Flying Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis took the overall win on a tie-break with German rival Ken Roczen after going 2-1 to Roczen’s 1-2 on the day at Budds Creek, round nine of the motocross nationals in the United States.
It was the European stars again dominating proceedings in the premier 450cc class in the US, while Australian brothers Jett Lawrence (pictured here) and Hunter Lawrence continued to make life difficult for the Americans in the 250cc class.
In the first of the weekend’s two 450cc class races, Roczen made his customary early passes on a lightening first lap but, by the end of the race, Ferrandis had worked his way into second.
He was on the German’s back wheel, searching desperately for a way past, but Roczen fought hard to hold on for the win.
Race two and Roczen again took the early lead, passing KTM’s Cooper Webb but once again Ferrandis worked his way into second, passing Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac on the way.
This time he had time to catch and make a crucial pass on Roczen for the overall win and end the day tied on points ensuring he kept his substantial championship lead.
Kawasaki’s Tomac rode well for third overall but couldn’t make the move on Roczen in race two despite being right there at the end of the moto.
In the 250cc class, Jeremy Martin took the overall win with a 3-1 after Justin Cooper had a similar day to Unadilla after a great ride in moto one to win despite a crash only to take fourth in race two without troubling the top three.
He said he has been sick over the last few days and didn’t have the energy required for the second moto.
It means Jett Lawrence, who went 2-2 on a solid day, has gained one point on Cooper with the gap now down to three points with just three rounds to go. Despite the win, Martin is still 60 points down.
Hunter Lawrence came from outside the top 10 to grab sixth in race one, despite suffering clutch and goggle problems, and then took third in race two after finally getting a decent start, the older Aussie proved he still has the speed but the starts have been letting him down lately.
Photo courtesy Honda HRC
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