Tomac and Fiolek on the Podium at Southwick‏

Torrance, CA: Moto-X 388 in Southwick, Massachusetts, hosted round nine of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing this past Saturday. Fans lined the fence to see Muscle Milk-  sponsored GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac grab second on the podium with 1-3 finishes. In the WMX class, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Ashley Fiolek took the overall with 1-1 finishes, placing her 5 points away from the championship lead.

The Race

Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Tommy Hahn had a noteworthy first race, launching off the start and putting him up front into the first turn. Hahn rode solid the entire 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, grabbing third place, marking his first podium appearance of the season. In moto two he grabbed a mid-pack start and quickly began charging  through the field, making his way to third within the first few laps. Unfortunately Hahn went down hard and was unable to finish the race, leaving him 10th overall with 3-35 finishes.

Teammate Justin Brayton had a tough day, getting tangled with other riders and going down at the start of both motos. In the first race, Brayton jumped to a mid-pack start but went down in a first-turn pileup sending him to the back of the pack. He put in a good effort, making his way up to 19th. In moto two, Brayton got off to another mid-pack start, but again went down in the second turn. At the halfway point he crashed hard and was unable to continue the race.

The Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda team had an interesting day. In his professional debut, rookie Zach Bell grabbed an impressive holeshot in moto one and lead for the first six laps until being passed by teammate Eli Tomac. Bell crashed moments after being passed and was unable to finish the rest of the day. Tomac rode unchallenged the remainder of the race, taking the win by over 12 seconds. Justin Barcia would finish seventh in the first race after going down in the second turn, followed by Justin Bogle in 11th and Wil Hahn in 21st.

In moto two, Tomac got stuck mid-pack during the start and was forced to work his way to the front. After closing the gap on the leaders, he was ripped off his bike after catching a tree in the corner. He would recover to finish third for second overall. Barcia had another tough race, finishing fourth for fifth overall, Bogle would finish 13th for 11th overall and Hahn would grab ninth for 13th overall.

“Overall it was a decent day,” stated Tomac. “The first race went well after I got around Zach [Bell]. In the second moto, I really had to work for the position. I went to make a move on Blake [Baggett] and got ripped off my bike by the tree on the inside. I guess a few other guys did the same thing, luckily I was able to get back up and still finish third.”

In the WMX class, Ashley Fiolek put together a commanding performance, nailing the holeshot in both motos and taking the first-place podium position with 1-1 finishes. She now sits a mere 5 points away from the championship points lead.

The Focus: MotoTassinari

When Moto Tassinari began focusing on improving the performance of four-stroke motors, they knew they wanted to build on their solid reputation and create a product that improves power, throttle response and rideability. So they chose to stick with what they knew—air intake—and that is how the AIR4ORCE was born. The AIR4ORCE is a tunable intake system via interchangeable velocity stacks that allows the user to change the engine’s power characteristics to suit track conditions and rider preference. Moto Tassinari has been a sponsor of Team Honda Muscle Milk’s for two years, providing the team with top-quality air intake boots for their factory Honda CRF250Rs and CRF450s.

450 Class Overall Results

1. Ryan Dungey 1-2

2. Mike Alessi 2-3

3. Broc Tickle 6-4

4. Davi Millsaps 7-6

5. Tyla Rattray 20-1

6. Mike Brown 9-7

7. Josh Grant 8-8

8. Andrew Short (Honda) 5-11

9. Kyle Chisholm 11-9

10. Tommy Hahn (Honda) 3-35

450 Class Championship Points (after 9 of 12 rounds)

1. Ryan Dungey 430

2. Mike Alessi 345

3. Jake Weimer 290

4. Andrew Short 273

5. Broc Tickle 253

6. Josh Grant 195

7. Justin Brayton 185

8. Kyle Chisholm 159

9. James Stewart 151

10. Brett Metcalfe 142

250 Class Overall Results

1. Blake Baggett 3-1

2. Eli Tomac (Honda) 1-3

3. Ken Roczen 4-2

4. Marvin Musquin 2-5

5. Justin Barcia (Honda) 7-4

6. Malcolm Stewart 6-7

7. Alex Martin 8-6

8. Jessy Nelson (Honda) 5-11

9. Travis Baker (Honda) 10-10

10. Ryan Sipes 12-12

250 Class Championship Points (after 9 of 12 rounds)

1. Blake Baggett 400

2. Justin Barcia 376

3. Eli Tomac 368

4. Ken Roczen 345

5. Marvin Musquin 294

6. Wil Hahn 230

7. Blake Wharton 197

8. Jason Anderson 181

9. Jessy Nelson 170

10. Travis Baker 156

WMX Class Overall Results

1. Ashley Fiolek (Honda) 1-1

2. Jessica Patterson 2-2

3. Sara Pettersson 4-4

4. Tarah Gieger (Honda) 3-5

5. Mariana Balbi 7-3

6. Sade Allender 6-6

7. Jacqueline Strong 5-7

8. Sarah Whitmore 8-8

9. Christina Older 10-9

10. Alexah Pearson 9-11

WMX Class Championship Points (after 7 of 8 rounds)

1. Jessica Patterson 280

2. Ashley Fiolek 275

3. Tarah Gieger 270

4. Mariana Balbi 227

5. Sara Pettersson 209

6. Jacqueline Strong 206

7. Kasie Creson 174

8. Alexah Pearson 149

9. Sade Allender 148

10. Sayaka Kaneshiro 137

About Honda

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and MUVs in the U.S. American Honda’s Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to powersports.honda.com.

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