Ken Roczen and Joey Savatgy make strong opening statements at the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season-opening 2016 Hangtown Motocross Classic.
RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy set the tone for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship by scoring sweeps in their respective classes at the season-opening 2016 Hangtown Motocross Classic at the Prairie City SVRA near Sacramento, Califoniam, Saturday. Roczen won the 450cc class while Savatgy won the 250cc class.
Perhaps its something that race insiders and fans should’ve seen coming, as both men closed out the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series with convincing wins at the season finale in Las Vegas, but Hangtown was anything but predictable thanks to a fickle Mother Nature that dumped rain on the first motos and then provided sunshine for the second motos.
450cc
In the 450cc class, Team Honda HRC riders were at the fore as Cole Seely and Trey Canard ran one-two ahead of defending series champion Ryan Dungey at the start of Moto One. Roczen was fourth, but the Suzuki man quickly found his way past REd Bull KTM-mounted Dungey and both the Honda men on the opening lap. Once he had a clear track in front of him, Roczen set sail, opening a clear advantage over the rest of the field. Dungey fought his way up to second place by the end of lap two, though he could never get close enough to mount a challenge on Roczen, who went on to win the first moto by just under 6.2 seconds. Seely ran third for much of the race, but he eventually found himself having to defend the position from Eli Tomac. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider had gotten off to a poor start in the moto but had worked hard to come from outside the top 10 to challenge for a podium spot, and he took it from Seely on lap 13 of 17. But neither Tomac nor Seely got much of a chance to rest, thanks to a surprisingly strong effort by Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, who ultimately passed both of them to land third place.
Dungey got a better start in Moto Two, but Roczen was right near the front, and he quickly passed Dungey and effectively disappeared again, going on to win the moto by an even wider margin than the first, 14.9 seconds. Dungey once again ran a solid second ahead of Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia, but Barcia eventually fell prey to a the flying Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ridden by Jason Anderson on lap five. That set the top three to the finish, although Tomac matched his first-moto fourth-place finish to net third overall behind Roczen and Dungey.
Roczen’s win marked his second Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship win at the facility.
“We’re in a way better position than we were last year [when I came in hurt],” Roczen said. “That’s all behind us, and now I can go out and can focus on my riding. I’m really happy with the bike. I’ve always done well at Hangtown, but today [the track] was really different. It [had notches] and was hard in certain spots. It’s nice to get the first [race] out of the way. I want to bring [my best effort] every single weekend. I played catch up last year [with the injury], so this season I have a chance to start fresh and build momentum. I’m glad I put myself in a good position, but it’s still a long year.”
Dungey finished in the runner-up spot (2-2) for the sixth straight season.
“Overall today was really good,” Dungey said. “Two seconds is good, but when you look at both races individually we were able to close down on [Roczen’s] lead in the first moto. In the second moto he was able to get ahead of me and really [open a] gap. I started to figure out some new lines and closed in again, which is encouraging. I really was trying to adapt to the bike and find that comfort today. I don’t typically do that, but I trust everyone at KTM and know we’re where we want to be. Round 1 was good and we’re going to get better week by week.”
Roczen’s win also gave him the series points lead over Dungey, as Roczen is seeking to regain the series title that he won in 2014 but had to surrender in 2015 after starting the season with a back injury. Roczen leads dungey, 50-44, while Tomac is third with 36 points. Anderson, too, is off to a good start, having scored 35 points in the first round. That could be telling if he enjoys similar to success outdoors to that he enjoyed during the supercross season.
250cc
Savatgy served notice that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with when he turned-in the fastest laps during practice at Hangtown, and he backed it up by pulling the holeshot in the first 250cc moto to start the day. GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith ran second, and when Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha riders Cooper Webb and defending 250cc series champion Jeremy Martin slotted into third and fourth, it seemed only a matter of time before Smith would be dropped.
Funny thing, though: That never happened. For while Savatgy took full advantage of the clear track in front of him as the rain fell, Smith kept him in sight for the rest of the moto. Smith was never able to reel-in Savatgy, but his runner-up finish was strong nonetheless. Webb and Martin battled for third with Martin ulitmately passing Webb on lap 11 to land the final spot on the podium.
Moto Two had a bit of a different complexion as Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson took the early lead while Savatgy got off to a less-than-stellar start and ran outside the top five. A reprieve came when the race was red-flagged due to a crash in which the rider required medical attention. Nelson bagged another holeshot when the field rocketed out of the gate the second time, but Savatgy was second and Smith was third. While Savatgy tried to run down Nelson, Smith came under attack from another Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider, rookie Austin Forkner. The former amateur star looked like a seasoned pro as pressured Smith for several laps before making the pass for third place just five laps into the moto. Two laps later, Smith went down while running fourth and dropped to 10th.
The top three remained the same as Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Alex Martin began to run closer to the front, passing Jeremy Martin for fifth place and then inheriting fourth place after Smith crashed. Alex Martin closed in on Forker for third and took the spot away on lap eight. That placed Forker into the clutches of Jeremy Martin, who made contact with the rookie on lap nine. As a result, Martin dropped back to ninth place.
The battle for the lead got serious on lap 11, and Savatgy found his way past Nelson to score the 1-1 moto sweep. Then Alex Martin came up and took second away from Nelson, who would also succumb to Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger.
Savatgy not only claimed his first career Lucas Oil Pro moto win in the first moto at Hangtown easily claimed his first win at Hangtown, but also his first career overall win and his first career sweep. Alex Martin’s 8-2 scores netted him second overall ahead of Webb (4-5).
“I hate the first round so much because there’s so many unknowns,” Savatgy said. “You feel good, but you don’t know where you’re going to be until the gate drops. We started good in practice and then got the holeshot and led every lap of the first moto. We got another good start in the second moto and waited until the right opportunity to get by Jessy [Nelson]. My goal this year is to be on the podium [each week] and not throw it away [with a bad race]. There are a lot of good dudes in this class and you don’t want to be behind the eight ball. There’s not really anything to complain about. It was a perfect day.”
Savatgy starts off what is sure to be a long and hard-fought outdoor season with a 15-point lead over Alex Martin and 16-point lead over Webb.
2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Hangtown Motocross Classic
Prairie City SVRA
Sacramento, California
Results: May 21, 2016 (Round 1 of 12)
450cc Overall
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-2)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (4-4)
4. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (6-3)
5. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (7-5)
6. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (5-10)
7. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (10-6)
8. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (9-7)
9. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (8-8)
10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (11-9)
2016 Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (after 1 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen-50/1 overall win/2 moto wins
2. Ryan Dungey-44
3. Eli Tomac-36
4. Jason Anderson-35
5. Trey Canard-30
6. Cole Seely-27
7. Justin Barcia-26
8. Marvin Musquin-26
9. Josh Grant-26
10. Phil Nicoletti-22
Blake Baggett-22
250cc Overall
1. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (1-1)
2. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (8-2)
3. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (4-5)
4. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (9-3)
5. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (3-9)
6. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM (7-6)
7. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda (2-16)
8. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (13-7)
9. Tristan Charboneau, Tenino, Wash., Honda (6-14)
10. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM (11-10)
2016 Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship Series Points Standings (after 1 of 12 rounds)
1. Joey Savatgy-50
2. Alex Martin-35
3. Cooper Webb-34
4. Aaron Plessinger-32
5. Jeremy Martin-32
6. Jessy Nelson-29
7. Jordon Smith-27
8. Austin Forkner-22
9. Tristan Charboneau-22
10. Mitchell Oldenburg-21
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