Ferrandis fires warning shot with AMA win

Under sunny Southern California skies a new season of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, got underway with a compelling opening event that provided a sneak peek into what is destined to be an exciting 12-round campaign. The DirtBikeKidz Fox Raceway I National, presented by Fox Racing, showcased the historic depth of talent across both classes of competition, where Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis prevailed with a surprise win in his first 450 Class start and Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence confirmed his position as a title contender with his second 250 Class victory.

The opening 450 Class moto of the 2021 championship saw newly crowned AMA Supercross Champion Cooper Webb emerge with the MotoSport.com Holeshot aboard his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine ahead of Ferrandis and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo. These three quickly jockeyed for position, during which Cianciarulo clawed his way past both riders to go from third to first before the completion of the opening lap. He quickly sprinted out to a multi-second lead over Webb, while Ferrandis and Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen battled for third.

Cianciarulo continued to build on his advantage and soon enjoyed a lead approaching the double digits just 10 minutes into the moto as Webb and Ferrandis asserted themselves into second and third. With firm control of the race, Cianciarulo saw it all go away in an instant when he crashed on one of the track’s downhills. He was able to remount, but lost multiple positions and reentered in fourth. That handed the lead to Webb, but not for long as Ferrandis seized the opportunity and took control of the top spot in his first 450 Class moto. Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton assumed third, just ahead of Cianciarulo.

Ferrandis edged out to a lead of just over three seconds past the halfway point of the moto, as Webb fell into the clutches of Sexton. The Honda rider, and defending race winner at Fox Raceway, made the pass for second and looked to close in on the Frenchman out front. As the moto wound down all eyes turned to Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia, who was on a tear and charged up the running order. Barcia picked off Roczen, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Aaron Plessinger, Cianciarulo, and Webb en route to podium position in third.

The run to the checkered flag was a thrilling one as Sexton’s persistence brought him to within striking distance of Ferrandis on the last lap. As they exited the final corner Sexton’s outside line gave him an edge in momentum that allowed him to get alongside Ferrandis off the final jump. They crossed the finish line side by side, with the edge to Ferrandis, who secured the moto win on his first attempt in the premier class, just .099 ahead of Sexton. Barcia finished an impressive third, while Plessinger and Webb completed the top five.

The deciding 450 Class moto kicked off with a Yamaha at the head of the pack as Plessinger earned the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by Roczen, Webb, and Cianciarulo. Known as one of the best starters in the sport, Roczen went on the offense and made the pass for the lead on Plessinger, as Cianciarulo moved up to third. Behind the leaders Ferrandis started from a spot deep in the top 10, while Sexton found himself on the ground in the first turn and started last in the 40-rider field.

Roczen sprinted out to an early multi-second advantage, his first laps led in Pro Motocross since 2019, while Plessinger gave chase. Cianciarulo lost ground to the lead duo but settled solidly into third, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne, the defending 450 Class Champion, gave chase from fourth.

As the moto wore on the battle for the overall win turned compelling as Roczen, Plessinger, and Ferrandis sat in a three-way tie early on. With the lead pair well over 10 seconds ahead of the field, the focus shifted to Ferrandis’ ability to continue to move forward, which he did in pursuit of another impressive ride by Barcia. Both riders passed Osborne and Cianciarulo, which moved Barcia into third and Ferrandis into fourth.

Just past the halfway point of the moto Plessinger started to put the pressure on Roczen for the lead. The German successfully withstood Plessinger’s move and forced the Yamaha rider into a mistake, which put some distance between the top two. Behind them, Ferrandis was able to get a firmer grasp on his lead in the overall classification with a pass on Barcia that moved the Frenchman into third. Roczen was able to build on his advantage as the moto wore on and carried on to capture his first moto win since the Unadilla National in August of 2019 by 11.8 seconds over Plessinger, with Ferrandis in third.

With his 1-3 moto finishes Ferrandis, last season’s 250 Class Champion, became the first rider since Ryan Villopoto in 2009 to win in his full time 450 Class debut in Pro Motocross. The Frenchman also gave Yamaha its first premier class win since the final round of the 2018 season. In his anticipated return to the championship, Roczen earned the second-moto tiebreaker to finish in the runner-up spot (6-1), while Plessinger captured his first podium result in third (4-2).

“It’s amazing. I think I need to just win one to feel a little bit more comfortable being in that position (up front),” said Ferrandis. “In the second moto I was feeling great. We came through the field and passed some really strong guys. It’s crazy, I (didn’t) wake up this morning thinking about winning the overall today, so it’s unbelievable. It looks like the hard work paid off.”

Ferrandis has established a five-point lead in the 450 Class standings over both Roczen and Plessinger, who sit tied for second.

