Justin Barcia wants everyone to know he's good in the mud. And in ideal riding conditions.
Fresh off his first career overall win in the 450 class that he took in very wet and muddy conditions last week at Budds Creek, Barcia followed up with another overall win, this time in perfect conditions at RedBud.
It proved, however, a bit more difficult as Round 7 of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series gave fans and a nationally televised audience on the Fourth of July an epic cat and mouse game.
Barcia grabbed his series leading MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in Moto 1 and held on to the lead for half the race until Dungey came along, passed him on the inside and stayed out front. Barcia held off the reigning Champion Ken Roczen for second which would prove most valuable later in the day.
Moto 2 started out just like the prior Moto and Moto 2 at Budds Creek with Barcia again taking the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award but this time around Dungey stayed upright instead of last week's header that dropped him near the back and ended his chance for a sweep at Budds Creek. With Dungey mere seconds behind, Barcia needed to hold on for the tie-breaking win. Both riders mounted a charge for the checkers as Barcia fended off Dungey exquisitely staying in front and holding on to his line. As the race wore on and the track wore down both riders nearly succumbed several times to their aggressive riding through the deep ruts and heavy bumps but avoided the get-off to keep their drive for an Independence Day win alive. Dungey could never manage a pass losing ground whenever he'd switch lines.
In the end, Barcia thrived under the pressure and led wire to wire for the win. He tied in points for the day with Dungey but took the overall for his second straight victory.
"It was amazing," Barcia said. "I feel like I finally made it. It's going to be a long series; we're climbing back in points."
Though Dungey was disappointed for the second-place result he still tacked on points to his lead in the standings and now leads Roczen, who took third overall with a (3-3) day by 44 points. Barcia moved a bit closer to the second place position and trails Roczen by 19 points. Barcia has shaved off 18 points in two rounds from his deficit to Roczen.
"The big picture, we made ground today, that's a plus but I really wanted that 1-1," Dungey said. "Justin was going good and I really tried to get up on him, I'd switch my lines and then I'd lose time."
Roczen didn't mince words on his performance saying he got beat straight up and he's got work to do. In Moto 1, he also twisted the ankle that ended his Supercross season early.
Tommy Hahn gutted out another Top 10 performance
Tommy Hahn, who rides for the MotoSport.com/GPI/Honda team, nailed down his second straight Top 10 performance with an eighth place in Moto 1 and 12th in Moto 2. He was the fastest qualifier on a Honda which carried over into the first Moto where he rode for a time in the sixth to seventh positions.
Ultimately, a showdown with Freddy Noren, who normally rides for the MotoSport team but is filling in for Trey Canard on the Honda Factory team, dumped Hahn in the dirt on the second to last straight away.
"It was still a great finish," said Guy Cooper, team manager. "Freddy was seventh, and Tommy eighth. It was a good, good ride."
In Moto 2, Hahn got a bad start landing him in 30th but the veteran worked his way to 12th and at the halfway point posted lap times on par with the Top 5 riders.
"He rode fantastic," Cooper said. "With a better start he would have two Top 10 starts."
Noren who got married on Sunday moved into 10th place in the standings, tied in points with Justin Brayton.
In the 250 class, the season long tug of war between Jeremy Martin and Marvin Musquin continued as Martin took back the lead with a sweep. Martin, the defending Champion, entered Redbud 10 points back from Musquin and now leads by seven.
As expected Cooper Webb, who returned in Round 6 after an ankle injury in Round 1 sidelined him, is now a podium contender and got on this box for the first time this season taking third overall. Zach Osborne took second overall and as a result moved from fifth to third in the standings.
In Moto 1, Webb battled Martin at the onset and took the lead after six laps. Martin eventually got passed by Musquin briefly before taking the runner-up spot back and passing Webb on the final lap to take the win. Zach Osborne finished third dropping Musquin to fourth.
In Moto 2, Christian Craig grabbed the MotoSport Holeshot Award and led for more than half the race until Webb took the lead. Meanwhile, Martin and Musquin, the Championship point leaders, finally went head-to-head on the track but for third-place and on the seventh lap, Martin cruised past Musquin who then lost fourth and fifth place crossing the finish line in sixth-place for sixth overall.
Up front Martin and Craig battled for second and then for first when Webb hit the dirt. Martin managed to get past Craig and take the win. Craig lost another position as Osborne finished second. Alex Martin followed up his second-place overall (tied in points with winner Musquin) at Budds Creek with a fifth overall.
Kyle Peters made the best of some bad starts at RedBud
MotoSport rider Kyle Peters finished 17th overall with a (16-18) day. In both Motos he posted bad starts but made use of good lines to work his way into the Top 20.
"We've got a week off and we have a couple of things to do," said Cooper, adding the team would look at changes to the chassis, fork, shock and pipe among others things.
Motocross gets another breather and resumes in two weeks at the Spring Creek National in Millville, MN. Buy tickets online or check out the TV schedule.
2015 RedBud National Motocross Results
RedBud National 450 Class Results
- Justin Barcia (2-1)
- Ryan Dungey (1-2)
- Ken Roczen (3-3)
- Broc Tickle (4-7)
- Weston Peick (5-6)
- Christophe Pourcel (10-4)
- Fredrik Noren (7-8)
- Blake Baggett (6-9)
- Justin Brayton (9-10)
- Tommy Hahn (8-12) - MotoSport rider
RedBud National 250 Class Results
- Jeremy Martin (1-1)
- Zach Osborne (3-2)
- Cooper Webb (2-5)
- Christian Craig (6-3)
- Alex Martin (5-4)
- Marvin Musquin (4-6)
- Aaron Plessinger (9-9)
- Chris Alldredge (8-10)
- Jessy Nelson (7-11)
- RJ Hampshire (14-8)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ryan Dungey (303)
- Ken Roczen (259)
- Justin Barcia (240)
- Blake Baggett (212)
- Jason Anderson (197)
- Broc Tickle (190)
- Christophe Pourcel (186)
- Weston Peick (171)
- Phillip Nicoletti (151)
- Freddy Noren (132)
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (298)
- Marvin Musquin (291)
- Zach Osborne (207)
- Joey Savatgy (191)
- Alex Martin (188)
- Jessy Nelson (188)
- Adam Cianciarulo (178)
- Matthew Bisceglia (142)
- Aaron Plessinger (142)
- Christopher Alldredge (137)
