Welcome to the Race Day Feed, coming to you from The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, for the fifth round of the 2021 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Championship. From practice reports to the blow-by-blow from today's program, you’ll find it all right here on the Racer X Race Day Feed. Updates are posted in chronological order, so be sure to scroll down for the latest info. For even more updates be sure to follow us on Twitter, @Racerxonline.

Morning Report

After COVID-19 impacted the 2020 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Championship and we did not get to make it to The Wick 338 for the Southwick National, but now we are back! The championship returns for the first time since June 29, 2019. The track got pretty beat up yesterday during thunderstorms throughout the morning and into the afternoon but then the sun came out. Through it all, the track crew continued to piece together the track the best they could, with the sun in the evening helping their prep. However, after some cloudy skies this morning today is expecting to be promising as per early morning weather reports. 

Check out some shots of the track from Friday.

Dylan Ferrandis is coming off of his third win in his fourth 450 Class start after he put on quite the ride at the RedBud National in Michigan on the Fourth of July weekend. Ferrandis has yet to finish off the podium in all eight of his motos his rookie 450 Class season and he is coming to a track where he has done well at (three overall podiums in three attempts—including his first win in the U.S. at The Wick 338 in 2018) and could vary well keep his streak going. The #14 has a points lead that equals his career number as he enters today with a 14-point lead over Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen. Will Ferrandis be able to keep the ball rolling, or will someone slow his roll? Eli Tomac (2016 and 2017) and Marvin Musquin (2018 and 2019) both have two 450 overall wins here at The Wick 338—will either of them return to the center of the podium for the first time this season? Tomac earned his 50th 450 Class moto win of his career last round while he held off a late charge from Ferrandis, and Musquin’s highest moto finish so far this season is an uncharacteristic seventh. Two-time class champion Roczen and Ferrandis’ Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing teammate Aaron Plessinger are two other riders who could stop Ferrandis’ ball from rolling. Youngsters Chase Sexton (one moto podium this season) and Adam Cianciarulo (one moto win this season) are both hoping to rebound from last week after early race crashes hindered their results. Cianciarulo was also impacted by the nerve issue in his arm and while he does not want to make it an excuse, it does appear to be impacting his riding. Let’s not forget Justin Barcia and Max Anstie who are two fast riders whose skills could be on fully display this weekend. Again, the big key today will be will Ferrandis keep his winning streak alive? So far he is three for four, winning the last two. We will find out later today!

In the 250 Class, RJ Hampshire was able to rebound for his first win of the season at round four as he claimed the overall with 2-2 moto finishes. At the High Point National in mid-June, Hampshire was leading when his change broke and his day ended with 38-8 finishes for 15th overall on a track and day where it appeared he would be in contention for at least one moto win and the overall. Then, leading into the fourth round, Hampshire got sick and felt weak. He endured the sickness, frustrating results from the round prior, and three crashes on the day to persevere through for the third Pro Motocross overall of his career. Hampshire’s win followed his teammate Jalek Swoll’s maiden pro victory at High Point and the #24 became the fourth different rider to win an overall in the class in the first four rounds. Will Hampshire be able to carry that speed he had for two rounds in a row and piece another great day together to move into the top three in points? Will we see another different winner or will one of these four riders return to the center of the podium for the second time? Points leader Jett Lawrence showed he can charge through the field when he went down early in the second moto at RedBud but managed a sixth-place finish. Jett was strong in the sand at the WW Ranch Motocross Park round in September 2020 and he will look to rebound from his tough second moto in Michigan last week in order to continue leading the points lead after today. Jett enters today with an eight-point advantage over Justin Cooper in the standings. Enter Cooper (who won the 2019 Florida National at the sandy WW Ranch in the Florida sand) and Jeremy Martin (a skilled two-time champion), and a few other riders including Hunter Lawrence (experience racing in sand in Europe) and Kailub Russell (who could benefit from his sand-training in Florida) and like the 450 Class, today could be significant in the championship.  There is also the chance of some other skilled riders entering into the mix and disrupting the front runners. We have been fortunate to watch some incredible racing so far this season—here’s to hoping that trend continues again today!

Oh, and keep an eye out for Luke Renzland on his Husqvarna TC 125 two-stroke!

For all those fantasy players out there, make sure to check out our Southwick National injury report. Make sure to tune into the points-paying motos later—you can check out the full broadcast schedule below. Riders will be taking to the track for the first qualifying session soon.

First Qualifying Sessions

250 Class

The 250 B group was the first session on track this morning. Luke Renzland topped the board early in the session with a 2:23.295 on his ole’ two-stroke 125. Teammates Jalek Swoll, RJ Hampshire, and Stilez Robertson led the 250 A group around for a majority of the session. Eventually, it was Justin Cooper whose first fast lap (a 2:17.952) took the top spot, where he would remain throughout the session. Hunter Lawrence jumped to second with a 2:18.031 ahead of Hampshire (2:18.720) and Jeremy Martin (2:19.368) landing in front of Robertson (2:19.92). I stationed up in one of the turns and watched a handful of riders come through lap after lap and eventually the inside line got blown out and several riders went down while navigating through the soft ruts.

