As expected, Round 11 of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series helped shape a final race showdown in the 450 class next week and Round 12 at the Utah National turns into a victory lap for 250 class champion Jeremy Martin who will ride with the #1 plate.
In very wet and muddy racing conditions where the bright-colored rider jerseys quickly gave way to a full coat of brown, the first-ever Nationals held at the Ironman Raceway on Saturday in Indiana brought some surprises from the 450 field but the point standings changed little.
MotoSport-sponsored rider Weston Peick landed out of the Top 10 for just the second time this year with an 11th overall stemming from an 11-7 day. He tied in points for the day with Brett Metcalfe - 12th overall - who Peick is trying to catch in the standings. Metcalfe retained his hold on fourth-place in the point standings.
Weston Peick struggled in the mud at Indiana National
MotoSport-rider Tucker Saye had his best ride of the year taking 20th overall after finishing 20th in Moto 1 and 18th in Moto 2. It was the first time Saye received points this season. Jimmy Albertson had a rough first-time race at Ironman, receiving no points and finishing 34th overall.
Tucker Saye has best ride of the year
Rounding out the rest, rookie Ken Roczen won his first Moto and overall since Budds Creek which helped put some distance in his championship lead over Ryan Dungey who finished in second for Moto 1 but season worst ninth in Moto 2. Dungey still managed a third-place overall coming in well behind Trey Canard, who went 3-1 and now has taken two of the last three Motos grabbing second overall for the second week in a row.
Canard locked up third-place on the Championship podium but cannot catch Dungey for second - no matter what happens next week. The showdown then between the Red Bull KTM teammates is indeed set for Saturday at the Utah National. Dungey needs to win 21 more points than Roczen at Utah, a pretty difficult feat considering Roczen's lowest Moto finish all season has been fourth which only happened twice.
Jimmy Albertson received no points on Saturday
Former MotoSport-sponsored rider Ryan Sipes who retired last year and entered the 2014 Grand National Cross Country series this year may rethink his future after finishing fourth overall with a 10-3 showing. Sipes, who is in a near three-month long break for GNCC, has raced every Motocross Round since High Point, filling in for Davi Millsaps on the Rockstar KTM team, and is now in the Top 20 for points. Eli Tomac took seventh overall, his worst outing of the season, but retained fifth-place in the standings though he lost some ground to Andrew Short who tied Sipes in points but got fifth overall. Peick, Short, Tomac and Metcalfe battle it out for final placements in Utah.
Joey Savatgy rides to season-best second overall
In the 250 class, Joey Savatgy, who rides for the MotoSport-sponsored Rockstar Energy KTM team, continued his year-end hot streak tying Moto 1 winner Jessy Nelson in points but taking second overall for his 4-3 day. It was Savatgy's fourth straight Top 7 finish. His teammate, Jason Anderson rebounded from a few lost weeks in points placing ninth overall after a fifth-place finish in Moto 1 and 10th in Moto 2. Anderson cannot end the year any better than seventh-place for the season. However, Savatgy is riding for a spot in the Top 10 and is currently in 12th-place just 10 points behind Dean Wilson and Alex Martin, 10th- and 11th-place, respectively.
Jason Anderson gets back into the Top 10 at Indiana
For the rest of the 250s, the day belonged to Jeremy Martin who wrapped up the 250 class Motocross Championship, his first career title, after a second-place finish in Moto 1. Martin finished eighth overall after a casual 15th place in Moto 2.
"It's an amazing feeling," Martin said, "I heard the fans cheering me on the whole time out there, and that was the motivation I needed. You guys (the fans) have been cheering me on all year, and you don't know how much that means to me. I can't believe I'm the champion, it's kind of like 'pinch me.'"
Jeremy Martin celebrates his 250 class Motocross Championship
Martin's championship ride overshadowed Nelson's first Moto win of the year and Marvin Musquin's second overall win in the last three rounds. Musquin's 3-1 day moves him just four points behind the third-place Cooper Webb, who almost took back second-place after Blake Baggett's 14-4 showing for 10th overall.
The second- and third-place spots on the final podium get decided in Utah as only seven points separate Baggett, Webb and Musquin. Christophe Pourcel, who took fourth overall is also in the mix for a podium spot but needs help being 24 points out from third. Justin Bogle is mathematically in contention for third but is 48 points out.
The 2014 Motocross season concludes Saturday at the Utah National. Buy tickets online or onsite at Miller Motorsports Park, 2901 N. Sheep Lane in Tooele, UT.
2014 Indiana National Motocross Results
2014 Indiana National 450 Class Results
- Ken Roczen (1-2)
- Trey Canard (3-1)
- Ryan Dungey (2-9)
- Ryan Sipes (10-3)
- Andrew Short (8-4)
- Chad Reed (7-6)
- Eli Tomac (4-10)
- Josh Grant (12-5)
- Fredrik Noren (9-8)
- Matt Goerke (6-11)
2014 Indiana National 250 Class Results
- Marvin Musquin (3-1)
- Joey Savatgy (4-3) - MotoSport rider
- Jessy Nelson (1-8)
- Christophe Pourcel (9-2)
- Cooper Webb (6-5)
- Dean Wilson (8-6)
- Alex Martin (7-7)
- Jeremy Martin (2-15)
- Jason Anderson (5-10) - MotoSport rider
- Blake Baggett (14-4)
2014 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Ken Roczen (494)
- Ryan Dungey (474)
- Trey Canard (418) - Third-Place on Championship Podium
- Brett Metcalfe (304)
- Eli Tomac (281)
- Andrew Short (278)
- Weston Peick (268) - MotoSport rider
- Josh Grant (243)
- James Stewart (226)
- Chad Reed (185)
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (450) - 250 Class Champion
- Blake Baggett (381)
- Cooper Webb (379)
- Marvin Musquin (374)
- Christophe Pourcel (355)
- Justin Bogle, Cushing (331)
- Jason Anderson (270) - MotoSport rider
- Cole Seely (244)
- Jessy Nelson (238)
- Dean Wilson (204)
