A wide range of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 450MX and 250MX riders recap round six of the 2020 season at the Spring Creek national.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fifth:
A fifth overall should feel good, but it’s definitely not where we want to be and not where we need to be if we want to be in this title fight. I felt good today, but didn’t get the starts I needed to run up front and on this track, you really need to be out front early. The team and I will just keep grinding and work to improve on this for the remaining rounds. Overall, it was a consistent weekend of riding and we’ll look forward to Florida next weekend.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – First:
For the first time, I’m almost at a loss of words! Going 1-1 was huge for me. It’s a great accomplishment that I’m really proud of and something I wasn’t even able to do last year in the 250 Class when I won the championship. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and even though I had a rough start to the season, all the hard work is paying off. My Monster Energy Kawasaki team sets me up in a position to win every week, so it feels good to bring home a win for them.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Sixth:
I was doing great in moto two until having a mishap at the very top of the mountain on the left-hander before you drop off. I lost the rear just a little bit and it got sideways even more while I was flying in the air so when I landed I was still sideways and it hooked and I had a big crash. It was hard to get back up but I was able to get some points with 10th. I’m super-disappointed because I was looking forward to getting a podium today, but I’m very lucky right now to not be injured.

Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – 10th:
It’s not the day we had hoped for, but I still have the points lead and I’m still in a good spot. If someone would’ve said you’ll have a 15-point lead with three rounds to go I would’ve said sign me up! So now it’s time to fight for the goal.

Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) – Third:
Today was one of those warrior days, there were a lot of challenges – the track was extremely tough. I didn’t feel comfortable all day and just kind of struggled a little bit with the set-up, but I put in two solid motos and never gave up. I tried my hardest and came out with a podium, so that was really cool. It was definitely one of those days where you have to be really tough mentally and ride as hard as you can and try to keep it on two wheels. I would have liked for it to be easier and would have liked to win, but getting a podium on these hard days is a great result. All in all, it was a positive day and I’m looking forward to next weekend already.

Broc Tickle (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) – 17th:
It was a tough day for me from the start. I struggled to get a flow on the track and it was difficult for me to feel comfortable. Millville is normally prepped differently – it was super hard and slick. We had a decent practice, I was 11th overall for qualifying and I knew it was going to be important to get good starts and stay away from people. I didn’t do that, I put myself in bad positions in both motos. I ended up 12th in the first moto and in the second moto, I was coming through the pack and had a moment over a jump and had a big crash. I’m super-sore today and feeling banged up. I’m just going to take it day by day and see the progress heading into Jacksonville towards the end of the week to see where I’m at. I’m going to do what I need to do to try to get better and get back at the races.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Fourth:
Today started off good. I had the fastest qualifier and felt really good on the bike. In the first moto, I got a good start but ended up going down with one lap to go. I had another good start in the second moto. I made my way up to second and stayed there pretty much the whole race. I made a little mistake and slid out, ending up third for fourth overall. I’m looking forward to the Florida race, kind of a home race for me.

Christian Craig (Team Honda HRC) – Seventh:
This weekend went well. It was a beautiful day and the weather was finally good, with no rain. For qualifying, I was sixth in the first practice and fifth in the second. I ended up sixth overall, which was my best so far. In the first moto I got off to a mid-pack start, it wasn’t the greatest, but I made some quick passes up to ninth and then found myself in a heated battle with a lot of top guys, ending up seventh by the checkered flag. I got a better start in the second moto and was in eighth for a while. Eli Tomac got around me and then we made some passes. I was pretty much locked onto him and we went through the pack pretty well. We got up to Justin Barcia at one point and then we both got stuck in fifth and sixth. I finished seventh overall and I’m right on that cusp of breaking the top five, which is what I want, so I just have to keep pushing.

Joey Savatgy (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – Eighth:
Another tough weekend. In the first moto I was riding decently and about 20 minutes in I lost the rear brake. We made a suspension change for the second moto and it wasn’t in the right direction. We will try again next weekend.

Fredrik Noren (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – 11th:
I had two consistent motos and starts this weekend. It should be a good week of riding leading into WW Ranch. I’m looking forward to racing there.

Blake Baggett (Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS) – Second:
I’m giving it everything I got, RedBud reminded me that I got it in there and I can do it. I’m really just enjoying it. I’m enjoying being a dad and trying to put it up front. The goal is to try to be there at the end and if I don’t win, like today, going 2-2 is awesome. At the same time I was so close to pulling it off – at least they knew I was coming and that’s all that matters, so I’ll take it.

Justin Bogle (Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS) – 13th:
I’m getting stronger every weekend. I felt loose out there and flowing around the track today. I’m for sure making strides and they are showing in my results. We keep moving forward, progress and fight for a top 10 finish next weekend at WW Ranch.

