crew push Osborne’s bike off the starting straight. As the madness continued for Osborne, the clock ticked down on the A qualifying session.

Osborne could only watch as the rest of the top 450 riders continued to put in lap after lap in the session. By the end of it, Marvin Musquin topped the 450 Class A session with a 1:59.678. Adam Cianciarulo finished the session second with a 1:59.703, which sat as the top spot for a majority of the session. Justin Barcia finished the session with the third-fastest time with a 2:00.376.

“We’re here, we’re happy," Musquin said. "It’s good to be back, second time here at Loretta’s. man, I can’t believe how good the track was. Hopefully we won’t have more rain today. I’m happy with P1. We made some changes with the team, I just need a good start and it will be good to battle again. I’m really happy to be back here and be competitive and it feels good.”

FINALLY! The Husqvarna crew got Osborne’s bike started and he was able to complete a lap during the 450 Class B session! Then he completed a timed lap of 2:09.311. Then he dropped to a 2:04.920 on the next lap. Then a 2:02.330 before the session ended.

Musquin's 1:59.678 held up for the top qualifying spot in the 450 Class. In what was looking to be a disaster at first, Osborne finished several qualifying laps and his fast lap of 2:02.330 was tenth-fastest overall.

Reminder: there are no LCQ's this afternoon, so the fastest 40 riders from combined qualifying will fill the 40 spots in their respective class for today's motos.

250 Class Moto 1

About 25 minutes before the start of the first race, rain started to fall again at the Ranch. Constant rain yesterday and overnight brought on the concern today could be all-out mudder, but when the riders took to the track for the qualifying session earlier the track was not as bad as everyone expected. Riders and teams prepared for mud with hand guards, extra goggles, and foam on the helmets to help with the mud but the sessions this morning saw riders pushing the pace rather than paddling through every section like they could have been.

But now after a half an hour straight of rain right before the racing begins, everything about the track getting better it all thrown out the window. These guys better be ready for the sloppy, deep rutted track as just with one look at the starting straight shows a layer of still water on top of the track.

if the hard rain keeps coming, this track could become sloppy with deeps ruts.

In the first moto of the day, it was Shane McElrath who grabbed the holeshot. Next to McElrath was Alex Martin as the two splashed the remainder of the competition behind them as they went through the first turns side-by-side. Martin quickly took the lead over McElrath but gave it right back when he washed the front end in the outside of the turn following the Ten Commandment section. McElrath was remaining clean for a few sections until his bike quickly stalled. The Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha rider tried to re-fire the Yamaha YZ250F but the bike would not start up as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron Mcadoo cruised by to take over the lead. McElrath’s bike started smoking as he lost position after position trying to get going again. He eventually got started again inside the top ten.

McAdoo lead briefly before RJ Hampshire powered through the muddy roost to get around the inside of McAdoo to take over the lead on the fourth lap. In the first few laps of the races, riders were throwing goggles left and right and pulling into the pits. Ferrandis found creative lines opposite of Jeremy Martin to take over third place. Ferrandis overcame a blast from Martin, McElrath, and the other front runners out of the gate but quickly put his excellent line choice to work as he made his way towards the front. He would catch one rider and either use a unique line or benefit from their poor line choice and slowup to move forward. Eventually, Ferrandis caught and passed McAdoo. And before long, Hampshire himself tossed his goggles.

Ferrandis and Hampshire would go back and forth, opening and closing the gap on one another throughout the remainder of the moto.

Alex Martin, who worked his way back up to sixth after his crash on the opening lap, tipped over and his bike got stuck near the mechanics area. Martin was assisted by a race official and remounted without losing much time. 

Right behind A-Mart was Jett Lawrence, who had a mistake of his own while running in sixth. He would eventually finish 30th after it took him a while to get his GEICO Honda running again. 

Hampshire held on Ferrandis’ charge to take the moto win. This was Hampshire’s first moto win since the 2018 Budds Creek National—a day where he finished 2-1 for his first and only 250 Class overall win.

“I felt good, I got out to a decent start. The bike was running good and then I think I got some water in the wires so about five to go it was dying on me pretty bad so it was full-on survival mode. …Thankful to be here. Huge thanks to my family. …Let’s get another one. The track honestly got harder as the moto went on, so hopefully it scraps up a little bit and second moto is good.”

“I was feeling good," Ferrandis said. "It was tricky conditions but I was looking forward for sure. I had a small crash and put my bike hand in [a] mud [puddle]. ...In that condition it was really important to save the bike. [A second] in that moto was like a victory to me.”

“It was survival of the fittest out there," Jeremy Martin said. "…I went down twice. I was like Man, just get her to the finish. I got a third, so I’ll take it.”

We're also hearing that Hunter Lawrence has gone into the medical unit. 

