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Glen Helen Raceway - May 15, 2011 - Monster Energy Grand Prix of the U.S. started in rain on Sunday and finished in sunshine, giving the spectators and the racers the best Glen Helen Raceway has to offer. The track was incredible no matter what the weather was doing, and the fans lined the fences to watch the best racers in the world compete. Moto 2 of the VMX race on Sunday saw much different weather and track conditions than on sunny Saturday, but the racers didn't let that deter them from battling for points and the overall win. With rain falling quickly, the racing was even more of a challenge for the VMX racers with longer lap times and a tricky track. Yesterday's race winner, American Doug Dubach found himself in third place the when he got a flat tire. Dubach still managed to hold onto a podium finish despite the tire, proving that he's a talented and fast rider. Points leader Mats Nilsson from Sweden took the lead, thriving in the rainy conditions, followed closely by Darryll King of New Zealand. The top three finished in those positions, and Nilsson holds onto his red number plate with is first-place finish and first-place overall. King crossed the line in second place, giving him third overall, and Dubach finished third for second overall. Also of note, Shawn Wynne of the USA finished fourth overall on a two-stroke TM machine. The first moto of the MX 2 class saw crowd favorite Ken Roczen, the German rider aboard his Red Bull Teka KTM, take the lead right out of the gate and hold onto it throughout the 35-minute-plus moto. Roczen extended his cushion to about 15 seconds with two laps to go, and took the checkered flag without feeling any heat from the racers behind him. Jeffrey Herlings took up the second-place spot at the start and didn't let go throughout the entire race, while Max Anstie of Great Britain worked his way up to third by the time the checkered flag waved. Harri Kullas from Finland finished fourth, and fifth place went to Tommy Searle after a brave display of racing, losing his goggles to the thick mud and continuing to race hard for position. On the U.S. front, Travis Baker was looking to become the top-finishing American, but Zach Osborne passed him with only a few minutes left in the race. Osborne finished the race in ninth, and Baker rounded out the top 10. The first moto of the MX 1 class promised to be a great race as the clouds started to part and the wind picked up. Clement Desalle of Belgium got a great start on his Rockstar Energy Suzuki and took over the lead on the third turn of the race. Italian Antonio Cairoli wasn't far behind aboard his Red Bull Teka KTM, and the two leaders stretched out from the rest of the pack as the laps wore on. The sun appeared and the track dried quickly, with ruts taking hold of the bikes in sections throughout the racecourse. Desalle, who put in the fastest lap of the race with a time of 2:58.457, held onto the top spot despite Cairoli mounting a charge in the last lap. Cairoli finished second, Max Nagl from Germany took his Red Bull Teka KTM to third, followed by Kevin Strijbos from Belgium, and fifth place went to Italian David Philippaerts on his Monster Energy Yamaha. Christian Craig took his Troy Lee Designs Honda to the eighth spot in the moto, making him the top American in the race. By the time the second MX 2 moto hit the starting gate, the track conditions were completely different than the first MX 2 moto. While mud wouldn't be an issue, the ruts and the tough Glen Helen obstacles were. Again, Ken Roczen and his KTM took the lead immediately followed by Jeffrey Herlings. Tommy Searle, of the Monster Energy Kawaski Pro Circuit team, took third early and stayed there for the entire race. American Scott Champion had a great start, challenging Roczen for the holeshot, but eventually faded to 12th by the end. Travis Baker of Troy Lee Designs rode all the way up to fifth place at the beginning, only to be displaced by fellow American Zach Osborne by the midway mark, and then Baker eventually fell back to 16th place. With two laps left, Osborne made yet another great pass, this time overtaking Max Anstie, for fourth place and pushed the Brit back to fifth at the checkered flag. Ken Roczen finished the MX 2 races of the USGP in first overall with his phenomenal 1-1 finishes. "I was going for the win in both motos, and I had two good starts and we all rode a clever race," Roczen