Ryan Dungey showed no mercy on Saturday at Unadilla for Round 10 of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with a resounding sweep that pushed his lead for the title to 79 points with two rounds remaining.
Dungey won his third straight Moto, six of the last eight and 10th of the season. The win also marked his third straight overall and fifth overall of the season. He's finished first or second in every Moto this season except two. Justin Barcia finished second to Dungey for the third straight round and as a result took sole ownership of second-place and now has a 13 point lead over the reigning champion Ken Roczen.
In Moto 1, Barcia watched his holeshot streak end at seven as Justin Brayton grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award but he didn't hold on to the lead for long as Dungey quickly passed him and checked out winning by 13 seconds over Barcia. Trey Canard battled with Barcia for a time until a mistake sent Canard to the ground who quickly regrouped and held on to third. Brayton's success was short-lived as he finished 36th.
Roczen and Christophe Pourcel tangled at the onset sending both to the ground and though both returned to action, Roczen was clearly injured as he limped back on-board his Suzuki. He finished 16th for Moto 1 but Pourcel dropped out of the Top 20. MXGP star Shaun Simpson who swept the last round in Lommel overseas took fourth in his first time racing in the United States. Simpson is currently in sixth place in the MXGP standings.
In Moto 2, Justin Bogle grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award but like Brayton was quickly passed by Dungey. It was Bogle's first time racing in the 450 class and he finished 10th in Moto 1 after going bar-to-bar with Canard and crashing. He had a similar result in Moto 2 after battling with Barcia for second and crashing. He finished 18th overall.
Roczen returned to form for Moto 2 and finished second just a few lengths behind Dungey. The second-place finish was Roczen's highest since taking first in Moto 2 at High Point but it wasn't enough for an overall spot on the podium as he finished fifth. Canard took sixth in Moto 2 good enough for third overall, his first podium of the year in only his second round back from an injury sustained in the Supercross season. Barcia finished fourth for second overall and Pourcel took third for a 12th overall.
"Today was good. Got off to some good starts I think that really helped us in the day," Dungey said. "Got second off each start but was able to get into the lead by a couple corners after that and I just tried to really open up the gap."
Fredrik Noren tied a career best finish but crash in Moto 2 ruined his weekend
Fredrik Noren returned to the Honda Team filling in for Cole Seely who is out for the season after shoulder surgery and tied his career high finish in fifth for Moto 1 but an 18th place in Moto 2 dropped him out of the Top 10 with a 14th overall. Noren did not ride under the MotoSport tent but retains a sponsorship for the rest of the year.
"He fell in the first turn (for Moto 2) and came up in dead last. He made a good return but it was a bad weekend (overall)," said Guy Cooper, team manager for the MotoSport.com/GPI/Honda team.
The bad weekend started with Tommy Hahn, MotoSport's only primary rider in the 450 class, who is now out for the year. Hahn came up short on a double in practice, cartwheeled off the track and suffered a concussion, his second of the season. He also banged his knee on the handlebars and he'll have an MRI this week to determine the extent of the damage.
"Three laps in and there was a double that was on the track in my day," said Cooper, who won the 125cc Motocross Championship in 1990. "He came out of the corner wide and came right down on top of it."
Cooper said Hahn thought he broke his knee cap but after concussion tests were performed he was told his season was over since he'll need two weeks to recover. Hahn crashed on the same double that took out Cooper Webb and Bogle.
Tommy Hahn's day and season ended early at Unadilla
In the 250 class, Jeremy Martin and Marvin Musquin traded Moto wins but neither one claimed the overall as Joey Savatgy took second-place twice for his first career victory. Savatgy took the MotoSport.com Holeshot in Moto 1 and just missed taking the Moto 2 holeshot coming right behind RJ Hampshire. Savatgy led for a time in both races but settled on second as Martin, the series leader and defending Champion, took first in Moto 1 and Marvin Musquin took first in Moto 2.
The battle for the 250 Championship grew closer as Musquin took second overall after a (4-1) day and Martin took third overall after a (1-5) day. Martin holds a scant two point lead heading into Saturday's race in Utah. Webb, who won the last two rounds, was a non-factor this time finishing 21st overall. Savatgy's career day propelled him past Zach Osborne for third-place.
A mechanical issue in Moto 2 kept Peters from a Top 15
On the MotoSport/GPI/Honda team, Kyle Peters wasn't immune to the rough day dealt to MotoSport riders as an electrical connection came loose with three laps remaining in Moto 2. At the time Peters was riding in 16th with a couple of riders in front fading fast.
"We were hoping for a Top 15 finish," Cooper said.
Instead Peters, who is riding with an injured knee, finished 33rd for Moto 2 and a 20th overall. Japanese rider Toshiki Tomita ripped open his hand on a bolt under the clutch lever on the first lap of Moto 1 and lasted another four before returning to the pits for stitches. His status for Utah is undetermined.
"It was a terrible weekend for us," Cooper said.
Toshiki Tomita ripped his hand open on the first lap of Moto 1 ending his day and possibly his season
The penultimate round to the 2015 Motocross season is Saturday at the Utah National in Tooele, UT. Gates for Moto 1 drop at 12 p.m. (PST). Buy tickets online and check out the complete broadcast schedule.
2015 Unadilla National Motocross Results
Unadilla 450 Class Results
- Ryan Dungey (1-1)
- Justin Barcia (2-4)
- Trey Canard (3-6)
- Shaun Simpson (4-8)
- Ken Roczen (16-2)
- Broc Tickle (6-9)
- Weston Peick (12-5)
- Blake Baggett (13-7)
- Josh Grant (9-11)
- Dean Wilson (11-10)
Unadilla 250 Class Results
- Joey Savatgy (2-2)
- Marvin Musquin (4-1)
- Jeremy Martin (1-5)
- Jessy Nelson (6-4)
- Alex Martin (8-6)
- Shane McElrath (7-8)
- Christian Craig (5-10)
- Aaron Plessinger (16-3)
- Matt Bisceglia (12-9)
- RJ Hampshire (15-7)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ryan Dungey (450)
- Justin Barcia (371)
- Ken Roczen (358)
- Blake Baggett (297)
- Christophe Pourcel (267)
- Jason Anderson (263)
- Broc Tickle (253)
- Weston Peick (223)
- Phillip Nicoletti (209)
- Fredrik Noren (206) - MotoSport rider
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (416)
- Marvin Musquin (414)
- Joey Savatgy (284)
- Zach Osborne (277)
- Jessy Nelson (266)
- Alex Martin (261)
- Aaron Plessinger (228)
- Shane McElrath (208)
- Matthew Bisceglia (195)
- RJ Hampshire (189)
