Image: Octopi Media.

After two weekends off, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship returned to action and it was Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) dominating the day with a 1-1 sweep at Unadilla.

A rain-soaked night ahead of the first race day in three weeks’ time made for a rough and rutted racing surface as the day got underway. Roczen started off the day by setting the fastest lap in qualifying and foreshadowing what was to come in the motos.

After qualifying fastest, Roczen launched out of the gate to grab the holeshot in moto one ahead of Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) and red-plate holder and title rival Dylan Ferrandis.

Roczen and Plessinger ran from the chasing pack in the opening few laps, putting nearly 10 second on Ferrandis by the halfway point. Plessinger’s day would end abruptly with 10 minutes to go in the moto, looping out and hitting the ground hard, destroying his motorcycle in the process.

The Ohio rider would later head to the local hospital for further evaluation, and a relatively uneventful end to the moto saw Roczen cruise to the victory with 10 seconds between himself and Ferrandis as Tomac rounded out the top three.

As the gate dropped in moto two it was Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) rebounding from a first turn crash in moto one to take the holeshot, followed by Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) and Ferrandis.

Roczen made quick work of both Ferrandis and Webb with some crafty passes, slotting in behind his teammate and the duo darted out to a big advantage over third, which was then occupied by Ferrandis.

Roczen pulled the trigger after a mistake by Sexton, taking the lead with 20 minutes to go, stretching out a lead, and maintaining it for the rest of the moto.

Sexton mounted multiple charges to reel in Roczen to no avail, eventually taking second, with Ferrandis holding of Musquin for third. Webb maintained a solid pace throughout the moto and rounded out the top five.

Ferrandis’ season-long podium streak continued with a 2-3 finish on the day that gave him second overall. Ferrandis lost eight points to Roczen, leaving the gap at 39 points with just four rounds to go.

Third overall went to Musquin who notched 4-4 moto scores to round out the podium. This result was just his first podium of the year in what’s proven to be a season full of ups and downs for the Frenchman.

Eli Tomac put in 3-7 finishes for fourth overall in what was a quiet day for the multi-time champion, with Chase Sexton’s 11-2 scores giving him a fifth-place result on the day.

After what’s been a tough go in the outdoor championship so far, Cooper Webb put in a pair of solid rides, taking fifth in both motos which gave him sixth place on the day.

Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) showed great speed throughout the day but was mired by a tough start in moto one, eventually rallying to finish 7-6 in the motos to bring home seventh place.

Eighth place went to Englishman Max Anstie aboard his Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki. Anstie scoring back to back top 10 finishes, going 8-9 on the day to edge out Justin Bogle (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) who scored 9-12 finishes for ninth.

The final spot in the top 10 went to Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda) who continues to impress. Schock qualified inside the top 10 and went on to take 12-10 moto scores for his first top 10 overall of the season.

As the series now sets its sights on Budds Creek next weekend for round nine, Ferrandis leads the championship over Roczen by 39 points.

Detailed results