Following round seven of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross in Florida, check in with a wide range of riders from the WW Ranch national.

450MX

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Third:
Today we finally felt like we were back to normal a bit with how moto two shaped up. Moto one was similar to how the entire season has gone, where I get buried and couldn’t dig myself out of the hole, but moto two, I felt fresh and felt like I had a lot left in the tank physically to make that push. At this point we are out of the title fight, but that’s not going to stop me from pushing for moto wins these last two weekends.

Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fourth:
We put ourselves in such a good position both motos to grab another overall and close the points gap, so I’m pretty disappointed with how the second moto went. I needed to be a little stronger at the end of moto one to hold off Osborne and moto two I felt like I was doing everything right but left the door open and came together with Musquin. I did everything I could to salvage what I could. The good news is we are healthy and know what we need to improve on for the last two rounds.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – Second:
I came into this race not very well, physically, from my crash in Millville last weekend and then I had another crash in the second practice, so I went out there in not-so-great of shape but I gave my best and I’m happy with how I rode and my consistency. It’s a bummer that I lost 10 points on Zach in the championship but he was stronger than me today. I did what I could, so I’m happy to still be up on the podium.

Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – First:
It was a solid weekend going 1-1 for the overall. I was able to extend my cushion again in the points so it was exactly what we needed for the stretch run of this championship. I’m looking forward to the last two rounds and finishing it off.

Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) – 10th:
It wasn’t what we were hoping for at WW Ranch. In the first moto, I got a decent start and finished fifth. We made some changes to the bike for the second moto. I got the holeshot and was feeling awesome, and then had a big crash. I had to pull in, which was a bummer, but we were able to get back out there. I gave it everything I had and fought my way back up to 13th for 10th overall. It’s not the results I wanted, but all in all, have to look at the positives. I’m looking forward to next weekend.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – Fifth:
Today I qualified first in both practices, which was good. My speed has been really good. In the first moto I passed for the lead for about five seconds and then I got passed back, but overall, I feel like I’ve been riding really well. I got fifth overall today, which isn’t what we want, but I think we’re getting closer to the win that we want. I’m looking forward to the last two rounds.

Christian Craig (Team Honda HRC) – 11th:
WW started off pretty good. Qualifying was one of my best—I qualified fifth. I went into the motos pretty confident, but I got off to a bad start in the first moto. I had to make my way through the pack pretty quick and I got up to ninth or 10th. I was stuck there for a while, and unfortunately the heat got to me about halfway through. It was tough trying to hang on, not being used to the humidity at all, and I pretty much just rode it out in 10th. I had a better start in the second moto and rode up with those guys a little bit longer. I had some good battles and then the heat just took over again. I pretty much hung on for dear life. I ended up getting 10-10 for 11th. I was on a pretty good streak with some good motos, running up front, so I’m not happy with today. I have two more rounds to get into that top five.

Joey Savatgy (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – Ninth:
It was another struggle weekend for me. We have two rounds left for me to dig deep and finish strong.

Fredrik Noren (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – Eighth:
It was a good weekend for me. We did some testing this week. Riding down in Florida with Alex was good, that definitely put us in a good direction. With just two more rounds to go, I’m looking forward to finishing off the season strong.

Max Anstie (Twisted Tea HEP Motorsports Suzuki) – Seventh:
I’m making progress each week with myself, the bike and the team. I’m happy with a solid fourth in the second moto, it was nice to battle up near the front. On the first lap of moto one I went off the track and had to make a hard charge from a long way back, so it was nice to end up seventh overall. I’m looking forward to Colorado!

Blake Baggett (Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS) – Second:
It was a good day overall. I had the speed, I didn’t get the best starts, the track was tough and I didn’t move forward as quick as I should have. Still a good day and we will take the momentum into the last two rounds of the season.

Justin Bogle (Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS) – 13th:
Today was good. I felt really comfortable on the track and had the speed out there. It’s a shame I went down at the start of the second moto, as I felt I could have had a top ten finish. We are still making huge progress and will be ready at Thunder Valley next week

250MX

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Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – First:
We already knew that this race is one of the hardest of the circuit with the heat and humidity here in Florida, so every year you have to manage your energy more than giving everything you have. I got two good starts, and that helped a lot. From there I just tried to control the race. It worked really well. The team and I, we changed some stuff on the bike to improve my start and it worked, so that’s good news. I’ve made a small gap in the championship which is really, really good with two rounds to go. We’ll see how it goes. I’m in great shape. I think winning the Florida round shows that.

