With temperatures nearing 100 degreed Fahrenheit, nothing came easy for the world’s fastest riders as the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its return to Southern California for the penultimate round of the summer season. The Maxxis Fox Raceway II National pushed racers to their limits, but as expected the biggest names in the series rose to the occasion in the quest for victory as the afternoon wrapped up with the celebration of a new champion.
Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis entered Fox Raceway in control of his own destiny, with a chance to clinch the 450 Class title one round early. The first year premier class rider has been a revelation throughout the 2021 campaign, and with the Edison Dye Cup lying in wait Ferrandis attacked the afternoon with the same drive that put him into championship position. While he just narrowly missed out on the win via tiebreaker, the Frenchman still captured the sport’s most coveted title to do what fellow countryman Jean-Michel Bayle did 30 years prior. It also served as a long overdue championship for Yamaha, which last won the 450 Class title well over a decade ago, in 2007 with Grant Langston.
While Ferrandis enjoyed the spoils of the championship, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac took charge of the overall win once again, securing back-to-back overall victories. Tomac’s winning effort by virtue of the single-most-dominant moto performance of the season in which he took the Moto 2 victory by more than 40 seconds.
And it was the best result this year for Briton Max Anstie who took sixth overall with sixth and fifth place finishes. He only recently recovered from Covid.
In the 250 Class, the last season surge by Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence continued and has put the young Australian on the cusp of his first professional title. For the second week in a row, Lawrence dominated and went 1-1 for the moto sweep. It signified his third straight victory at Fox Raceway, where he’s undefeated, and has helped Lawrence open up a 23-point lead in the championship standings withe one round remaining.
Results
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Maxxis Fox Raceway II National
Fox Raceway – Pala, California
September 4, 2021
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-1)
- Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-2)
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (4-3)
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (3-6)
- Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Yamaha (5-4)
- Max Anstie, England, Suzuki (6-5)
- Coty Schock, Dover, Del., Honda (7-7)
- Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., Suzuki (10-8)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM (9-9)
- Fredrik Noren, Sweden, KTM (11-10)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 12)
- Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 486
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 424
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 415
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 342
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 316
- Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Yamaha – 258
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 240
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM – 240
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 239
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 232
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (1-1)
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GASGAS (2-4)
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (5-2)
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki (4-3)
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-6)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-14)
- Dilan Schwartz, Alpine, Calif., Suzuki (10-8)
- Joshua Varize, Rialto, Calif., Husqvarna (9-9)
- Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Yamaha (12-7)
- Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (15-5)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 11 of 12)
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 464
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 441
- Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 349
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 327
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 307
- Jo Shimoda, Japan, Kawasaki – 300
- Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 240
- Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., GASGAS – 229
- Max Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., KTM – 202
- Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Husqvarna – 195