450 Class Moto 1

It appeared Fredrik Noren might pull the holeshot but Justin Barcia blew by Noren to take the holeshot and I’m pretty sure he went straight to the podium. Wait, this just in, Barcia actually did race the entire moto! It’s just that no one saw him because he had about a 30-second lead from the first lap on. Anyway, Barcia was probably pumped when the rain started to fall prior to the first race of the day, since he is a well-known mud expert. Behind Barcia, Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton slowed up on the first lap while grabbing a tear-off in the turn leading towards the Ten Commandments and he got shuffled back several spots. Sexton also had a quick mistake in the turn he crashed in last week but he got going again and was challenged Broc Tickle and Eli Tomac for second place. Sexton would come through the finish line in sixth.

New Honda HRC member Christian Craig got out to a great jump inside the top ten after a rough go last week. Craig was running in third as he continued to push through the race. He even started to catch up to Tomac, who was running in second. But the defending champion pulled away. Craig was solid in third until late in the race when he dropped several positions on the live timing and scoring to sit seventh before finishing tenth.

Tickle managed to pass Tomac to take over second, where he would eventually finish the moto. Tomac dropped back to fifth behind his Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Adam Cianciarulo. Cianciarulo then passed Noren on the second to last lap in order to take the final podium spot. While we were not sure what was going on with Tomac, his KX450 started smoking badly and spitting fire out of his exhaust. Perhaps he had gone into conservation mode and lost spots by doing so? Out front, Barcia cruised to the win and made about one mistake the entire race (a quick tip over only a few turns from the finish line on the last lap). Barcia finished with a 48.535-second gap over Tickle.

“Yeah, that was awesome, I got a great start,” Barica said. “...just been putting gin the work. I put a lot of work in in the off-season. Just super stoked on the team. It’s hard out there…everything has got to be on point to keep it on two wheels. I made it a little interesting but that was a lot of fun.”

Tickle said the moto was extremely taxing on the bike but he was glad he could manage to bring him a podium finish in the first moto of the day.

Cianciarulo mentioned on the podium that he pitted for goggles early but still managed to finish third.

“It was a terrible start for me,” Cianciarulo said. …“I actually stopped for goggles on the first lap and had to come through. I think the whole key to today, especially in conditions like this is to keep doing your best every lap. I thought I was in seventh when I crossed the finish line on the last lap and it turns out I was in third. Mud is all about chugging along. After last weekend I’m stoked to be up here.”

Cianciarulo finished the moto in third as Tomac’s bike shut down on the final lap. Tomac was running in fifth when his bike gave out and he was officially awarded ninth place since the number of laps he had completed.

The day could not have started off any worse for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna guys. After Osborne’s aforementioned issues this morning during qualifying, then Jason Anderson—the winner of the first 450 moto here last week—went down in the first turn and remounted his Husqvarna FC 450 in dead last. Anderson put in an impressive ride though as he managed to put his head down and making his way into the top 15. He was running in 11th but another mistake dropped him to 20th. Unfortunately for Anderson, he would finish 27th and would not earn any championship points. However, Osborne was able to turn his day around considerably. Osborne crossed the finish line on the first lap in 31st but the veteran made the best of the situation as he had an impressive ride all the way back to finish fifth.

250 Class Moto 2

Hunter dislocated his shoulder in the first moto. He did not start this moto.

When the gate dropped, Alex Martin grabbed the holeshot and was immediately challenged by McElrath. McElrath powered into the lead but when inside on the turn entering the Ten Commandments. It appeared McElrath went slightly lower to the inside turn than he meant to and it cost him as A-Mart retook the lead. A-Martin pulled his younger brother Jeremy along with him, who overtook McElrath as well. And then it was over, the Martin bros ran away with it.

Behind the Martin bros, McAdoo got around McElrath to take over third. Eventually, McElrath would repass McAdoo later in the race on his way to take third place come the checkered flag.

Ferrandis and Hampshire were buried at the start but put in respective charges. Ferrandis charged back to a fourth-place finish as he managed to bring him a smoking Yamaha YZ250F home in a race where bikes were dropping left and right. 

Brandon Hartranft was also victimized by a bike failure. Then he helped Hampshire get unstuck! Hampshire came into the turn where Hartranft's bike was stuck, dead, in a rut and got his own front wheel stuck. Hartranft quickly grabbed Hampshire's wheel and began pulling as Hampshire hopped off his bike and began pushing. After a few seconds, Hampshire was on his way again. 

A-Mart held on for the moto win as Jeremy finished second to take the overall win.

“I got a pretty good start…wow, I tell you what that was a nail bitter, my bike was smoking from halfway," Jeremy Martin said. "…I did everything I could, I went so much slower to try conserve that engine. And thank God it worked. So I’d like to thank the man above, my mom and dad, they’ve been with my during the week, watering the track so I can come here on the weekend and hopefully win.”

“I didn’t expect to get my first win this soon, but I tell you what, we’re doing to enjoy it tonight,” he continued.

