Ryan Dungey lands his third career Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with a win at the Zions Bank Utah National.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey knew that if he could win the first moto at the Zions Bank Utah National, he could clinch the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship one round before the season finale at Bud Light Ironman National in Crawfordsville, Indiana, next Saturday.
That’s exactly what he did.
Dungey capped off a truly a dominant season by regaining the Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Championship that he lost to Ken Roczen in 2014 by putting together 1-1 moto performances at Miller Motorsports Park to claim his sixth overall win of the season and clinch the title, giving the KTM brand its second Lucas Oil 450cc title in three years.
As clearcut as Dungey’s win was, the battle for the 250cc championship remains as murky as ever. Defending Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Champion Jeremy Martin piloted his Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha to his fifth overall win of the year after trading moto wins with chief title rival Marvin Musquin of the Red Bull KTM squad. Martin went 3-1 while Musquin went 1-3, the net result being that Martin finished the day with exact same points lead over Musquin with which he started it—a scant two points. Thus, the battle for the 250cc title will come down to the series finale Ironman National in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
450cc
Dungey clearly had no intention of taking a conservative route to the title in Utah, starting the day by posting the quickest lap of timed practice to earn the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier Award. However, Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha’s Justin Barcia bagged his his 11th Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season when the first 450cc moto got underway. Dungey and RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Roczen were also in the mix, and the defending champion quickly displaced Barcia to take the lead.
Dungey slipped past Barcia to take over second place on lap three, and he put in a series of quick laps to whittle away at Roczen’s advantage. Roczen was able to keep Dungey behind him for most of the race, but he finally found an opening and shot past Roczen on lap 13. He then pulled away from the German rider to cross the finish line with a comfortable and title-locking 4.3-second margin of victory. Roczen finished second, but Barcia had to contend with RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Broc Tickle, who took over third place on lap 11 and carried it through to score a podium finish.
Barcia’s teammate, Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha’s Phil Nicoletti grabbed the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of Roczen and Barcia at the start of the second moto, with Dungey coming through turn one inside the top five. Roczen took the moto lead before the end of the first lap and tried to set sail, but Dungey was on the move, and he passed Barcia for second place. Just like he had in the first moto, Dungey ate into Roczen’s lead until he was once again on Roczen’s rear fender. To put an exclamation point on the day, Dungey passed Roczen on lap 12 and pulled away to take the win by 8.8 seconds, with Roczen second and Barcia third. With the win, Dungey has won seven of the last eight motos, including five straight. He has also scored the overall win in four consecutive rounds.
Roczen’s 2-2 finishes secured second overall, while Barcia’s 5-3 edged out Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett’s 4-4 tally via the tiebreaker rule.
Dungey clinched the championship, but Barcia and Roczen’s battle for second in the series will carry over to the Indiana round. Barcia currently holds a five-point advantage over Roczen.
250cc
Jeremy Martin posted the quickest lap of timed practice to earn the Bud Light Fastest Qualifier Award for the 250cc class, but he was pushed off the track in the first moto and had to once again charge through the field to salvage a decent finish. GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith held the race lead with Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson running second. Nelson then passed Smith for the lead and built a gap over the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Musquin was working his way forward from eighth place.
Nelson held the lead for a few laps before GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire moved up take over the point. Musquin and Webb were still on the move, and Musquin took over the lead on lap eight, with Webb following him past Hampshire to take over second place. Webb tried to pressure Musquin into a mistake but then made a mistake himself when he tipped over on lap 12.
Musquin won the moto by 10 seconds over Webb, who rebounded to reclaim second. Martin had worked his way into fourth place, and it appeared as if that was where he would finish until Hampshire crashed just a few yards from the finish line, handing Martin third place.
The second 250cc moto was red-flagged for a fallen rider after just one lap. Musquin emerged with the Motosport.com Holeshot Award when the gate dropped for the second time, with GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig and Webb second and third. Martin got away eighth.
Webb passed Musquin on the opening lap and tried to pull away, but Musquin kept Webb honest. Martin was up to third place by lap two, and he was able get close up on Musquin just a few laps later. Musquin was able to get back to the rear fender of Webb, but the Frenchman soon had to deal with Martin. A slight bobble by Musquin allowed Martin to overtake him for second place on lap eight, and Martin quickly caught Webb, who clearly moved over and let his teammate Martin by him. Martin then pulled away and took the moto win by 8.3 seconds over Webb, with Musquin third.
“My bike was on point today, but things didn’t go how I planned in the first moto off the gate,” Martin said. “But I knew I had to make it up [to the front] and I was able to. [RJ] Hampshire crashing on the last lap definitely helped [me finish third]. In the second moto I got to the front initially, but then we had the red flag. My restart didn’t go as planned but I just knew I had to catch that KTM [of Marvin Musquin], and we were able to get all the way up there and grab the win. It’s definitely coming down to the wire [for the championship].”
Musquin was second overall, but he was still happy with his performance.
“This isn’t a track I do very well on, but it’s special to me to come out here and run well,” Musquin said. “I was battling hard with Cooper [Webb] in the first moto but he fell and that made it easy on me. I got a much better start on the restart for the second moto, but Cooper and Jeremy [Martin] were just a little better than me. I’m happy to leave here still with a good shot at the championship and I’m excited for next weekend. No matter what, it will be a special day.”
2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Zions Bank Utah National
Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
Results: August 15, 2015 (Round 11 of 12)
450cc Overall
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM /1-1
2. Ken Roczen-Suz/2-2
3. Justin Barcia-Yam/5-3
4. Blake Baggett-Suz/4-4
5. Broc Tickle-Suz/3-7
6. Trey Canard-Hon/7-6
7. Dean Wilson-KTM/10-5
8. Josh Grant-Kaw/8-8
9. Christophe Pourcel-Hus/9-9
10. Phil Nicolett-Yam/12-10
2015 Lucas Oil 450cc Class Championship Standings (After 11 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-500
2. Justin Barcia-407
3. Ken Roczen-402
4. Blake Baggett-333
5. Christophe Pourcel-291
6. Broc Tickle-287
7. Jason Anderson-283
8. Phil Nicoletti-229
9. Weston Peick-223
10. Fredrik Noren-206
250cc Overall
1. Jeremy Martin-Yam/3-1
2. Marvin Musquin-KTM/1-3
3. Cooper Webb-Yam/2-2
4. Aaron Plessinger-Yam/4-4
5. Matt Bisceglia-Hon/6-6
6. Zach Osborne-Hus/9-5
7. RJ Hampshire-Hon/7-7
8. Alex Martin-Yam/8-8
9. Joey Savatgy-Kaw/5-11
10. Jessy Nelson-KTM/11-9
2015 Lucas Oil 450cc Class Championship Standings (After 11 of 12 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin-461
2. Marvin Musquin-459
3. Joey Savatgy-310
4. Zach Osborne-305
5. Jessy Nelson-288
6. Alex Martin-287
7. Aaron Plessinger-264
8. Shane McElrath-228
9. Matt Bisceglia-225
10. Cooper Webb-221
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