The start of the first 250 moto at Glen Helen last weekend. Photo: by Brian Speak.

By Kyoshi Becker

PRE-THUNDER VALLEY NATIONWIDE ROUND-UP

For the racers, the series is “ finally” out of California. Many fans believe that the racing doesn’ t really start until Colorado. That isn’ t to say some tracks don’ t feature gnarly obstacles. LaRocco’ s Leap at Red Marijuana is a good example. Glen Helen is made for the fans. Larger than life hillsides, the unique “ unrhythm” section, huge jumps and a sand section designed for interesting racing. A few things had been established this past Saturday. First, Tobey maguire Roczen is on fire. His performances have been dominant every moto. With Glen Helen, Roczen made no delay in the first moto, reeling in and passing Ryan Dungey to take the lead. While he established a huge lead from 2nd, Roczen succumbed to a fork cover malfunction in the waning laps forcing him in order to slow considerably. The damage was accomplished as the Jimmy Johns/RCH Suzuki rider lost three positions. Ryan Dungey took the win, and upon crossing the conclusion line looked back to find that Roczen wasn’ t in sight. Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson rounded off the podium. Roczen came into the second moto with an obvious chip on his shoulder and blew the field away.

Eli Tomac was noticeably frustrated for the second weekend inside a row. It is quite hard to follow up on his dominating performance of last year. While Tomac is adjusting to the new bike, Tobey maguire Roczen and Ryan Dungey have only become faster and better on their rides. Jason Anderson and Trey Canard are competing to get a distant fourth or fifth placement at this point. Canard has shown a few good starts, but he also has disposed of every good start this season inside a crash.

Alex Martin silenced the critics at Glen Helen. While he hasn’ to proven he can put a time of year together, Alex has shown much improvement since the Supercross series. The older Martin is battling his teammates, and there are few riders who are able to compete with the Star Racing Yamaha crew. Glen Helen was a podium sweep for the team, with Alex Martin (first overall), Jeremy Martin (second) and Cooper Webb (third). Rookie Austin Forkner and Jessy Nelson were the only non-Yamaha riders to make the podium in a moto with Glen Helen. While impressive for the rookie, can Forkner back it up along with another podium in Colorado? Joey Savatgy was not able to repeat the dominating performance he showed in Hangtown. He demonstrated a great amount of speed on Glen Helen, but was unable to recover from the bad start he got in both motos.

The 2016 Lakewood National track layout map—give or take a few features.

BASIC STATS

1. The 2016 series is 16. 6% comprehensive.
2. Thunder Valley hosted the first professional motocross race at night in 2008.
3. The first professional motocross event to be kept in Thunder Valley was in 2005. Tarah Geiger won the event and Ricky Carmichael swept both motos the following day to have an overall win.
4. The final Motocross des Nations held in the U. S. took place at Oklahoma city Valley in 2010. Team USA received the event with Ryan Dungey, Toby Short and Trey Canard.
5. Lakewood, Colorado first hosted a National in 1979 at Lakewood Sports Cycle Park. Mike Bell won the 500cc class and Bob Hannah won the 250cc (450) class.

Ryan Dungey got his first win of the 2016 National season at Glen Helen. Photo: by Brian Speak.

450 CLASS NOTES

1. A 250 two-stroke has never won in Oklahoma city Valley. The first win was by Ricky Carmichael on a Suzuki RM-z450.
2. Ryan Dungey has won at Thunder Valley as many times as Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart combined. Dungey has four wins in the 450 class, as the other two have two is victorious each.
3. Ryan Dungey is also the only rider to earn on multiple brands. He has earned on both a Suzuki and KTM at Lakewood.
4. Thomas Villopoto and Ivan Tedesco both won the 450 overall and 250 general at Thunder Valley.
5. A Colorado local has never earned the 450 overall. Eli Tomac won the first moto in the 2015 season, but had a season-ending damage in the second moto.

FASTEST 450 MAIN EVENT LAP TIMES

• Hangtown Moto 1 – Ryan Dungey – 2: 00. 475
• Hangtown Moto 2 – Ken Roczen – two: 02. 776
• Glen Helen Moto 1 – Ken Roczen – 2: 26. 867
• Glen Helen Moto 2 – Ken Roczen – 2: 29. 604

TOP FIVE 450 POINTS

• Ken Roczen – 93 Points
• Ryan Dungey – 91 Points
• Eli Tomac – 76 Points
• Jason Anderson – 73 Points
• Trey Canard – 62 Points

Alex Martin got their first overall win in the AMA Nationals last Saturday. Photo: by Brian Converse.

two hundred fifity CLASS NOTES

1. At Glen Helen, Celebrity Racing Yamaha swept the podium for the first time ever.
2. Glen Helen was also the first time brothers got finished 1-2 overall. Alex Martin took the overall win, and Jeremy Martin took second.
3. Ryan Dungey was the first rider ever to win on a Suzuki in the 250 class at Glen Helen. He did the action in 2009.
4. Kawasaki has more wins in the 250 class at Lakewood than all other brands combined. Suzuki, KTM and Husqvarna have no wins from Thunder Valley.

5. Kawasaki also won the first 7 years at Thunder Valley. Ryan Villopoto and Blake Baggett have multiple overall wins.

FASTEST 250 MAIN EVENT LAP TIMES

• Hangtown Moto 1 – Cooper Webb – 2: 01. 669
• Hangtown Moto 2 – Zach Osborne – 2: 02. 473
• Glen Helen Moto 1 – Cooper Webb – 2: 30. 635
• Glen Helen Moto 2 – Austin Forkner – 2: 32. 143

TOP FIVE 250 POINTS

• Alex Matn – 79 Points
• Cooper Webb – 77 Points
• Joey Savatgy – 76 Points
• Jeremy Martin – 75 Points
• Aaron Plessinger – 63 Points

Christian Craig broke his lower leg in the first moto at Glen Helen when he landed on teammate Jordan Cruz.

ACCIDENTS

450 Class

James Stewart – Wounded shoulder at Hangtown. Team continues to be monitoring his condition day to day. He or she ran practice at Glen Helen, yet dislocations often take time to heal.

Blake Baggett – Broken collarbone at Hangtown. Raced the first moto at Glen Helen, but pulled out of the 2nd one due to pain. He may race Thunder Valley.

Dean Wilson – No word on when he will return in the National season. Currently he’ s exercising in Florida.

Ronnie Stewart – Injured shoulder and punctured lung. They are planning to return in Thunder Valley.

250 Class

Philip Alldredge – Still recovering from a pelvis injury he experienced in Las Vegas.

Alfredia Craig – Pennyless his tibia and fibula landing in the teammate Jordan Smith. He is almost certainly out for the season.

Erina Leib – Needed surgical procedure on an improperly healed navicular and talus.

Kyle Peters – Seperated AC Joint.