Motocross

Tomac wins Home National in Colorado while Cooper gets second career win

Posted:

Sunday, October 4th, 2020

3:13 PM

Tomac wins Home National in Colorado while Cooper gets second career win

Eli Tomac raced to his second win in three years at his home race. Photo: Align Media

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its annual journey to the highest elevation of any professional motocross track in the world at Thunder Valley Motocross Park for the penultimate round of the 2020 season.

Perfect temperatures made for ideal conditions at the WPS/FLY Racing Thunder Valley National, where the hometown favorite, Eli Tomac, prevailed for the second time in three years at his home National. In the 250 Class, Monster Justin Cooper charged to his first win of the season.

As the gate dropped on the first 450 Class moto of the afternoon it was Adam Cianciarulo who emerged with his fifth MotoSport.com Holeshot with Chase Sexton right behind him as Zach Osborne slotted into third. With a clear track Cianciarulo was able to quickly build a multi-second advantage that he then managed through the middle portion of the moto. Meanwhile, Sexton shed himself of Osborne to assert his hold of second.

As the second half of the moto wore on, Sexton was able to gain some ground on Cianciarulo and got to within less than two seconds of the lead. However, Cianciarulo responded and was able to restabilize the lead. With less than five minutes remaining Cianciarulo narrowly avoided a crash when he briefly lost control of his Kawasaki, which allowed Sexton to close within just a second-and-a-half. Once again Cianciarulo dug deep in response and was able to rebuild his lead to its largest margin. Behind the see-saw battle up front Tomac, who started sixth, was able to track down Osborne and make the pass for third.

The action at the Thunder Valley National was fierce as the 2020 season nears its conclusion. Photo: Align Media

Cianciarulo went wire-to-wire for his fourth moto win of the season, crossing the finish line 2.6 seconds ahead of Sexton with a hard-charging Tomac in third. Osborne followed in fourth, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Justin Barcia completing the top five.

The 450 Class field made uphill charge once more to begin the final moto of the day and as the riders exited the first turn it was Marvin Musquin who secured the MotoSport.com Holeshot over Cianciarulo, who quickly applied pressure and jumped into the lead, followed by Osborne into second. Musquin continued to lose ground as Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Suzuki‰Ûªs Max Anstie took over third and left Musquin to deal with Tomac in a battle for fourth. Tomac pounced and stormed past both Musquin and Anstie to go from fifth to third.

After a busy opening lap Cianciarulo was able to sprint away to a second-and-a-half advantage over Osborne, while Tomac gave chase from third. The top three ran within a couple seconds of one another and after several laps of trading momentum Tomac began to apply pressure on Osborne, successfully taking control of second a little more than 10 minutes into the moto. From there Tomac kept looking ahead and started to make the move on his teammate for the lead. With the home crowd cheering him on, Tomac made the pass happen and took control of the moto.

Adam Cianciarulo just missed out on a third victory via tiebreaker, leading to a Kawasaki 1-2 sweep. Photo: Align Media

Once out front Tomac dropped the hammer and quickly gapped the rest of the field. Together, the Kawasaki tandem then pulled away from Osborne. The pace of the top three was so impressive that the leaders enjoyed more than a 10-second advantage over fourth halfway through the moto. With a handful of time left on the clock it appeared as though Tomac had the win in hand, but his place slowed as he appeared to deal with something on his motorcycle, which allowed Cianciarulo to close back in. Tomac‰Ûªs slowing was brief and he regrouped to rebuild his advantage.

With Tomac back up to speed, managing a lead of about five seconds, Cianciarulo was forced to deal with some pressure from a late charge by Osborne from third. The championship rivals were within a few bike lengths of one another when Cianciarulo nearly crashed after his bike took off awkwardly on a jump. He kept his Kawasaki on two wheels, but it allowed Osborne to assume second. Just a few laps later Cianciarulo put in one final charge to catch and pass Osborne. Cianciarulo came to the inside on one of the track‰Ûªs downhill sections but couldn‰Ûªt get the bike slowed enough, causing slight contact between the two that sent Cianciarulo off the track momentarily. Out front Tomac finished strong to take his second moto win of the season by 8.9 seconds over Osborne, with Cianciarulo in third.

Tomac (3-1) and Cianciarulo (1-3) finished with identical moto scores, leaving them tied atop the overall classification. However, by virtue of his win in the final moto Tomac earned the tiebreaker to give him his second victory of the season and the 25th win of his career. It also signified the first 1-2 sweep for the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo. Osborne rounded out the overall podium in third (4-2).