said. "The track was really muddy in the first race, and then in the second race they had to water the track. It was very different, but good." Jeffrey Herlings took second overall with his matching 2-2 finishes, and Tommy Searle finished third overall with a 5-3 race tally. The second MX 1 moto started with a lot of high-revving engines and cheering fans. Strijbos took his Suzuki to the lead right off the gate, followed by Clement Desalle and his Rockstar Energy Suzuki. Antonio Cairoli got off to a less than stellar start with some issues and wasn't in the top 20 on the first lap. Desalle moved to the front of the pack, leaving Strijbos to follow in second, Evgeny Bobryshev on his Honda in third, Rui Goncalves from Portugal in fourth and Max Nagl rounding out the top five. Nagl made some great passes and found himself in second position halfway through the race, just as Antonio Cairoli made his way toward the top 10. Desalle won the race, with Nagl finishing second, Bobryshev in third, followed by Goncalves and early leader Strijbos rounding out the top five. Christian Craig was the top-finishing American in the race with his 14th-place run. Desalle took first overall with his 1-1 finish for the day at Glen Helen and became the points leader in the series. Max Nagl finished second with a 3-2 scorecard, and Evgeny Bobryshev followed in third with a 6-3 tally. Also on Sunday, the Marty Moates Cup was awarded to Zach Osbourne for the second year in a row in a special ceremony held after the final MX 1 race of the 2011 Monster Energy Grand Prix of the United States. Along with the cup, Zach also received the $5,000 Marty Moates award, sponsored by Lucas Oil, which is granted to the top finishing American rider racing the USGP. “I was in a lot of pain through both the first and second motos,” said Osbourne. “I had the Moates Cup on my mind all day though I really wanted to win.” The Marty Moates award was created to honor the memory of Marty Moates, who became the first American rider to take the overall victory in USGP history at Carlsbad Raceway in 1980. Ten-time World Motocross Champion Stefan Everts was presented with the Legends and Heroes of Motocross Award during a special ceremony between motos on Sunday. The award was created to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of motocross, and has been granted to other motocross greats like David and Gary Bailey, Danny LaPorte, Mike LaRocco and Broc Glover. Everts still holds the record for the most World Motocross Championships, and retired from racing in 2006 with 101 GP victories under his belt. MX 1 Moto 1 Results 1. Clement Desalle 2. Antonio Cairoli 3. Max Nagl 4. Kevin Strijbos 5. David Philippaerts 6. Evgeny Bobryshev 7. Anthony Boissiere 8. Christain Craig 9. Jonathan Barragan 10. Steven Frossard MX 1 Moto 2 Results 1. Clement Desalle 2. Max Nagl 3. Evgeny Bobryshev 4. Rui Goncalves 5. Kevin Strijbos 6. Shaun Simpson 7. Steve Ramon 8. Jonathan Barragan 9. David Philippaerts 10. Xavier Boog MX 1 Overall Results 1. Clement Desalle 2. Max Nagl 3. Evgeny Bobryshev 4. Kevin Strijbos 5. Antonio Cairoli 6. David Philippaerts 7. Rui Goncalves 8. Jonathan Barragan 9. Anthony Boissiere 10. Christian Craig MX 2 Moto 1 Results 1. Ken Roczen 2. Jeffrey Herlings 3. Max Anstie 4. Harri Kullas 5. Tommy Searle 6. Gautier Paulin 7. Arnaud Tonus 8. Christophe Charlier 9. Zach Osborne 10. Travis Baker MX 2 Moto 2 Results 1. Ken Roczen 2. Jeffrey Herlings 3. Tommy Searle 4. Zach Osborne 5. Max Anstie 6. Marvin Musquin 7. Nicolas Aubin 8. Christophe Charlier 9. Joel Roelants 10. Jordi Tixier MX 2 Overall Results and Points 1. Ken Roczen 2. Jeffrey Herlings 3. Tommy Searle 4. Max Anstie 5. Zach Osborne 6. Harri Kullas 7. Christophe Charlier 8. Nicolas Aubin 9. Joel Roelants 10. Jordi Tixier VMX Moto 2 Results 1. Mats Nilsson 2. Darryll King 3. Doug Dubach 4. Brian Wheeler 5. Roger Jakobsson 6. Shawn Wynne 7. Alfredo Camps 8. Phil Lewis 9. Lorry Jackson 10. Edgar Foedish VMX Overall Results 1. Mats Nilsson 2. Doug Dubach 3. Darryll King 4. Shawn Wynne 5. Alfredo Camps 6. Roger Jakobsson 7. Ryan Hunt 8. Kevin Barda 9. Lorry Jackson 10. Phil Lewis  Clement Desalle took the win in both MX 1 races to win the overall.  Zach Osborne took home the Marty Moates Award for the second year in a row.  Ken Roczen dominated the MX 2 class, winning both motos easily and taking the overall. |
5/16/2011 1:37pm
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