450 Class

In the first 450 A group session Adam Cianciarulo led Justin Barcia and Chase Sexton and the remainder of the field around for the first couple of laps. Ken Roczen, Dylan Ferrandis, and Marvin Musquin sat towards the back of the group but on the second lap, Roczen dropped the hammer and laid down a 2:15.641. Cianciarulo’s 2:16.660 was closest to the #94 as they were the only two below the 2:17 mark. On the fifth lap, Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton put in their best laps of the session to round out the top five. Coty Schock’s 2:17.821 landed him sixth in an impressive qualifying ride. Ferrandis’ 2:18.340 was eighth fastest and local Chris Canning’s 2:20.197 was 13th.

second Qualifying Sessions

250 Class

Once again, Renzland topped the second 250 B session with a 2:24.202, followed by Chris Moore and Garrett Hoffman, Kyle Greeson, and Jake Pinhancos. In the second 250 A group session, it was the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates leading the group both around the track and in the live results from the session. Today the times from the second sessions topped the first sessions, as Hampshire’s 2:15.914 bested his 2:18.720 from session one and Cooper’s 2:17.952 from the first session, giving the #24 the top time for the day. Robertson, Hunter Lawrence, and Swoll qualified second through fourth in the session and eventually the overall qualifying. Renzland’s 2:23.295 from the first 250 B session gave him the 22nd overall qualifying spot on the day. This was Hampshire’s first time as the fastest qualifier this season.

"It’s tough,” Hampshire said of the track. “This wet sand, I'm from Florida but it’s just, man, it's unpredictable."

450 Class

In the second 450 A session, Sexton went down in one of the lower turns in the early sections of the track and Noren caught the back of him and went down as well. Both riders were up and back going quickly. Just as the 250 Class, once the times starting coming into live timing and scoring, Cianciarulo jumped to the top of both the session and the overall qualifying with a 2:12.659. Roczen moved into second in the session and overall after a 2:13.277 bested his 2:15.641   from session one. Christian Craig had a big crash where he lost the front end and slammed hard in an off-camber, downhill turn. He took a minute to get up but eventually rode off the track under his own power. Sexton put in a 2:13.593 to become the third rider under the 2:14 mark as just behind him sat Ferrandis with a 2:14.084. Privateer Coty Schock put together two great qualifying sessions today as he ended the morning in the 11th overall spot. Kyle Chisholm qualified 21st in his season debut. When the session ended, Cianciarulo claimed his second top-qualifier of the day.

"I think it's just all about adapting on a track like this,” Cianciarulo said. “If I can’t hang on, I might as well go fast while I can!"

250 MOTO 1

In the first 250 Class moto, it was teammates Jalek Swoll and RJ Hampshire coming through the hotshot line 1-2. Jeremy Martin started right behind the Husqvarna duo but went down halfway through the first lap, dropping back in the pack as he had to wait to pickup his Yamaha. That turn cost several riders, getting Vincent Luhovey and Kailub Russell behind Martin and later in the race, Jett Lawrence also had a fall in the same spot.

Hampshire was able to get around Swoll to take over the lead but eventually a tip over from the #24 handed the lead to Michael Mosiman. Mosiman made a costly mistake, going from leading the race to outside of the top five as Hinter Lawrence took over the lead from the #42. Nate Thrasher fell twice, losing positions on both mistakes.

Hunter Lawrence and Kawasaki's Jo Shimoda capitalized on the mistakes from those around them to finish first and third as Hampshire managed to hold on for second, despite crashing twice. While running in the top ten early in the race, Garrett Marchbanks Yamaha cut out and his race ended early.

450 MOTO 1

In the first 450 moto, it was once again teammates going 1-2 off the start as Yamaha's Dylan Ferrandis and Aaron Plessinger came through the holeshot line side by side. They led Justin Barcia, Adam Cianciarulo, Ken Roczen, and company. Barcia made his way around Plessinger and Cianciarulo and Roczen battled over fourth place all moto (eventually Roczen would get the spot).

Dean Wilson went down in the turn that cost several of the 250 riders including Jett Lawrence, Jeremy Martin, and Kailub Russell. Wilson remounted and engaged in a battle with Brandon Hartfranft for the entire moto (the #15 finally made a pass stick with only a couple laps to go). Local favorite Chris Canning heard loud cheers throughout the entire moto as he put in a strong effort.

Although he did drop a spot late in the race to Roczen, Cianciarulo put in a much better moto than last week when he was hindered by the nerve issues in his arm. But out front, no one had an answer for Ferrandis, who pulled away from Barcia and Plessinger by the time the checkered flag flew.

250 MOTO 2

RJ Hampshire grabbed the holeshot in the second moto but crashed out of the lead again as he went down after the finish line. Justin Cooper inherited the lead and began to run away as Jo Shimoda tried to keep the #32 in sight. Shimoda started getting pressure from behind in the form of Hunter Lawrence, Hampshire, and Jett, with Colt Nichols close behind. Jeremy Martin and Swoll both went down and had to fight from way back.

Hampshire dropped back a bunch of spots again as Hunter Lawrence got around Shimoda and then made his way around Cooper to take over the race lead. At the same time, his brother Jett was battling Shimoda for third place. Hunter took over the lead as Jett set his eye on Cooper in second place.

With his win in the second moto, Hunter Lawrence claimed his first overall 250 class win. Shimoda held on for fourth in the moto to earn his first career overall podium as he finished second place. Cooper's third in moto two gave him third overall. Jett's third in the second moto allows him to retain the points lead leaving Massachusetts.

450 MOTO 2

In the second 450 moto, Cooper Webb grabbed the holeshot but Roczen quickly jumped to the lead. Plessinger ran into an issue and pulled off the track momentarily before rejoining the race near the end of the pack. He would not finish the moto. Ferrandis started outside the top five but he began a charge to the front. Tomac moved around Cianciarulo and went for Roczen out front. As the #3 caught and passed Roczen, the Massachusetts crowd went nuts! Tomac continued to push forward, gapping Roczen as Cianciarulo started to fade as the race progressed. Ferrandis made his way into third ahead of Barcia but was unable to make his way Roczen. No problem for Ferrandis as his 1-3 gave him the overall win. Roczen's 4-2 gave him second overall and Barcia's 2-4 earned the #51 his first overall podium of the season.