Ironman Motocross Race Report 2016

Ken Roczen iced the championship cake on the final round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series in Crawfordsville, Indiana, putting a 1-1 final touch on a season which has been one of the more spectacular of the last few years. The moto sweep was the 9th of the season for the RCH Rising Eagle/Jimmy John's/Suzuki Factory Racing-backed Roczen and it earned him his ninth overall victory. As per his Meters. O. in 2016, Roczen attached to the front on the first lap of each moto and pulled aside.

"I went for another win because all of us wanted to finish the season off strong and not slack off, ” stated Roczen. “It was really tough to stay motivated, but I knew there were another race this week. I ultimately knew I would come here psychologically ready and I couldn't be happier to end the season this way and move ahead to the offseason feeling like we all did everything we came here to do this summer. "

Was this the final race for Roczen on a Suzuki? He wouldn’t say. But we know for sure he’s riding the Creature Energy Cup so we’ll see what happens.

Fresh away from a podium finish at last weekends Budds Creek National, Justin Barcia carried that momentum into Indiana and came away with a solid runner-up finish behind Roczen, heading 2-2 on the day. The Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha rider narrowly missed out on the holeshot in moto one, exiting the very first turn just behind Roczen then spent the majority of the 30-minute plus 2 laps moto nipping at the high heels of the race leader before ultimately settling for second, although a late moto tip-over made for a few anxious moments.

Barcia was second off the line again in moto two, and he maintained that spot for the particular duration of the race, finishing the season with back-to-back podiums and second place overall (2-2) on the day. His recent hot streak landed your pet fourth place in the championship stage standings.

Next up for Barica is this weekend’s MXGP in Charlotte.

Tomac, third put on the day, was a victim of their starts, getting off the line just away from top-five in both motos, which gave Roczen enough time to put some distance on the Monster Energy Kawasaki driver right off the bat.

In the first moto, Tomac went down while battling for third and dropped momentarily to fourth. Midway into the race, Tomac made the pass on Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin for the final podium position, taking the checkers in third.

Tomac began sixth in moto two, unfortunately he into third by the halfway point of the race. Although he was able to close the gap to second, Tomac would cross the line in third, his 3-3 performance getting him a third overall.

“I was a little ways back on the start yet made my way up to third pretty quickly, ” said Tomac. “After I made the pass, I made a mistake and had to start all over again. Luckily I was able to reel him in and make the complete, but the track was really tough. The particular lines and the ruts were altering every lap, they were really deeply and it was hard just maintaining your feet on the pegs. Most of the troubles from the day stem from my starts, otherwise I feel I rode how I should have. ”

Musquin spent all day chasing Tomac for the final podium spot, although the Fremchman needed to settle for fourth in the end with a 4-4 moto tally.

“I didn’t finish within the overall podium but 4-4, that is what I could do, ” stated Musquin. “It’s been a long season so to finish 3rd place in the championship is good for the first year within the 450 Class. ”

Jason Anderson made his come back from multiple injuries at the Ironman and turned in a solid 5-5 with regard to fifth overall. After sitting many races out, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider put on an excellent return ride to end the season with a strong performance. Jason wanted to get some chair time in preparation for the upcoming Motocross of Nations, and started the day with the fourth-fastest time in qualifying.

Anderson got off to a mid-pack start in moto one, but charged hard to work his way into fifth right at the end of the moto. In moto two, Anderson got a slightly better start and made a set you back the top five early in the competition, passing for fourth on lap one. However , Tomac would complete Anderson on lap five, losing the Husky rider to 5th.

“I want to be up with those front guys, ” said Anderson. “This was obviously a tough race to come back on. It was probably the roughest track I’ve actually ridden. I could have been better if I would have raced all season, yet I still feel like I did pretty well considering I was on the couch for the majority of the summer. I’m going back to California and will focus on getting ready for Des Nations. "

Finally, Andrew Short finished off his career within grand style by grabbing the holeshot in the final moto at the Ironman National, although he ultimately had to pull out of the race because of mechanical issue in the final professional race of this career.

250 Class

The first 250 moto belonged to Austin Forkner as the 17-year-old Monster Energy Pro Circuit rider from Missouri led every lap of the race to claim his second career moto victory. There is plenty going on behind Forkner, nevertheless , as newly crowned 250 champ Cooper Webb went down in a rutted turn while running second and dropped back to 13th, allowing Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Alex Martin to inherit second and third. The two immediately engaged in a enthusiastic fight over second, as they flushed and re-passed in a bitter battle over the runner-up slot.

Webb managed to function his way back through the pack and late in the race started challenging Martin for third but took place again, leave Martin to trip away unchallenged in third.

Out front side, Forkner cruised to his 2nd career moto win by nearly 29 seconds over Savatgy within second, while Martin survived Webb's late pressure to finish third. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Arnaud Tonus could take advantage of Webb's lack of goggles to help make the pass for fourth on the final lap, with the champ rounding out the top five.

In moto two, Forkner grabbed the holeshot again, edging out Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Aaron Plessinger, although Plessinger's momentum transported him into the lead, with Forkner second and Webb third.

Forkner took over the lead when Plessinger almost crashed near the end of the opening lap, as Webb fought their way back into third, passing each Martin and Cianciarulo.

Forkner crashed on lap eight, enabling Plessinger back into the lead, which he never relinquish. Plessinger went on to take the moto win, because Webb managed to slip past Forkner for second late in the competition. Forkners 1-3 was good enough for your overall win ahead of Plessinger’s runner-up score of 8-1. Webb finished third at 5-2, while Alex Martin (3-4) and Adam Cianciarulo (6-5) rounded out the top five.

RESULTS

450 Class Overall

1 Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)

2 Justin Barcia, Monroe, In. Y., Yamaha (2-2)

3 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (3-3)

4 Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (4-4)

5 Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N. M., Husqvarna (5-5)

6 Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N. Y., Yamaha (6-8)

7 Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (8-7)

almost eight Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Suzuki (11-6)

9 Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Ford (9-9)

10 Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (7-11)

250 Class

1 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (1-3)

2 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (8-1)

3 Cooper Webb, Newport, N. C., Yamaha (5-2)

4 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (3-4)

5 Adam Cianciarulo, Port Fruit, Fla., Kawasaki (6-5)

6 Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki (4-9)

7 Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha (10-6)

8 Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM (7-13)

9 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (2-34)

10 Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM (15-7)