Points leader Zach Osborne finished third overall. Photo: Align Media

‰ÛÏSuch a cool day here in Colorado. So glad we were able to get back here this season,‰Û

Justin Cooper broke through for his first win of the 2020 season. Photo: Align Media

The opening moto of the 250 Class began with Mitchell Harrison prevailing with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, but he quickly gave way to the Shane McElrath and Dylan Ferrandis. As the lead duo quickly built a gap over the field, the race soon turned into a breakaway for the Star Yamaha squad as Cooper moved into third. With Cooper closing in, Ferrandis picked up the pace and put the pressure on McElrath for the lead, successfully making the pass about 10 minutes into the moto. Once out front the Frenchman was able to sprint away to a multi-second advantage. As Ferrandis continued to build on his lead the battle for second intensified between McElrath and Cooper just past the halfway point of the moto. Cooper soon made his way around his teammate and looked to chip away at the deficit to Ferrandis.

Out front Ferrandis was able to maintain a comfortable margin over Cooper the rest of the way to secure his eighth moto win of the season and his fifth consecutive checkered flag by 5.3 seconds over Cooper, with McElrath securing a 1-2-3 sweep for Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing. GEICO Honda‰Ûªs Jeremy Martin followed in fourth, while his teammate Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five.

As the field roared out the gate to start Moto 2 it was Cooper who came away with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by his teammates Jarrett Frye and McElrath, with McElrath getting by Frye for second. Ferrandis started outside the top 10 while his primary championship rival, Martin, got by Frye for third. Martin didn‰Ûªt stop there. He kept his push to the front going and made the pass on McElrath for second before attacking Cooper for the lead. As the battle for first took shape Ferrandis had worked his way to just outside the top five.

Cooper responded to the pressure and maintained his hold of the lead. Behind them Ferrandis encountered some misfortune when two riders ahead of him came together and forced the Yamaha off track and onto the ground. The point leader got back on his bike and reentered quickly, but had to make up a few lost positions from 10th place. Back up front, Martin closed back in on Cooper just past the halfway point of the moto. The lead duo again engaged in a spirited fight, where Cooper fended off virtually every one of Martin‰Ûªs moves and successfully rebuilt his advantage after several laps of tight racing.

Dylan Ferrandis added to his point lead with a runner-up finish. Photo: Align Media

As time ran out on the moto the focus shifted to the battle for third, which turned into a three-rider fight between McElrath, Lawrence and Ferrandis, who successfully battled back from his early incident. Lawrence was aggressive in trying to keep Ferrandis at bay and it carried him by McElrath for third. Ferrandis followed through into fourth and then made an impressive pass on Lawrence to take control of third. Out front Cooper pulled out to a margin of more than five seconds and carried on to his first moto win of the season, followed by Martin in second and Ferrandis in third after a resilient ride.

The second moto win was enough to put Cooper atop the overall classification (2-1) for his second career victory, where he became the fourth different 250 Class winner this season. Ferrandis‰Ûª spirited effort in Moto 2 allowed him to secure the runner-up spot (1-3), while Martin ended up third (4-2).

‰ÛÏA lot of pressure was on my shoulders, but I‰Ûªm glad it‰Ûªs off,‰Û

Jeremy Martin brought home a solid third-place finish. Photo: Align Media

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship - WPS/FLY Racing Thunder Valley National
Thunder Valley Motocross Park - Lakewood, Colorado - October 3, 2020

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (3-1)
2 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (1-3)
3 Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-2)
4 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-5)
5 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (7-4)
6 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (6-8)
7 Max Anstie, England, Suzuki (9-6)
8 Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., Husqvarna (14-7)
9 Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., KTM (12-9)
10 Jake Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Husqvarna (13-10)

450 Class Championship Standings
1 Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna - 325 Points
2 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki - 301 Points
3 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM - 283 Points
4 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki - 278 Points
5 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda - 245 Points
6 Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha - 234 Points
7 Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM - 232 Points
8 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda - 195 Points
9 Max Anstie, England, Suzuki - 166 Points
10 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Suzuki - 147 Points

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
1 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (2-1)
2 Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-3)
3 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (4-2)
4 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha (3-5)
5 Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (5-4)
6 Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-6)
7 Jo Shimoda, Japan, Honda (7-8)
8 Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki (8-9)
9 Jarrett Frye, Mechanicsville, Md., Yamaha (9-10)
10 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Honda (13-11)

250 Class Championship Standings
1 Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha - 352 Points
2 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda - 334 Points
3 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha - 254 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha - 251 Points
5 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki - 242 Points
6 Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda - 230 Points
7 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna - 217 Points
8 Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki - 165 Points
9 Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki - 163 Points
10 Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., KTM - 148 Points