Ivan Tedesco dominated the 450 class and Jake Weimer captured the 250 class at the latest round of the AMA Motocross Championships at the weekend, both riders becoming first-time winners in this championship.

Racing at night and under lights at this fifth round of 12 in the US nationals in Colorado, ‘Hot Sauce’ Tedesco (pictured above) was the first rider out of the gates in each moto and led every lap in his first wins, moto and overall, since moving into the premier 450 Class in 2006.

Andrew Short made it a 1-2 sweep for Red Bull Honda with second overall. Kawasaki’s Tommy Hahn rounded out the podium with a career-best third place.

After failing to score a single point at the previous round, Weimer bounced back in convincing fashion. His French team-mate, former MX2 world champion Christophe Pourcel, grabbed the runner-up spot while Britain’s Tommy Searle (KTM) finished third for the second event in a row.

New Zealand’s Cody Cooper (Yamaha) continues to impress in the US but he had a mixed bag of results at the weekend.

He struck problems in the first of his two 450cc races, slumping to the back of the field, eventually credited with 32nd place but out of the points.

He bounced back to finish a strong eighth in the second leg and remains among the top 10 overall,  although he’s slipped from sixth place after round four to now be eighth overall.

Australian Chad Reed (Suzuki) also had a mixed time at Colorado, finishing third and seventh, but he remains on top of the series standings, now 14 points clear of the new No.2 man, Short.

“This is actually my first win outdoors since 2005,” said Tedesco afterwards. “I won here in the (250 Class) and that lead to a championship in that class. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve had to battle through some injuries over the years, but I feel like I’m in top form and it feels great. This year didn’t start out great at the first race, but I’ve had podiums and great runs since then.”

Suzuki’s Mike Alessi tried to grab some points by riding with a broken knee cap, the move proved how tough he is but didn’t work out. He crashed in the second turn of moto 1 after coming together with Josh Grant in a worse case scenario. He didn’t score any points

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with round six on Saturday, July 4 from Buchanan, Michigan for the Monster Energy Motocross National at RedBud.

Racing in the 250cc class was typically fierce.

After failing to score a single point at the previous round, Weimer bounced back in convincing fashion in Lakewood. The Kawasaki rider kept on the rear fender of team-mate Pourcel throughout the first moto, brining home second. In moto two, he capitalised on a great start to grab the early lead. After a fall dropped him to third, Weimer recovered to re-take the lead and the overall win.

“This was something huge for me,” said Weimer. “I didn’t know if I was going to ever get an outdoor win. I got two good starts on my Kawasaki and I only made one small mistake in the second moto. I’m really excited because this is my first moto and overall wins.”

Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Toyota AMA Pro National – Round 5 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish):

Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda (1-1)

Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (2-2)

Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Kawasaki (7-3)

Chad Reed, Australia, Suzuki (3-7)

Michael Byrne, Australia, Suzuki (6-4)

Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (5-5)

Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki (11-6)

Jimmy Albertson, Ozark, Mo., Yamaha (10-9)

Kyle Summers, Discovery Bay, Calif., Yamaha (9-10)

Jake Moss, Australia, Honda (4-33)

450 Class Championship Standings:

Chad Reed, Australia, Suzuki, 195

Andrew Short, Smithville, Tex., Honda, 181

Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 160

Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 151

Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki, 142

Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Kawasaki, 123

Michael Byrne, Australia, Suzuki, 117

Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Yamaha, 104

Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki, 88

Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 79

250 Class (Moto Finish):

Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (2-1)

Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki (1-6)

Tommy Searle, Great Britain, KTM (5-3)

Justin Barcia, Cairo, Ga., Honda (9-2)

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (6-4)

Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha (3-8)

Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (7-5)

Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda (4-11)

Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (8-9)

Darryn Durham, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha (10-12)

250 Class Championship standings:

Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki, 217

Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 208

Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki, 160

Tommy Searle, Great Britain, KTM, 153

Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda, 144

Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda, 141

Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 139

Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha, 130

Justin Barcia, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 117

Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 113

Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com