Eli Tomac wasted little time announcing he's ready to contend for the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with a resounding sweep on Saturday at Hangtown for Round 1 of the series.
Tomac dominated the field, including the 2015 Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey, all day setting the fastest lap during timed practice and winning Moto 1 by more than 20 seconds and the second Moto by a minute and a half, one of the largest margins of victory in the 47 years of racing at Hangtown.
In Moto 1, Dungey grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award and that was the extent of his success as Tomac quickly passed him for the lead and never relinquished. Both riders proved untouchable by everyone else as Dungey kept it reasonably close until the two encountered lappers allowing Tomac to take advantage for the easy win. Jason Anderson bested Weston Peick for third, matching his result in his first race in the 450 class for Supercross earlier this year.
In Moto 2, no one had a chance as Tomac grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award and never felt pressure from Dungey who slotted into second on the opening lap but crossed more than 90 seconds back from Tomac once the checkers dropped.
"It's kind of always a guessing game coming into here. I started off good in practice and was the top qualifier there, then I had two great starts," Tomac said. "I was just connected on the bike and felt great all afternoon. I was at the point today where I was able to ride a comfortable pace and just kept doing my thing. This is normally one of the roughest tracks, but this year it was the best I've ever seen it. I actually thought I struggled the last couple years here, so this was a huge jump up."
Tomac, who entered the series late last year after recovering from an earlier injury and ripped it up during the eight rounds he entered, is a favorite entering the 2015 campaign though overshadowed by defending Champion Ken Roczen and Dungey who blitzed to his second career Supercross title this year. Tomac is healthy and coming off a runner-up spot to Dungey in Supercross.
"His performance was great today," said Dungey who has never won at Hangtown. He went (2-2) last year as well. "He was at his best."
Hangtown is now home to the longest jump in the series with the Fly 150 jump that launches riders 150 feet down the track, 30 feet longer than "LaRocco's Leap" at Redbud, thanks to the preceding 35-foot hill. Dungey and Tomac were one of the few to take advantage.
Rounding out the rest, Peick battled Justin Barcia for third in Moto 2 and got it this time around for his best career Motocross finish. Tomac took the overall for the day, with Dungey in second and Anderson finishing seventh for Moto 2, good enough for third overall.
Roczen, who sat out the last half of the Supercross season because of an injured ankle, struggled thanks to a reported stress fracture in his spine. He managed to race both Motos taking 19th place in Moto 1 then bouncing back for fifth in Moto 2 giving him 12th overall.
Peick took fourth overall and Blake Baggett rounded out the Top 5 with a (4-6) day. Trey Canard who finished third last year and was tailing Dungey for much of Supercross until he broke his arm continues to recover and did not race. Chad Reed who finished fourth in Supercross took 15th place. Cole Seely, who finished third in his rookie season in the 450 class for Supercross, suffered a crash and injury on the first turn in Moto 1 and did not return.
Fredrik Noren took ninth overall at Hangtown
In the MotoSport class, Fredrik Noren, the 2010 Swedish Champion, finished in 10th for both Motos resulting in ninth overall. Noren struggled to get his footing in Supercross earlier this year but clearly excels in Outdoors. Veteran Tommy Hahn, who raced in the 250 class for Supercross moved to the big bikes and went (13-16) for 16th overall.
Tommy Hahn moves to the 450 class and takes 16th overall
In the 250 class, Jeremy Martin got a great start in defense of his 2014 title taking the overall after a (2-1) day though he tied in points with the current Supercross 250 East class Champion Marvin Musquin.
In Moto 1, Martin initially wasn't anywhere near the front of the pack as Justin Bogle grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in front of Musquin, Adam Cianciarulo and the current Supercross 250 West Champion Cooper Webb. Cianciarulo took over the front position as Webb slotted in behind him. On Lap 6, Cianciarulo crashed giving up the lead to Musquin who got past Webb when he lost time preventing a collision with Cianciarulo. Meanwhile, Martin, who started sixth had moved into third and began battling Webb for second taking the runner-up spot with two laps to go.
In Moto 2, Martin had an easy time for the win passing Matt Bisceglia, who took the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award, and never had any challengers after that. Chris Alldredge passed Bisceglia who was now in third on Lap 2 but Musquin was looking for the sweep and quickly moved into second-place but was unable to catch Martin. Alldredge held on for third, a career best. Webb did not finish Moto 2 after apparently injuring his left ankle trying to get back into traffic after getting held up on a turn from a fallen rider.
Kyle Peters did well in Moto 1 but got hung up in Moto 2
Kyle Peters is the lone MotoSport rider in the 250 class and he finished a respectable 15th for Moto 1 but got no points for Moto 2.
Motocross Round 2 heads to Southern California for the Glen Helen National in Devore, CA just outside of San Bernardino. Racing starts at 2 p.m. (PST) Saturday. Buy tickets online or see the TV schedule.
2015 Hangtown Motocross Classic Results
Hangtown 450 Class Results
- Eli Tomac (1-1)
- Ryan Dungey (2-2)
- Jason Anderson (3-7)
- Weston Peick (8-3)
- Blake Baggett (4-6)
- Broc Tickle (6-8)
- Brett Metcalfe (7-9)
- Christophe Pourcel (5-12)
- Fredrik Noren (10-10) - MotoSport rider
- Phil Nicoletti (9-14)
Hangtown 250 Class Results
- Jeremy Martin (2-1)
- Marvin Musquin (1-2)
- Chris Alldredge (5-3)
- Alex Martin, Millville (6-4)
- Anthony Rodriguez (7-6)
- Aaron Plessinger (10-8)
- Joey Savatgy (4-15)
- Adam Cianciarulo (9-11)
- Matt Bisceglia (12-10)
- Cooper Webb (3-37)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Eli Tomac (50)
- Ryan Dungey (44)
- Jason Anderson (34)
- Weston Peick (33)
- Blake Baggett (33)
- Broc Tickle (28)
- Brett Metcalfe (26)
- Christophe Pourcel (25)
- Fredrik Noren (22) - MotoSport rider
- Phil Nicoletti (19)
250 Class Standings
- Jeremy Martin (47)
- Marvin Musquin (47)
- Chris Alldredge (36)
- Alex Martin (33)
- Anthony Rodriguez (29)
- Aaron Plessinger (24)
- Joey Savatgy (24)
- Adam Cianciarulo (22)
- Matt Bisceglia (20)
- Cooper Webb (20)
