2020 Thunder Valley Motocross Recap
Perhaps too little too late, but three-time defending Champion Eli Tomac found some rails and rode them to just his second overall of the season, taking Round 8 of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series on Saturday at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, CO.
Tomac passed his title contending teammate Adam Cianciarulo after about five laps in Moto 2 and led the rest of the way looking in Championship form despite struggling at times with a clutch issue to get just his second Moto win of the season. His (3-1) day gave Tomac the tie-breaker over Cianciarulo who went (1-3). Tomac remains mathematically alive to four-peat but sitting in fourth-place in the standings 47 points back of first requires drastic circumstances to unfold next week for the final round in California.
The rookie Cianciarulo checked out in Moto 1 for his fourth race win of the season and looked good for the overall until series points leader Zach Osborne slipped by him in Moto 2 thanks to a near get-off from Cianciarulo when a rut on top of a jump swapped him sideways on the landing. Osborne (4-2) finished second in Moto 2 for third overall but still lost five points to Cianciarulo who sits in second-place in the standings and all signs pointing to a final race Championship showdown next week. Osborne holds a 24 point cushion over Cianciarulo so a win in the first race clinches the 2020 Motocross Championship.
Chase Sexton (2-5) and Christian Craig (7-4) rounded out the Top 5, respectively.
In the 250 class, Justin Cooper got his first overall of the season on a (2-1) day holding off Jeremy Martin (4-2) in the second race to secure the win. Martin, seeking his third 250 class title, lost significant ground to series leader Dylan Ferrandis who finished second overall on a (1-3) day. Ferrandis has won five of the last six Motos and leads Martin by 18 heading into the final round.
Motocross travels south to Fox Raceway for the final round, of this coronavirus shortened series, on Saturday in Pala, CA. Until then, live Thunder Valley MX all again! Photos by Ryne Swanberg.
2020 Thunder Valley Motocross