The first 250 Class moto of the season saw young guns surge to the front of the field out the gate, as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Vohland stormed to the MotoSport.com Holeshot in his Pro Motocross debut, ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Stilez Robertson and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker. Just behind them Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Jeremy Martin, the lone past champion in the field, started to make his move forward and made the pass on Hammaker for third.

The field stabilized through the opening 10 minutes of the moto, as Vohland looked comfortable controlling the pace of the race. The second generation racer maintained the lead through the first half of the moto, while Martin patiently waited for his opportunity to get around Robertson and successfully moved into second. Behind the lead trio, the battle for the rest of the top five raged between a handful of contenders, as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire and Lawrence got the upper hand and eventually worked their way by Robertson to assume third and fourth, respectively.

With about 10 minutes left in the moto Martin began to close in on the rookie out front and took full advantage of his wealth of championship experience to make the pass for the lead look easy. As this unfolded, smoke began to emit from Vohland’s exhaust. Behind them, Lawrence made the pass on Hampshire to move into podium position and set his sights on Vohland. With less than five minutes to go Vohland pulled off the track, which handed second to Lawrence and moved Hampshire into third.

With Lawrence in second, Martin dropped the hammer and picked up the pace in the closing stages of the moto to prevent an attack from the young Australian. Martin carried on to take the first moto win of the 2021 season over Lawrence, who got to within a 2.8 seconds of the lead at the finish. Hampshire completed the top three, while Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Michael Mosiman and Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper rounded out the top five.

The second moto got underway with Martin edging out his teammate Cooper for the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by Vohland in third. Cooper was able to secure the lead over Martin and the pair of Yamahas looked to pull away. Lawrence got a much improved start and slotted in behind Vohland in fourth.

The Star Yamaha duo controlled the first half of the moto with relative ease, as Cooper was able to keep Martin at bay. However, Lawrence was lurking. The Honda rider applied heavy pressure on Martin as the moto surpassed the 15-minute mark and made an impressive move to get by the first moto winner. Lawrence kept his head down and soon closed onto the rear of Cooper for the lead. He wasted little time and went on the attack with a head of steam down the finish line straight that carried him by Cooper and into control of the moto.

Once into the lead, Lawrence opened up a healthy advantage as Cooper and Martin battled for second. Martin knew time was of the essence if he wanted to keep his hopes of an overall victory alive and he made the pass on Cooper to take control of second. About four seconds separated Lawrence from Martin, which Lawrence was able to maintain through to the finish to capture the second moto win and secure the overall victory. He took the checkered flag 4.9 seconds ahead of Martin, while Cooper finished a distant third.

With identical moto finishes Lawrence (2-1) and Martin (1-2) finished tied atop the overall classification, but the second moto tiebreaker proved to be the difference maker in Lawrence’s favor. It was the second career win for the Aussie, with back-to-back victories dating back to the final round of the 2020 season, also at Fox Raceway. Cooper’s strong second moto allowed him to also earn the tiebreaker to capture the final spot on the overall podium (5-3).

“It’s definitely a good feeling. Winning is good,” said Lawrence. “It’s good because with all the hard work I’ve been putting in I can prove to everyone that I’m not just a kid with talent. I’ve been putting the work in and it’s starting to pay off. It’s awesome to get the red plate, but I need to keep it up for the next 22 motos.”

Lawrence and Martin now share possession of the red plate as co-point leaders. They’ve established an 11-point lead over Cooper and Mosiman, who sit tied for third in the point standings.

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend with its second round of the 2021 season. The mile-high elevation of Lakewood, Colorado’s Thunder Valley Motocross Park will challenge riders at the Toyota Thunder Valley National, which will take place on Saturday, June 5. Broadcast coverage will begin with a live telecast of the opening motos on MAVTV Motorsports Network, beginning at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET. Second moto coverage will air via tape delay on NBC Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET. Action from Thunder Valley will also stream live all day long on Peacock, beginning with exclusive qualifying coverage at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET, followed by four consecutive hours of moto coverage beginning at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET.

Results

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
DirtBikeKidz Fox Raceway I National
Fox Raceway – Pala, California
May 29, 2021

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-3)Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (6-1)Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (4-2)Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (3-6)Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-10)Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (10-4)Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (8-7)Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (5-11)Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (9-8)Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (13-5)450 Class Championship Standings (Round 1 of 12)Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 45Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 40Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 40Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 35Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 33Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 29Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 27Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 26Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 25Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 24250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (2-1)Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (1-2)Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (5-3)Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GASGAS (4-4)RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-9)Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-5)Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (8-6)Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (7-8)Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (9-12)Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki (14-11)250 Class Championship Standings (Round 1 of 12)Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 47Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 47Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 36Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GASGAS – 36RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 32Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 31Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha – 28Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 27Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 21Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki – 17Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna – 17