The 2017 United States Motocross Championship returned to action following its final break of the season for the Unadilla National from Unadilla Motocross Park, New York, at the weekend.

The tenth round of the season featured heavy rain and thunder storms that led to race officials shortening the second motos to 20-minutes-plus-one-lap. Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin raced to a perfect day and kept his win streak alive, which now sits at three.

In the 250 Class GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin emerged victorious to claim his second win of the season.

As the opening 450 class moto powered down the start straight, it was Suzuki’s Matt Bisceglia who emerged with the holeshot, narrowly edging out team-mate Justin Bogle and Honda’s Christian Craig. Musquin immediately went to work and muscled his way by Craig part way through the opening lap and was under heavy pressure from KTM’s Blake Baggett. At the completion of the opening lap it was Bisceglia, Bogle and Musquin who led the 40-rider field.

On lap one, the battle for the lead had already began to shape up with Bisceglia riding strong out front and Bogle and Musquin just behind. Musquin blitzed his way around Bogle to takeover second and backed that up with a pass on Bisceglia for the lead just a couple of turns later. Bogle put forward his best effort to keep Musquin in sight and made the move for second as he overtook Bisceglia on lap two.

Bisceglia continued to fight for position, but remained under heavy pressure and would surrender third to Baggett just before the start of the next lap.

With Musquin riding effortlessly out front, the rain began to come down, continuing to increase and make the conditions more challenging with each lap. On Lap 8, Baggett found himself turning the quickest times of the field and started nipping at the heels of race leader Musquin. The KTM duo pulled alongside one another several times, however, Musquin successfully defended each pass attempt Baggett threw at him.

Despite the torrential downpour that ensued, Musquin and Baggett continued the bar-to-bar battle for the lead. As lightning began to touchdown nearby, race officials made the decision to call the race at the 27-minute mark instead of the traditional 30-minutes-plus-two-laps. Musquin was credited with his fifth consecutive moto win, followed by Baggett in second. Honda’s Cole Seely took advantage of a mistake by Bogle on the final lap to take third.

When the gate dropped on Moto 2 it was Musquin who led the field around the opening corner to take his fifth Motosport.com Holeshot of the season with Husqvarna rider Dean Wilson and Craig in tow. Following his podium finish last round, Husqvarna’s Martin Davalos was on a mission and made his way around Craig and Wilson to takeover second. At the completion of the opening lap it was Musquin, Davalos, and Wilson.

Championship contenders Baggett and Tomac started the race in sixth and eighth positions, but it wasn’t long until disaster struck Baggett and forced him to pull into the mechanics’ area. He would rejoin the race nearly dead last.

At the front of the field Musquin made an attempt to break away, but Davalos refused to settle and kept the leader within sight. Just when Davalos appeared to be making a run for the lead, Musquin wicked it up to pull back out on the Husqvarna rider. Wilson continued to ride strong in third and eventually found himself under pressure from Yamaha’s Cooper Webb. On lap seven, Webb dove to the inside of Wilson to take his line away and moved into third.

Musquin remained unchallenged during the final laps by taking the win 9.8 seconds ahead of Davalos. The final step of the podium went to Webb who rode impressive in his return from injury.

Musquin’s perfect day propelled him to his fourth career overall victory (1-1) and his moto win streak now sits at six. The strong second moto helped Davalos finish second overall (8-2) and capture his second career 450 Class podium. Seely finished third overall (6-3), resulting in his first podium of the season.

“The goal right now is to try and gain points each weekend,” said Musquin.

“Today turned out to be great for me and not so great for some others. Anything can happen on a day like today and I just have to keep doing my best and we will see what happens. My goal is to at least finish the season second in points.”

Tomac remains in control of the championship lead by 27-points despite finishing ninth overall on the day. Baggett continues to sit second, while Musquin gained valuable points on both of his rivals and now trails Baggett by just four points.

“I’ve been wanting to ride the big bike for almost four years and it feels so good to be up here on the podium,” said Davalos. “The 450 Class is totally different than the 250’s.

“The bike requires a lot more strength and I finally feel like I have made enough progress that I can hold on and run with the top guys for a full moto. This sport is about confidence and to run up front, be smart, and learn each weekend is what I’m trying to do. The track was gnarly today and it would have been insane if they didn’t cut the races to 20-minutes.”

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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RESULTS & STANDINGS:

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Unadilla National

 

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1 Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM (1-1)

2 Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Husqvarna (8-2)

3 Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (3-6)

4 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (7-3)

5 Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (2-11)

6 Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna (9-4)

7 Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki (4-10)

8 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (5-9)

9 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (10-5)

10 Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, MO, KTM (15-8)

 

450 Class Championship Standings

1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 400 Points

2 Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 373 Points

3 Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM – 369 Points

4 Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna – 299 Points

5 Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 263 Points

6 Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Husqvarna – 243 Points

7 Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki – 241 Points

8 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 216 Points

9 Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki – 213 Points

10 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 211 Points

 

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (2-1)

2 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (1-4)

3 Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (3-5)

4 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (6-3)

5 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, Yamaha (12-2)

6 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (5-6)

7 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (4-10)

8 RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (8-7)

9 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (7-12)

10 Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (11-9)

 

250 Class Championship Standings

1 Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 413 Points

2 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 350 Points

3 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 324 Points

4 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 299 Points

5 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM – 296 Points

6 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 285 Points

7 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 283 Points

8 Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 235 Points

9 Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha – 229 Points

10 Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 210 Points