Hot and humid described Round 5 of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series held at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, TN on Saturday but it did little to stop Ken Roczen as he extended his win streak and added to what's close to an insurmountable lead in the points standings.
Roczen didn't get the best of starts in Moto 1 as Cole Seely grabbed the holeshot and led for half the race after briefly falling to fourth-place in the first lap before getting back out front. Phil Nicoletti followed around the first turn and Christophe Pourcel, who qualified fastest, fought him for second.
But lurking in fifth was Roczen who slowly worked his way in to second-place. With about 20 minutes remaining, Nicoletti and Justin Barcia made contact, both hitting the dirt, which opened up a lane for Eli Tomac, who brought the fight to Roczen while Seely held on to the lead. Roczen fought off Tomac for a few laps before challenging Seely for the front which he grabbed with about five minutes left. Tomac managed to get by Seely for second and Seely held on for third.
In Moto 2, Broc Tickle got the holeshot followed by Justin Brayton and Marvin Musquin with Seely, Roczen and Tomac rounding out the Top 6. Tomac, who is Roczen's primary competitor for the title with Ryan Dungey out for the season, made a quick pass on Roczen early but it didn't stick as Roczen grabbed the lead about four minutes in, with Tickle holding on to second and Tomac third. Shortly after, Tomac got in to second and for about 25 minutes Tomac followed Roczen not making much of a move until time ran out and three laps remained.
Ken Roczen celebrates another win and overall
Roczen started losing time because of lappers allowing Tomac to close, the two almost colliding at one point as Tomac made some aggressive approaches even getting a wheel out front a few times on turns, before Roczen closed the door. Just when Tomac looked to have the edge, Roczen held his line and on the final lap a few mistakes cost Tomac some time and ultimately the win and overall.
"This is the way you want to win a race," Roczen said. "(Tomac) was pushing in the last couple of laps, it's all about how bad you want it. Got away with another one-one, I can't complain."
The two Moto wins extend Roczen's streak to seven and he's won nine of 10 Motos this year. The result pushed his lead to 47 points over Tomac who had his best round of the season but has yet to win a race. The difference though is Tomac lost Moto 1 by less than six seconds and Moto 2 by less than two seconds instead of 30-plus seconds earlier this season.
Eli Tomac was in Ken Roczen's rear view in both Motos at Muddy Creek
"We were both just in the zone, that's all you can really say about it. We were both nailing our lines," Tomac said. "In the middle of the race he was a little ways ahead of me, kind of out of touch, (but) brought him back a little bit at the end."
Tomac said the two took lines from each other throughout the cat and mouse fight in Moto 2 and both had their good areas of racing but he wants to be the guy crossing the checkers first next week. Broc Tickle held on for third and the (3-6) day was good enough for third overall, his best finish this season. He took the tie-breaker from Seely who took sixth in Moto 2.
"It's so awesome, I've had a couple of injuries over the last couple of years but finally gaining some confidence and momentum," he said.
Musquin who stepped on the podium last week for the first time as a 450 rider finished in fifth with a (9-4) day. He moves in to fourth-place in the standings ahead of his teammates Dungey and Jason Anderson, who are both out with injuries. Seely moves into third-place passing Dungey but is 45 points behind Tomac. Blake Baggett returned to action after breaking his collarbone in Round 1 and finished eighth overall.
Cooper Webb celebrates his first overall of the season at mUddy Creek
In the 250 class, Cooper Webb got his first overall of the season with a (2-1) day and most of all closed the points gap with Joey Savatgy, who took first in Moto 1 but a crash in Moto 2 dropped him to seventh. Savatgy entered the day with three overalls on the season and a 20 point lead which shrunk to 12.
Two-time defending Champion Jeremy Martin continued with season long struggles as he finished fifth overall with a (6-5) day and his brother Alex, who looked ripe to contend for the Championship after winning his first career overall at Round 2 and showing blazing speed all season, endured a crash and another bike malfunction in Moto 1 which dropped him to 19th place and a ninth overall after taking third in Moto 2. In the last four Motos, Alex netted 44 points out of 100 possible.
Shane McElrath took third overall at Tennessee, a season best
Jeremy Martin is 32 points from first and Alex, after riding the red plate for Round 3 is now 47 points back from the lead. Elsewhere, Shane McElrath had his best ride of the season taking third overall after a (5-2) day and the holeshot in Moto 2, while Jordon Smith also had his best ride of the year finishing fourth-overall with a (4-6) day.
Redbud hosts Round 6 and the Fourth of July race on Saturday in Buchanan, MI.
2016 Tennessee Motocross Results
Tennessee 450 Class Results
- Ken Roczen (1-1)
- Eli Tomac (2-2)
- Broc Tickle (6-3)
- Cole Seely (3-6)
- Marvin Musquin (7-4)
- Christophe Pourcel (4-8)
- Weston Peick (5-9)
- Blake Baggett (8-7)
- Justin Brayton (9-11)
- Justin Bogle (13-10)
Tennessee 250 Class Results
- Cooper Webb (2-1)
- Joey Savatgy (2-7)
- Shane McElrath (5-2)
- Jordon Smith (4-6)
- Jeremy Martin (6-5)
- Zach Osborne (3-10)
- Austin Forkner (10-4)
- RJ Hampshire (9-9)
- Alex Martin (19-3)
- Arnaud Tonus (12-8)
2016 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ken Roczen (243)
- Eli Tomac (196)
- Cole Seely (151)
- Marvin Musquin (136)
- Ryan Dungey (131)
- Jason Anderson (113)
- Broc Tickle (109)
- Justin Barcia (108)
- Christophe Pourcel (107)
- Trey Canard (97)
250 Class Standings
- Joey Savatgy (205)
- Cooper Webb (193)
- Jeremy Martin (173)
- Alex Martin (158)
- Zach Osborne (152)
- Austin Forkner (138)
- Aaron Plessinger (131)
- RJ Hampshire (103)
- Jordon Smith (100)
- Shane McElrath (96)
