Roczen goes 1-1 at Unadilla | Jett Lawrence scores a P8 on debut

2019 AMA Pro Motocross

Round 10 – Unadilla National

Images by Hoppenworld

Round 10 of the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross championship rolled into Unadilla MX Park over the weekend, for the 2019 Unadilla National, where Ken Roczen claimed top honours on the back of a 1-1 result, with Marvin Musquin having to settle for two second-place finishes. Third overall was Zach Osborne with a consistent 4-4 result ensuring the final step on the podium. Eli Tomac still leads the standings, however just a single point separates Musquin and Roczen.

Dylan Ferrandis took the 250 victory with a 2-1 result, edging out Adam Cianciarulo who went 1-2. This marked Ferrandis’s second consecutive win and third of the season. Third overall was Chase Sexton who went 3-3. Cianciarulo retains the standings lead, ahead of Ferrandis and Cooper out of Unadilla.

Young Australian Jett Lawrence made his professional debut in the class after turning 16 this week and impressed with a best result of eighth.  

Jett Lawrence

“Had a good first Pro Motocross round at Unadilla, there was ups and downs but was able to come away with some progress and more experience. First moto was going pretty good but on the second lap I misjudged a single and hit the edge of it and went down, I was ok just the bike was a lil bent up a bit so a little bit hard to ride in the ruts but was able to come back to 21st. Second moto started off with not the best start so I started 18th and was able to come through and get 8th in the end, so I am pretty happy with that and ended up with 13th overall so pretty good weekend.”

450 Report

The first 450 Class moto got underway with Eli Tomac capturing his second holeshot over Justin Bogle and Zach Osborne. The German Ken Roczen started the race on a tear as he blasted through the field and muscled his way by Tomac to lead the opening lap. Marvin Musquin was credited in third, followed by Bogle and Osborne.

Roczen quickly sprinted out to a multi-second lead in the opening laps, while Tomac continued to give chase in second. As the race closed in on the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, Roczen extended his lead to more than 10 seconds, while Musquin started applying heavy pressure on Tomac. Shortly after, Musquin used a strong drive on an uphill to pull alongside Tomac and make the pass stick for second.

With Roczen holding a commanding lead out front over Musquin, the battle began to heat up for the final podium position as Justin Barcia was searching for a way around Tomac. On Lap 10, Barcia took control of second, bumping Tomac outside of the top three.

At the finish it was Roczen taking his fourth moto win of the season with 15.2 seconds to spare on the runner-up Musquin. Barcia completed the podium to take his first podium result of the season, while Tomac dropped to seventh after leading early.

As the 450 Class field exited the first turn to start Moto 2 it was Musquin emerging with his third holeshot of 2019, narrowly edging out Osborne and Barcia. In an attempt to get himself to the front quickly, Barcia lost the front end in a high speed sweeping turn, losing valuable positions. At the completion of the opening lap Musquin led the way with Osborne and Roczen in hot pursuit.

With a clear track advantage, Musquin pushed hard to try and distance himself from the riders behind him, however, first moto winner Roczen made the move on Osborne to takeover second and would soon find himself hot on the heels of Musquin. On Lap 3, Roczen grabbed a handful of throttle and launched into the lead. Musquin quickly reacted in an attempt to strike back, but Roczen held on to the top spot.

Similar to the first moto, Roczen’s impressive efforts out front continued as he once again built a commanding lead, taking his fifth moto win of the season by 22.4 seconds over Musquin. A late race charge by Tomac allowed him to make the move on Osborne and take the final step of the podium in third.

Roczen secured his 18th career victory via 1-1 moto scores. Musquin’s consistent riding carried him to second overall (2-2), just ahead of Osborne in third (4-4).

Ken Roczen – P1

“I haven’t done anything the last few weeks. My body needed to get some rest. Today was just odd. I told myself yesterday I wanted to go 1-1 and I was able to come out and do that today, including qualifying fastest. I’m really happy how we ended the weekend here at Unadilla.”

