In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out at round three of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at High Point in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 12th:
I felt that I had a little bit of improvement with my riding in the second moto and felt a little better. It’s not good to be outside the top-10 but we’re going to shoot to be there for the rest of this season and I’ve really got to work on my starts to make that a little bit easier. In the second moto, I came from 24th on the first lap, so I need to be better than that. Overall, not the best finishes but we’re healthy and moving onto the next race.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) – Eighth:
In the first moto, the start was decent but the riding was not good enough and the feeling was not good enough so we decided to go back to some old settings on the shock and it shows, it was definitely better in the second moto. I didn’t get a good start but I was able to fight back, attack and race hard to come back to seventh place, so that was a lot better. Overall, I’m obviously not happy because we’ve been working hard and it didn’t pay off for this weekend, so we need to keep going.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) – 10th:
It was a bit of a struggle today. I felt like I put up a good fight in the first moto and ended up seventh. In the second moto, I got tangled on the start and I ended up crashing three times coming through the pack, so that was pretty unfortunate. Now we’ve got a weekend off and all we can do is try to improve.

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Seventh:
It was a little bit of a tough day. I just didn’t jive with the track that much and I never felt super comfortable. I think we’ll go back to California and work on a few things and try to be a lot better for RedBud in two weeks. All we can do is keep level-headed and be better for the next race.

Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – First:
It was a crazy day at High Point. I didn’t feel the greatest in Moto 1 but managed to finish second. I rode much better in Moto 2. I got a better start and had a big battle with my closest rivals in the championship, and finished second again. Getting the overall, and also to get the red plate back, is a dream come true.

Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – Sixth:
This weekend had some ups and downs. I was really happy with my riding in the first moto. I got a really bad start but had a really good flow going and came back to fifth place. I went into the second moto really confident and got an awesome start, but I couldn’t really find that flow that I had in the first moto, and I dropped back to eighth. The track was really tough. There were some spots that were dry and some spots that were soft. So it was definitely weird, but we have a weekend off and will get back to work and get ready for RedBud!

Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – 11th:
I didn’t have the best day at High Point. I seemed to struggle to find good lines and had a couple of crashes, but I was able to get through with some points. We’re going to go back to work and look forward to a better RedBud.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Second: 
It sure feels good to get that first moto win under my belt. I thought I had a decent-sized gap in the second moto, but Eli [Tomac] was flying and caught me a bit off-guard. Fair play to him and the others, they rode amazing. I’m stoked with how awesome my bike has been feeling lately. I honestly believe with a little more endurance, I can be a regular winner this season. Thanks to everyone at Monster Energy Kawasaki for giving me a great bike to ride and always supporting me. We have another break coming up, but I’m ready to build off of this and get back to racing.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Third:
This was a big one for us. I’ve been in a bit of slump these last two races, so to get a win and feel like myself on the bike again is huge. After I got off the gate in Moto 2 and saw I had a good jump, I knew it was going to be a good moto. I was able to catch Adam rather quickly and once I was in the clean air, I rode my own race and started pulling away. This was an exciting race, and I can’t wait to keep this momentum rolling into RedBud. Thanks again to the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki squad for all the hard work this weekend.

Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) – Fourth:
Today started off really good. I felt comfortable on the track, but we had a slightly different bike setup so in the first moto it really beat me up. I wasn’t that comfortable out there so I really couldn’t do that much. I still rode okay, but it wasn’t the best and I ended up third. In the second moto I was pinched off and had a really bad start. We did some adjustments to the bike that helped me out and I charged forward hard in the first half of the race and ended up having a good battle with Dylan [Ferrandis]. I ended up with another third place for fourth overall, which is kind of weird, but in the end, I’m okay with it because we rode really well and charged hard. That’s all we can do.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Fifth:
Overall, today was a little bit better of a day, qualifying third. I was running second behind Adam [Cianciarulo] for most of the first moto and then I hit a rock and fell over, so that was a bummer and I ended up fourth. In the second moto I just didn’t have much in the tank; I was pretty fatigued after the first one. I struggled a little bit during the week, but we have some time to rest now and get back to work.

250MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM) – 13th:
It was a little bit of a tough day today. Practice didn’t quite go the way I wanted it to and we did a little bit of a bike change before the first moto. I ended up going down and getting stuck under the bike so it took a while to get up and I did my best to charge back and score some points. We did a little more of a bike change in Moto 2 and that helped a lot. I got a good start but I made a few mistakes and ended up getting pushed back to ninth. I’m looking forward to the next round, I’ve got some things to work on myself and it’s going to be good.

