Denver, in Colorado, provided the setting for the third round of 12 in the United States Motocross Championships at the weekend, with German rider Ken Roczen enjoyed another clean-sweep of wins.

The Suzuki rider continued his hot start to the 2016 season, winning both 450 class motos for the second time in 2016 en route to his second overall victory of the season.

In the 250 class, Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy raced to his second win to reclaim control of the points lead.

Roczen surged out to the holeshot to start the opening 450 class moto, followed by Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson and KTM’s defending champion Ryan Dungey. The open track allowed Roczen to sprint out to an early lead of over five seconds by the conclusion of the opening lap. Anderson held off Dungey for a couple laps but the defending champion eventually got by for second.

Once in first and second, Roczen and Dungey started to pull away from the field. Anderson was running solidly in third but started to lose pace on lap five, initially losing a couple of positions before dropping out of the event with an apparent health issue.

Kawasaki’s Josh Grant took over control of third in Anderson’s absence and held on to a podium spot for a few laps before coming under pressure from Honda’s Trey Canard. The two riders engaged in an intense battle for the position, with Canard getting the upper hand on lap nine.

Roczen led wire to wire for his fourth moto win in five attempts, crossing the line six seconds ahead of Dungey. Canard followed in third for his first moto podium finish of the season. Grant was fourth with his Kawasaki team-mate Eli Tomac fighting back from a 17th-place start to finish fifth.

Canard used the momentum of his podium result to grab the moto two holeshot over his team-mate Cole Seely, with KTM’s Andrew Short in third. Dungey and Roczen both started outside the top five, but Dungey made several passes on the opening lap to slot into third and soon got by Seely to take over second. As he chased Canard for the lead Dungey went down and dropped back to 19th. Dungey’s mistake worked into Roczen’s favour as he made the pass on Grant for third and set chase for the Honda team-mates.

Canard and Seely engaged in a spirited battle for the lead, with Seely eventually getting the upper hand on lap two. Roczen positioned himself right behind both riders and patiently waited for his opportunity to pass both Canard and Seely on lap three and take over the lead. He would then proceed to run away from the field. Seely maintained his hold on second, but Canard received pressure from Grant for third and lost the position on lap six.

Behind them, Tomac was on a march to the front after starting 13th. The Kawasaki rider moved into the top five and passed Canard for fourth on lap seven before breaking into podium position by passing his team-mate Grant shortly thereafter. The Colorado native didn’t stop there and closed in on Seely for second, taking over the runner-up spot on lap eight.

250cc CLASS

In the 250 class, Yamaha’s Cooper Webb kicked off the first moto of the day by grabbing the holeshot ahead of his team-mate and defending champion Jeremy Martin, last year’s winner at Thunder Valley.

Honda’s Jordon Smith slotted into third, followed by the Yamaha duo of Aaron Plessinger and Alex Martin, the points leader.

A battle for the lead started quickly between Webb and Jeremy Martin, but Webb was able to withstand the early pressure. As they battled, Plessinger moved into third and closed in on the lead tandem, with Alex Martin following into fourth. However, Plessinger went down on lap two and collected Martin, who was running right behind him. Plessinger was able to remount quickly and re-entered the race in ninth, while Martin dropped outside the top 20 into 25th place.

The Plessinger crash allowed Webb and Jeremy Martin to open a gap over Smith, who reclaimed third, and a hard-charging Savatgy.

Savagty passed Smith for third on lap three and set his sights on the top two. On lap four Martin’s patience paid off and he passed Webb for the lead, which dropped Webb into the clutches of Savatgy.

Webb kept the Kawasaki rider at bay for a lap, but lost the spot on lap six. Once in second Savatgy began to lay down the fastest laps of the moto and closed in on the rear fender of Martin. He made the pass for the lead on lap eight and quickly pulled out to a comfortable margin. Savatgy continued to build his lead and appeared to be on his way to a third moto win of the season but went down with four laps to go, handing the lead back to Martin and dropping to second. Martin led the closing laps to secure his second straight moto, with Savatgy second and Webb third. Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne was fourth, with Smith fifth. Points leader Alex Martin recovered from his early misfortune with Plessinger to finish eighth.

After acknowledging he let the first moto win slip away, Savatgy seized the moment in moto two. He narrowly missed out on the holeshot to his Kawasaki team-mate Adam Cianciarulo, but surged into the lead on the opening lap. KTM’s Shane McElrath initially slotted into third, but soon lost the spot to Husqvarna’s Martin Davalos.

Behind them the siblings Jeremy and Alex Martin were making a push to the front. The top three riders settled in, but McElrath came under heavy fire from the Martin brothers. Alex passed his brother for fifth and then made the move on McElrath for fourth shortly thereafter. On lap three Cianciarulo crashed out the race while running second, moving Davalos into the runner-up spot and Alex Martin into third. Jeremy Martin then passed McElrath to take over fourth.

Over halfway into the moto Savatgy, Davalos and Alex Martin sat within seconds of one another, but Savatgy was able to inch away as Martin made the pass on Davalos for second on lap eight. Once in second Martin began to set the fastest lap times of the moto and gradually chipped away at his deficit to Savatgy.

As the elder Martin chased down the lead, Jeremy Martin was putting himself in podium position, passing Davalos for third on lap 12. By that point Alex Martin’s deficit to Savatgy was under a second and the two riders remained just bike lengths apart through to the finish, with Savatgy edging out Martin for his third moto win of the season. Jeremy Martin finished third.

Savatgy’s 2-1 moto results gave him the edge over Jeremy Martin in the overall standings, making him the first two-time winner of the season.

“It was almost a picture-perfect weekend. I qualified second and led first moto for long time, but I made a mistake. I had a motivational text from Ricky [Carmichael] waiting for me and I came back strong in the final moto,” said Savatgy, who became the 10th different 250 Class winner at Thunder Valley in 12 seasons.

“I got the red plate back [as points leader] and that’s awesome. I’m pumped. I wasn’t feeling great last weekend and was a little under the weather, but I went back to the [Carmichael] Farm and worked hard coming into this weekend. It’s a good way to go into the break, so I’m pumped.”

Jeremy Martin finished just two points back in second (1-3), while Alex Martin put both siblings on the podium for the second consecutive weekend in third (8-2).

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Results from Round 3 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish):

Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-4)
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (5-2)
Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (6-3)
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (3-6)
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (4-7)
Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (11-8)
Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Suzuki (10-10)
Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna (8-12)
Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda (7-13)

450 Class Championship Standings:

Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki – 143
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 131
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 114
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 97
Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 89
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki – 88
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 73
Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 64
Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 62
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki – 50

250 Class (Moto Finish):

Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (2-1)
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (1-3)
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (8-2)
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-6)
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (3-8)
Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Husqvarna (7-5)
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda (5-12)
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (12-7)
Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (17-4)
Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha (11-11)

250 Class Championship Standings:

Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 123
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 120
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 114
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 110
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 81
Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 80
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 78
Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM – 65
RJ Hampshire, Hudson Fla., Honda – 59
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda – 52