For the second consecutive round, Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne has won the 450cc class in the United States Motocross Championships, extending his points lead at round two in Tennessee at the weekend.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team concluded part two of an unprecedented two-weekend stay at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, where the team rallied together to create a promising start to the 2020 AMA Pro Motocross Championship.
Team rider Osborne led the charge as he showcased incredible determination and heart to emerge as the 450MX overall winner at Loretta Lynn’s for a second-straight week, despite the most unfavourable of conditions and circumstances throughout the day. His team-mate, RJ Hampshire, put forth a notable performance in 250MX race one to claim his first race-win of the season amidst the chaos.
450MX CLASS
For Osborne, the end result turned out to be satisfactory but the path to get there wasn’t easy for the 450MX points leader, who experienced a freak issue with his bike at the start of Saturday’s one and only qualifier, due to immense rainfall and sloppy track conditions.
The team worked hard and fast to get Osborne back on-track just in time for him to secure a top-10 qualifying position from the “B” session. In race one, he got off to a bad start and rounded the opening lap in 31st.
He made an incredible charge through the muddy chaos to ultimately secure a top-five finish. In race two, he got off to a sixth-place start and worked his way into podium contention just before halfway. Sitting close behind in second heading into the final laps, Osborne eventually capitalized on a mistake from the race leader and overtook the lead with a strong push to the checkers. Finishing 5-1 on the day, Osborne clinched the overall win with a top performance in Tennessee.
Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo finished 3-5 for overall runner-up for the weekend, while KTM’s Marvin Musquin, from France, finished third with an 8-2 score-card.
“It was a lot of turmoil to start off the day but we turned it around with a 5-1 and kept the red plate, which is really a testament to what we have as a group,” Osborne said. “Overall, it was a great salvage and a great day for myself and my team.”
It was a tough start to the day for Anderson, last week’s race one winner, who got caught in the muddy cross-fire with a crash off the start in race one. He re-mounted at the back of the pack and began working his way through the field until another crash set him back once again. He came back strong in race two, rallying his way from a 13th place start all the way up to an impressive fourth-place finish in the moto. With 27-4 scores, Anderson salvaged a top-10 overall with ninth-place for the day.
“The weekend was kind of rough but the second moto went much better and I was able to work my way up to fourth,” Anderson said. “I’m ready to move on to the next round and keep pushing.”
250MX CLASS
Honda’s Jeremy Martin finished 3-2 to win the day while French Yamaha rider Dylan Ferrandis was runner-up with 2-4 results and Suzuki’s Alex Martin finished 7-1 for third.
In race one, Hampshire got off to a top-three start amidst a muddy mess and he diligently worked his way into the lead by lap four. He went on to lead 12 of the 15 laps to secure his first moto-win of the season by almost 10 seconds. In race two, Hampshire spun off the gate and ended up coming into contact with another rider and went down in the first corner, pushing him back to 30th on the opening lap. He went to work picking his way through the field where he reached as far up as eighth but he was unable to complete the final laps as his bike fell victim to the treacherous conditions. With 1-18 scores for the day, Hampshire salvaged sixth overall to sit fourth overall in the 250MX championship standings with one race win and a pair of podium finishes behind him.
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450MX Results
- Zach Osborne, Husqvarna (5-1)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki (3-5)
- Marvin Musquin, KTM (8-2)
250MX Results
- Jeremy Martin, Honda (3-2)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha (2-4)
- Alex Martin, Suzuki (7-1)
450MX Rider Points Standings – After 2 of 9 rounds
- Zach Osborne, 88 points
- Marvin Musquin, 69 points
- Justin Barcia, 59 points
250MX Rider Points Standings – After 2 of 9 rounds
- Dylan Ferrandis, 90 points
- Jeremy Martin, 84 points
- Alex Martin, 71 points