Kailub Russell (Red Bull KTM) – 21st:
I felt like I had more to offer today but it’s tough with the first-turn crash and being that far back when you’re not used to being around that many people and hitting jumps and ruts and stuff. I was happy with how I rode in the first moto but I have some things to improve on and work on the next couple of weeks. I want to have some fun and do the best I can out there and I felt like today was a good day for that. I’d like to be better and more in the race but all in good time.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 15th:
Man, what a day. Moto 1 was honestly the best I’ve ever felt, just clicking them off, and it was cool to have Jalek up there with me going 1-2. Unfortunately, things happen and it’s tough but you kind of have to take it and try to build off it. I felt like today should have been a 1-1 day and we were onto something but I know we’re in a good spot, just need to keep our head up and looking forward to RedBud.

Stilez Robertson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – 14th:
The day had its ups and downs. In the first moto, I got a bad start and just didn’t ride very well. In the second moto, I got a good start and I was good for two laps and then went down and kind of got stuck on a berm. All-in-all, kind of a rough day but we’ll come out swinging for RedBud, it’s one of my favorite tracks so I’m excited.

Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – First:
To get my first outdoor podium and kick it off with a win is amazing. Right now, I just want to build off this, keep it going and try to do it again next weekend. I was actually so tired but I just dug deep – I knew I could do it; I’ve put in the hours and training for this. It wouldn’t be possible without all the people around me putting in the hard work. I’m at a loss for words right now.

Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – 12th:
I’ve been feeling pretty under the weather lately so I was just trying to make it through the day. We made it through healthy but it’s obviously not the result we wanted. I had two good starts, so I’m stoked on bettering my starts, but I just need to put everything together. I’m going to use this weekend off to get fully recovered and healthy for RedBud.

Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Sixth:
Overall I felt good and know my speed is there to be running up front. I need to work through that first lap. It’s never easy riding through the pack and I think we showed that with a good start we could be with those guys. We have another off weekend to fine-tune everything and hopefully put it all together at RedBud.

Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 11th:
It was such a disappointment that my day ended that way. I was so pumped with my first moto ride and knew I could have a chance at an overall podium finish. We’ll keep our heads up, work hard during the off weekend and come back stronger than ever at RedBud.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – Third:
The day was really good overall. I had a small mistake in Moto 1, a tipover that just kind of took the wind out of my sails. In the second moto, I got out front early and rode aggressively to pull a good lead and then managed it from there. I enjoyed the track and had a good time racing my dirt bike today. We’re feeling good going into the break.

Colt Nichols (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – Fourth:
We made some progress at High Point, so I can’t complain about that. I got some good starts and put myself in better positions, but I just didn’t ride and execute how I wanted to in that second moto. My bike was great, and honestly, the conditions were good, but the track is just really tough to ride when you don’t have a flow, and that was my Moto 2.

Jarrett Frye (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – 17th:
It was a tough day at High Point. I just struggled a bit all day and then crashed on the start in Moto 1. It was an uphill battle from there but I was able to finish 12th in Moto 2. We have another weekend off to work on some things and will be back at it Fourth of July weekend in Michigan.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Eighth:
Today was one of those days. Everything started off really good, except for the first-lap crashes in both motos! Starts were great, I was riding well and qualified second. I was up front in the first moto after getting the holeshot. I battled with Jalek [Swoll] in the first lap, but unfortunately, I gained a little too much speed downhill and crashed, putting me way back. My crashes ruined my overall results for the day, ending up eighth, but we’ll regroup and get ready for RedBud.

Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – Second:
Today’s first moto wasn’t too bad. I was a little disappointed in myself because I made a little ‘boo-boo’ with my goggles. I thought I only had about two or three tear-offs over my roll-offs, but I ended up having seven. My vision was blurry until I figured it out and pulled some more of them off. I was able to make my way through and got pretty lucky with a few guys crashing out and ended up getting third, which is really good for one of my bad races. In the second moto, I got a better start and made my way to second. I had a few goes at the leader but was kind of in no-man’s land. It was too much to try and put an attack on, but I had heaps of room behind me, so I ended up playing it safe and gained one point this weekend, which is always good. I’m trying to make gains, so overall it was a good weekend for me in my eyes, for not having such a great day of riding. Hopefully, we can just carry this onto RedBud, get a few wins and keep this train going.