250MX

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Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – First:
Finally it was a good day for me here in Millville. The last three years were a nightmare, which was a bummer since it’s my favorite track on the schedule. I had a big fight with my main rival in the championship, but the red plate is back on my Yamaha bike and it feels awesome.

Shane McElrath (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – 11th:
It was a subpar day for me today. I was just off all day and struggled every time I was on the track. We’re going to regroup and work on coming back stronger next weekend in Jacksonville.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – Fifth:
I struggled in moto one with some arm pump and was just really not riding like myself. In the second moto, we made a few changes, and I was able to fight with those guys up front for a while. Overall, it was another average weekend. I have got to put two motos together. On a positive note, I’m glad to be back on the podium in moto two.

Jarrett Frye (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – 15th:
It was an okay day for me. It started well, qualifying seventh and I was happy with that going into the motos. Two 14ths was not the moto scores I was looking for, but I’m going to take what I learned today and try to build off of it and be better next weekend.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – Sixth:
The weekend started off rough, I had a practice crash in the second session and it actually upset my hip a little more than I thought. I led half of the first moto and was feeling good, but I kind of jammed it again and it was just tough after that. We managed to still get 11th in the second moto, which isn’t great, but we had a lot of speed today and I’m stoked on my riding.

Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – 20th:
It was kind of one thing after another today. I went into the first moto with a good start and a decent pace but I had a freak accident and broke my forks. I came into the second moto with 38th gate pick and I had a decent start, but I ended up pulling my shoulder out on the second lap. It’s frustrating but we’ll get healed up and be ready to fight on home base.

Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 14th:
Millville was an up and down day for me. I had a pretty good start in the first moto and finished sixth. In the second moto, I felt really good for the first few laps. I was riding around fifth or sixth and was pushing towards the front, but I ended up crashing pretty hard and getting a handlebar to my stomach, which made me sick and forced me to pull in and unable to finish the moto. It definitely wasn’t the day we wanted but it was nice to get good starts. We’ll take that to Florida next week and give it our all.

Mitchell Harrison (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Ninth:
To be honest, it wasn’t the best day for me overall. I just struggled to feel comfortable and like myself on the bike. The positive is that we know what we need to fix heading into WW Ranch next weekend. We’ve only got a couple more rounds left to go, so I am going to continue to make the most of this incredible opportunity to ride the best 250 motorcycle in the paddock and aim to run up front next weekend where I belong.

Jeremy Martin (Geico Honda) – Second:
It’s good, I guess. I rode like garbage in that first moto, I didn’t get a very good start, I made a couple quick little passes, but I was struggling and I just basically got fifth. Then moto two kind of made a couple little changes to the shock to allow me to push a little bit harder and got a better start. I was dogging Dylan the whole time and trying to get him, but he’s fast. I just couldn’t quite get up there and get close enough to try to make a move and got second overall on the day.

Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda) – Seventh:
Back in the mix, a good step closer. I feel like I’m getting back to being the real Hunter Lawrence. Good starts, just rode a good race and was able to be relevant in the moto. It was good progress. We’ve done some testing with gearing that has helped with starts, and the dirt wasn’t tilled super deep, which helps us. Just a combination of a lot of things on the starts. The shoulder is good, no pain. It’s not at full strength capacity, but we’re getting a lot closer than we he been. Just getting better and better.

Jett Lawrence (Geico Honda) – Fourth:
First moto was really good, started around P6, made my way up to third, which put me in a good position to get an overall podium. Just had to make sure I executed my second moto, which I did not do that very well. I ended up getting a terrible start, I think I came back from about 80th up to sixth which was really good. Just have to keep my head down. Next round is WW Ranch which is sand and I really like sand so I can’t wait for that round.

Jo Shimoda (Geico Honda) – Eighth:
Yeah in qualifying I was little tight and took me a couple laps to figure out the track. Second qualifying did pretty good for seventh. Moto one, I got a really good jump out of the gate, but hit Alex Marten and Jalek Swoll on the straight-away, which put me around 20th and I caught up to 12th. I really wanted to get a better start and see what I could do in the second moto and I did get a better start, around 7-10. I made a couple of passes on the first lap and kept going for seventh.

Carson Mumford (Geico Honda) – 12th:
First moto, start, I had to be out of the top 20 – it was terrible, but somehow I came around 16th the first lap. I pretty much stayed there the whole race, made some late-race passes and finished 13th. Second moto, I started around 16th and guys either started fading or I’d come across a bike being down and I ended up 10th.

Alex Martin (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – Third:
It was pretty cool qualifying first in practice, I haven’t done that since like Unadilla 2016, so that was a good feeling for sure. It wasn’t an easy day for sure. I felt like I was scrapping for every second, every position, all day long. The JGR Yoshimura Suzuki got off to two great starts – top three both motos – and I just kinda rode my own race and tried to survive. It was brutal out there, it was right down to the end both motos, so I was happy to get a podium.