Shane McElrath (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – Fifth:
It was tough. It was a hot day today and the track was really rough. I’m not happy with my first moto. I started out front and ended up going back to eighth at one point and then somebody went down, so I ended up seventh. I just didn’t ride very well. I didn’t feel very good at all. The sand here, it’s pretty tough to ride in. My second moto was better though. It felt harder, but I just rode better and ended up fourth. I’m going to take what I got and use it for motivation for next weekend.

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – Second:
Once again, it was really hot here. I knew it was going to be hot coming in. I was at the track yesterday, so I kind of got to feel the heat here. It was just a good, solid day. We had a better first moto and an even better second moto. I knew I had second overall if I beat Jeremy, so that was the goal. Dylan was riding really well today. He got past me pretty early in the first moto and I tried to latch onto him. From there, I just tried to ride my laps and focus on myself. Overall, it was a really good day. I’m proud to put it back on the podium.

Jarrett Frye (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – 11th:
It was really hot today and the track was rough, so it definitely made it tough. The first moto I got a decent start and ended up 12th, but then the second moto I had an issue at the start and I missed the gate. I fought my way back and ended up 12th again. It was a decent day, but I want better.

RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) – 12th:
Today was tough. I was coming in injured and I didn’t ride all week so I tightened up in the first moto. I was able to put a late-race charge but I caught a rock off the biggest jump out there and it really scared me. I’m lucky enough to walk away with pretty much minor aches and pains but I’m sure I’ll be feeling it later. I salvaged what I could in the second moto and I’m ready to regroup and get back on the box next weekend.

Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – Seventh:
Honestly, we had a really tough day today here in Florida after I woke up this morning with what we think is food poisoning. I just felt really under the weather today and this is a track where you need every ounce of physical strength in your body. I threw up before, during and after my motos today. I just did my very best to salvage the day and am proud of the effort that we put in for 9-8 scores to go seventh overall on the day. We will focus on getting healthy for next weekend and come out swinging in Lakewood.

Mitchell Harrison (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) – 13th:
We started out the day decent by qualifying eighth. To be honest, I just didn’t ride the best or what I felt like was to my full potential. The first moto, I didn’t get the best start and just didn’t really go forward or backward. In moto two, my team had my bike so dialed in and I felt more like myself, but little mistakes kept costing me as I hit the ground three different times. I pride myself on my fitness and usually when it’s hot and humid like this is when I shine and my competitors fade, but today I didn’t feel like that was the case for me. I had 10th in moto two and made a costly mistake on the last lap which resulted in losing multiple positions. We have four motos left to the season to make it count.

Jeremy Martin (Geico Honda) – Third:
So, the first time I’ve ever been to WW Ranch and the track was pretty fun. I knew it was going to be high-speed, but dang it, man. I didn’t realize it would be that high-speed! Just a 3-3 day for me for third overall, so nothing fancy. Definitely, Dylan was riding really well today. He got really good starts both motos. He was out of the gate better than me. So I did what I could. I was kind of fighting it all day today, but I did everything that I could. We have two rounds left, so we’ll hopefully fight it in to the end here and see what happens.

Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda) – 14th:
Yeah mate, tough weekend in the Florida heat, riding in the first moto I felt wasn’t bad, a lot of positives. Coming through the pack to sixth, closing in on Alex Martin, I was really looking forward to the second moto because I knew my fitness was good and a lot of guys were suffering. Unfortunately we had an engine malfunction with the ‘flux capacitor’ that resulted in a DNF on lap three or four. Oh well, we’re healthy and fit leaving thankfully and looking forward to next weekend.

Jo Shimoda (Geico Honda) – Eighth:
Yeah, qualifying one on a new track for me, it just was hard to do a good lap time. I wasn’t fast enough. In qualifying two I found good lines and and more intensity finished P6 in that group, but P9 overall. In moto one, I picked a gate really far outside and it didn’t work, pretty much dead-last to eighth. Heat two, again bad start and it was really hot, it was a tough race. I could only manage 10th for eighth overall.

Carson Mumford (Geico Honda) – Ninth:
My weekend was pretty good, but qualifying was not good once again. It is hard to show up to a place I’ve never rode before and pin it, but I need to work on that. Races were good, I’m really happy with my fitness. I passed three people the last three laps of the first moto and got 10th and second moto was around 10th and crashed and charged hard to the end and passed for 11th on the last lap. The heat didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would until about four laps to go in the second moto. Then it hit me, but I was close to passing for 11th so I pushed harder than I ever have and luckily I made it happen.

Alex Martin (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) – Sixth:
It was a so-so day at the Florida national. The heat and humidity made the conditions pretty tough, and a second moto crash with my brother cost me a shot at another podium. Moving to third in points was a positive.