Eli Tomac got a little outside help but remains perfect so far in the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season taking both Motos on Saturday for Round 2 at the Glen Helen National in Southern California.
Tomac started Moto 1 with some work in front of him as Justin Barcia grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award with Phil Nicoletti slotting into second and Ken Roczen, who was the fastest to qualify, bad back and all, briefly in the running, but crashed out. Barcia and Nicoletti exchanged positions a few times in the opening laps but it wasn't long before Ryan Dungey and Tomac showed up as the two took the #1 and # 2 spots, respectively, on Lap 3.
Little changed until Lap 7 when Dungey's bike stalled allowing Tomac to easily take the lead and the win. Dungey, the reigning Supercross Champion, managed to get restarted and maintain a hold on second but another stall on the last lap pushed him out of the Top 5 and gave the early front-runners podium spots. Barcia claimed second and Nicoletti finished third, a career best.
In Moto 2, Tomac nearly repeated his performance from a week ago but just not as soul crushing. Tomac led wire-to-wire winning by more than 20 seconds over a stall-free Dungey with Roczen regaining some Championship form, in third. Tomac of course took the overall in his first pro start at Glen Helen, Barcia finished fourth in Moto 2 and tied his career-best finish for second overall and Dungey stayed on the podium in third.
"I'm really comfortable right now. I've never been in this position before this early in the season where I feel like I'm one with the bike," Tomac said. "The motorcycle is just really easy to ride right now. I've improved my starts a whole lot and that's been huge for me."
In the point standings, Tomac leads Dungey by 19 and in third-place, already 36 points back, is Weston Peick who took fifth overall on Saturday. Barcia moved from 11th place to fifth and is three points behind Blake Baggett. Roczen, the defending Champion, moved from 12th place to sixth-place.
Fredrik Noren finished 12th overall and races under the HRC Honda Team banner starting Saturday until Trey Canard gets back
In the MotoSport class, Fredrik Noren who is switching teams and replacing the injured Trey Canard on the HRC Honda Team next week, took 13th place twice for 12th overall. Tommy Hahn improved on last week's results and took 15th overall, besting his brother Wil in the tie breaker. Hahn is now the lone MotoSport rider in the 450 class.
Tommy Hahn improved on Round 1 results and beat brother Wil via tie-breaker
In the 250 class, Marvin Musquin got similar outside help in his sweep of Glen Helen as Jeremy Martin who entered Round 2 in first but tied in points with Musquin also had trouble getting his bike started but unlike Dungey all the action happened in the moments leading up to the Moto 1 gate drop.
Martin's crew could be seen frantically taking apart and rebuilding the bike finishing what they needed to get done as the gates dropped. Martin, the defending 250 Champion, showed impressive resiliency charging from way back in the field ticking off riders to finish fifth.
Ahead of Martin, Musquin went to battle with Jessy Nelson, who took the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award and held on to the lead for six laps before Musquin, the 250 Supercross East Champion, took over and pulled away. Justin Hill battled Joey Savatgy for third finally taking the spot on Lap 11 and then took second from Nelson on Lap 12. Hill held on for a career best second and Savatgy passed Nelson for third.
In Moto 2, Musquin grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot with Alex Martin in tow and brother Jeremy right behind. But instead of a stalled bike, Jeremy Martin hit the dirt after a collision and once again was faced with the field in front of him. Musquin briefly gave the lead to Alex Martin and fell behind Nelson to third-place but passed both on Lap 2 and led the rest of the way.
Alex Martin held on for a career best second and Shane McElrath took a career best third. Jeremy Martin powered his way back to sixth-place. Hill took a career-first second overall after finishing fifth in Moto 2 and Nelson's (4-4) day gave him third overall, tying his best career finish. Savatgy finished fourth overall and Alex Martin took fifth. Jeremy Martin finished seventh.
Musquin now leads the field by 19 over Jeremy Martin and in third is Alex Martin, who is 13 points back from his brother.
A full fuel tank makes a big difference for Kyle Peters as he places in Top 10
Newly installed mechanic Gregg Albertson kept MotoSport rider Kyle Peters topped off with gas as he finished ninth overall after a (7-12) day and moves up seven spots to 14th in points.
Motocross Round 3 is Saturday in Colorado for the Thunder Valley National. Buy tickets online or watch live on MAV TV for the first Motos and NBCSN for the second Motos.
2015 Glen Helen Motocross Results
Glen Helen 450 Class Results
- Eli Tomac (1-1)
- Justin Barcia (2-4)
- Ryan Dungey (6-2)
- Ken Roczen (8-3)
- Weston Peick (5-6)
- Chad Reed (4-8)
- Blake Baggett (7-7)
- Christophe Pourcel (9-10)
- Philip Nicoletti (3-21)
- Cole Seely (14-9)
Glen Helen 250 Class Results
- Marvin Musquin (1-1)
- Justin Hill (2-5)
- Jessy Nelson (4-4)
- Joey Savatgy (3-7)
- Alex Martin (11-2)
- Shane McElrath (9-3)
- Jeremy Martin (5-6)
- Matt Bisceglia (6-11)
- Kyle Peters (7-12) - MotoSport rider
- Adam Cianciarulo (12-10)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Eli Tomac (100)
- Ryan Dungey (81)
- Weston Peick (64)
- Blake Baggett (61)
- Justin Barcia (58)
- Ken Roczen (51)
- Jason Anderson (50)
- Christophe Pourcel (48)
- Chad Reed (46)
- Broc Tickle (43)
250 Class Standings
- Marvin Musquin (97)
- Jeremy Martin (78)
- Alex Martin (65)
- Joey Savatgy (58)
- Justin Hill (52)
- Chris Alldredge (49)
- Jessy Nelson (46)
- Matt Bisceglia (45)
- Shane McElrath (44)
- Adam Cianciarulo (42)
Glen Helen 450 Class Results
- Eli Tomac (1-1)
- Justin Barcia (2-4)
- Ryan Dungey (6-2)
- Ken Roczen (8-3)
- Weston Peick (5-6)
- Chad Reed (4-8)
- Blake Baggett (7-7)
- Christophe Pourcel (9-10)
- Philip Nicoletti (3-21)
- Cole Seely (14-9)
Glen Helen 250 Class Results
- Marvin Musquin (1-1)
- Justin Hill (2-5)
- Jessy Nelson (4-4)
- Joey Savatgy (3-7)
- Alex Martin (11-2)
- Shane McElrath (9-3)
- Jeremy Martin (5-6)
- Matt Bisceglia (6-11)
- Kyle Peters (7-12) - MotoSport rider
- Adam Cianciarulo (12-10)
2015 Motocross Season Standings
450 Class Standings
- Eli Tomac (100)
- Ryan Dungey (81)
- Weston Peick (64)
- Blake Baggett (61)
- Justin Barcia (58)
- Ken Roczen (51)
- Jason Anderson (50)
- Christophe Pourcel (48)
- Chad Reed (46)
- Broc Tickle (43)
250 Class Standings
- Marvin Musquin (97)
- Jeremy Martin (78)
- Alex Martin (65)
- Joey Savatgy (58)
- Justin Hill (52)
- Chris Alldredge (49)
- Jessy Nelson (46)
- Matt Bisceglia (45)
- Shane McElrath (44)
- Adam Cianciarulo (42)