Marvin Musquin – P2

“I’m pretty happy with my day but I wish I would have given it a better fight in the second moto. I felt good in both motos but at the end I started making mistakes. Overall, it’s a good day but I wanted more. I have good memories here – winning my first 250 race here in 2013 – so of course I want more of that but I’m happy to gain 10 points on Eli Tomac in the overall championship.”

Zach Osborne – P3

“Overall, it was a decent day. Typically, a 4-4 isn’t going to get you on the podium but it did today. I’m happy with my riding, I just really didn’t have the speed today. I felt good in both motos and I’m happy to be back on the podium.”

Jason Anderson – P5

“My weekend went pretty good, I was happy to qualify third and then be consistent with top-fives in the motos but I definitely want more – I want to be on the podium and fighting for wins.”

Despite an off day, Tomac still holds a 40-point lead over Musquin in the championship standings. Roczen trails Musquin by a single point in third.

250 Report

The opening 250 Class moto of the afternoon saw Justin Cooper emerge with his class-leading seventh holeshot of the season ahead of Adam Cianciarulo and Jerry Robin. As Cooper quickly set the pace out front with Cianciarulo in tow, Ferrandis began to make moves and overtook Robin before the completion of the opening lap.

Cianciarulo applied heavy pressure on Cooper in the early minutes of the moto, but Cooper was able to respond and open a small cushion. Ferrandis, who started just outside of the top three, began to inch up on the front-runners and had his sights set on the lead group. A mistake by Cooper through the rollers on Lap 5 sent him to the ground, surrendering the lead to Cianciarulo. Cooper picked himself up to remount in fourth position, just behind Chase Sexton.

Once in the lead, Cianciarulo used a clear track to consistently click off laps, maintaining a slight advantage over his championship rival Ferrandis. When the checkered flag waved, it was Cianciarulo who held on to take his seventh moto victory of the season by 3.6 seconds over Ferrandis. Behind the lead duo, Sexton claimed his third moto podium finish of the season, followed by Cooper.

The deciding 250 Class moto once again saw a Star Yamaha lead the field through the first turn as Dylan Ferrandis earned his first holeshot of the season with team-mate Cooper and Cianciarulo in tow. Cooper quickly went after his teammate out front and made an attempt for the lead, however, Ferrandis would shut the door and hang on. Ferrandis led the opening lap, followed by Cianciarulo and Cooper.

Knowing that every point in the championship matters, Cianciarulo had his sights set on Ferrandis for the race lead. On Lap 2, Sexton used his race craft to takeover third from Cooper and quickly focused in on the two riders out front. Every time Cianciarulo appeared to make a run at Ferrandis, the Frenchman would counteract and prevent his rival from picking up momentum.

With the race winding down, Ferrandis remained consistent at the head of the 40-rider field to keep Cianciarulo at bay and take his seventh moto win of the season by 1.1 seconds. Cianciarulo finished just behind in second, followed by Sexton in third.

Ferrandis’ better second moto finish gave him the edge in a tiebreaker with Cianciarulo for his fourth career victory (2-1). Cianciarulo finished runner-up overall (1-2) on the day, while Sexton earned his second overall podium of the season in third (3-3).

Dylan Ferrandis – P1

“Today, the track was very challenging and rough. My bike setup was not perfect in the first moto, but the team made some changes for me between motos and I think that really helped me heading into the second moto. I’m happy to grab another win, my second in a row, and need to keep it going into the final two rounds for a shot at the championship.”

Cianciarulo’s tiebreaker finish with Ferrandis was good enough to keep his championship lead at 28 points. Cooper maintains his solid hold of third, 59 points out of the lead.

Hunter Lawrence remains sidelined by injury. 

The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend for the penultimate round of the championship on Saturday, August 17, at the legendary Budds Creek Motocross Park.