“To be honest, I was just in my own little world out there,” A-Mart said. “I’ve been feeling really good coming in…I was pumped to get the holeshot…and I just rode my own race and tried to survive. The track was brutal out there. It feels really good to get up here and get a win for these guys and get Suzuki up on the podium as well.”

“That really make my moto worse than anything," said Ferrandis on a bike change the team made between motos. "I’m kinda frustrated for that. It’s important to at least finish. Glad I finish. It’s not what I wanted but we still on the box and we still have a championship to manage, so we’ll see next weekend.

Unfortunately, first moto winner Hampshire was also victimized by a bike failure of his own. His Husqvarna FC 250 gave out on the last lap while in seventh, giving him 1-18 official scores for sixth overall.

450 Class Moto 2

Musquin grabbed the holeshot in the second 450 Class moto but he was left in the dust by Max Anstie! Musquin went inside on the second turn as Anstie went outside and grabbed a handful of throttle to blast into the lead. Exiting the first turn, Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates Cianciarulo and Tomac both went for tear-offs, which resulted in Cianciarulo (inside) sweeping wide and into Tomac. Tomac clipped the rear wheel of Cianciarulo and went down—he would remount and exit the turn in last position. Behind the lead duo, was Cianciarulo, Barcia, Craig, and Osborne. 

On the second lap, Barcia found himself in 20th after two laps and 24th on the third lap—he would eventually record a 32nd-place finish, taking himself out of contention for the overall podium. Musquin was close to Anstie the first few laps and looked to take advantage of an Anstie mistake in the Ten Commandments but the Red Bull KTM rider made a mistake of his own on the slippery jumps so they kept their positions. Then the Brit went Justin Barcia style and checked out—having put time between him and Musquin.

In the back back, Tomac was passing riders at an unbelievable rate. He managed to finish the first lap in 20th place. Again, he exited the first turn in dead last and managed to pass half the field by the time he completed a full lap.

The Brit went Justin Barcia style and checked out. Musquin was hanging onto second as Cianciarulo, Anderson, and Osborne traded spots from third on back. Osborne and Anderson then dropped both Cianciarulo, as Osborne continued to put in a mid-race charge. While Anstie was appearing to run away with the moto win, it appeared Musquin would have the overall. But Osborne caught up to and passed Musquin and then continued towards the leader. Anstie was putting in a great ride, but halfway through the moto Osborne’s faster pace allowed him to catch the Twisted Tea HEP Motorsports Suzuki rider. A lapper went down right in front of Anstie, which threw off his rhythm. Anstie himself didn't go down but had to stop completely, which allowed Osborne a clear line on the inside to come through cleanly to take over the lead.

Although Osborne did not have to pass Anstie and win the moto to take the overall, he was riding confident and seemed to build off of each pass he made until the day was over. Then, Musquin put in a super late charge of his own at the very end, bumping Anstie from second place as he dropped his fastest lap of the moto in a last-ditch effort to pass Osborne for the moto win and a shake-up in the overall podium.

But Musquin’s charge came up just short—2.296 seconds short to be exact as Osborne took his second moto two win in just seven days. When it was all said it done, Osborne’s 5-1 gave him the overall over Cianciarulo (3-5 moto finishes) as the 450 Class rookie bested Musquin (8-2 for third overall) on the second step of the podium. Anderson held on for fourth in the second moto after a disappoint bike failure in the first race of the day.

“To be in the lead in the championship…I’m grateful to God,” Osborne said on the podium. “…I can’t say enough about my team that’s behind me. It’s cliché and overused but people don’t just understand the work that they put in.”

“That saved the day, really,” Osborne said of his mechanic Dave Feeney and the entire Rockstar Energy Husqvarna crew for being able to get his bike fixed so he could participate in qualifying this morning.

“Stacking points is on my radar,” Osborne continued. “Just trying to make the most of every single moto, just like that first moto, I think I was 15th halfway through the moto and I was able to get a fifth. So it’s one of those salvage days and today was an amazing day for me.”

The day turned out to be quite interesting for 30-year-old Osborne after going from almost not qualifying for today's races because of the electrical issue with his bike to winning his second-straight 450 Class overall.

Tomac was putting in a heroic ride from 40th to inside the top ten. Then the bike started smoking. Then it happened again: while running eighth, his KX450 gave out once more—this time with the leaders having two laps to go. The failure to finish resulted in an official 24th-place finish in the second moto for 16th overall. You could see from reading his body language after his bike failed in the first moto that Tomac was unhappy with the situation as he released the grip of his Kawasaki, letting it slam to the ground as he walked away. I can imagine a second straight moto of the same issue does not give Tomac any sense of accomplishment as he now leaves the Ranch having only earned 12 points on the day. He now sits seventh in the 450 Class points, 40 points behind leading Osborne (88 points)—who appears to be getting more comfortable in the center of the podium each week.