Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship: Southwick

Photo Galleries!
450 Moto 1 Starts Here	250 Moto 1 Starts Here	Women’s Moto 1 Starts Here
450 Moto 2 Starts Here	250 Moto 2 Starts Here	Women’s Moto 2 Starts Here

With the 450 title wrapped up last weekend, and Christophe Pourcel with a 13-point lead in the 250 title chase, you’d think Southwick would be boring, right? Wrong!

Wow, where to start? Well, first up were the track conditions. Despite some wet weather and a near-constant light rain, the sandy track held up amazingly well. Sure, it was a little soupy in spots, but with the constantly shifting lines and riders creating multiple lines to stay away from the roost of the guy in front of them, it made for good racing.

In the 250 class, there were surprises aplenty. Blake Wharton (Geico Powersports Honda) got the early lead in moto one, but was passed by Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki). Not long after, Justin Barcia (Geico Powersports Honda) moved into second and ran behind Dungey for quite a while. Just past the midway point, Barcia took over the lead and held it to the checkered flag, scoring his first moto win.

In the title chase, Christophe Pourcel (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) came into the race with a 13-point lead over Dungey, but that quickly evaporated when his bike quit running before the finish. The resulting DNF caused a 22-point swing, and put Pourcel nine points behind Dungey.

In moto two, there was more drama. After lining up side-by-side on the start, Christophe Pourcel and Ryan Dungey ended up tangled together in the first turn. Meanwhile, first moto winner Barcia got stuck in the gate and was working his way from deep in the pack. Barcia made it to third place at the finish, while Dungey was fourth, and Pourcel could only manage an 11th, further extending Dungey’s points lead, which is now 17 with only two motos remaining.

Barcia’s fourth, combined with his win in the first moto gave him the nod for his first-ever National overall win, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray (6-1) rode a stellar race after returning from a broken thumb acquired at Red Bud to take the moto win, adding yet another name to the slate of guys who have taken a moto win this season. That put Rattray second on the podium, and a consistent Brett Metcalfe (Geico Powersports Honda) was third with a 4-2 score.

In the 450 class, Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) grabbed the early lead in moto one, and held it to the end. But it wasn’t without some pressure from Jake Moss (Monster Energy Kawasaki), who was also being pressured by local ace Robby Marshall. The delight of the local fans was squashed a bit when Marshall went down on the last lap (maybe not surprising after he’d spent most of the moto getting his eyes sandblasted after tossing his goggles early in the moto) but he still managed to remount for fifth.

In moto two Andrew Short (Honda Red Bull Racing) had the early lead before being passed by Reed, but that didn’t last too long. The newly crowned National Champ cross-rutted on the face of the finish line jump, crashed hard, and suffered his first DNF of the season. That handed the lead to Yamaha Factory Racing substitute rider Matt Goerke. Behind Goerke was another fan favorite, 44-year-old John Dowd, who was making his annual appearance at Southwick. That led to more screaming by the Motocross 338 fans, who urged their local hero on.

In the end, it was Matt Goerke taking the moto win and overall with a 6-1 total. He and Michael Byrne (3-3) were tied on points, but Matt got the nod thanks to the second moto win. Dowd (10-2) rounded out the podium.

The women rejoined the series at Southwick, and Jessica Patterson (Geico Powersports Honda) took a pair of dominating moto wins over Ashley Fiolek (Honda Red Bull Racing) and Tarah Gieger (Yamaha/Etnies). Fiolek take a 41-point lead into the final round at High Point next weekend.

Be sure to check out the photo galleries (see the links above) for much more from Southwick.

250 Overall

1. Justin Barcia (Honda) 1-3

2. Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) 6-1

3. Brett Metcalfe (Honda) 4-2

4. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 2-4

5. Taylor Futrell (Honda) 7-7

6. Tommy Searle (KTM) 9-6

7. Blake Wharton (Honda) 3-15

8. Broc Tickle (Yamaha) 8-13

9. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 13-9

10. Blake Baggett (Kawasaki) 15-8

11. P. J. Larsen (Kawasaki) 10-14

12. Ryan Sipes (KTM) 25-5

13. Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki) 5-29

14. Vince Friese (Honda) 11-16

15. Steven Clarke (Suzuki) 16-12

16. Scott Champion (Honda) 12-17

17. Alex Martin (Honda) 20-10

18. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) 27-11

19. Wil Hahn (KTM) 14-34

20. Spencer Dally (Honda) 18-20

250 Point Standings

1. Ryan Dungey 459

2. Christophe Pourcel 442

3. Brett Metcalfe 352

4. Jake Weimer 322

5. Justin Barcia 312

6. Tommy Searle 309

7. Broc Tickle 263

8. Blake Wharton 240

9. Tyla Rattray 236

10. Kyle Cunningham 174

11. Matt Lemoine 174

12. Darryn Durham 150

13. Trey Canard 139

14. Ben Evans 124

15. P. J. Larsen 114

16. Steven Clarke 108

17. Max Anstie 107

18. Wil Hahn 104

19. Alex Martin 94

20. Austin Stroupe 93

450 Overall

1. Matt Goerke (Yamaha) 6-1

2. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 3-3

3. John Dowd (Kawasaki) 10-2

4. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki) 9-4

5. Robby Marshall (Suzuki) 5-7

6. Kyle Regal (Yamaha) 4-10

7. Andrew Short (Honda) 7-9

8. Chad Reed (Suzuki) 1-31

9. Jake Moss (Kawasaki) 2-30

10. Ricky Renner (Honda) 11-12

11. Ivan Tedesco (Honda) 36-5

12. Les Smith (Kawasaki) 12-14

13. Tyler Bowers (Honda) 22-6

14. Jimmy Albertson (Yamaha) 15-13

15. Christian Craig (Yamaha) 29-8

16. Justin Brayton (KTM) 8-24

17. Jeff Alessi (Honda) 24-11

18. Davi Millsaps (Honda) 14-20

19. Cody Cooper (Yamaha) 13-25

20. Nick Wey (Yamaha) 30-15

450 Points

1. Chad Reed 459

2. Andrew Short 356

3. Ivan Tedesco 338

4. Michael Byrne 316

5. Josh Grant 280

6. Tommy Hahn 259

7. Justin Brayton 214

8. Cody Cooper 184

9. Nick Wey 182

10. Jimmy Albertson 164

11. Davi Millsaps 149

12. Mike Alessi 142

13. Ricky Dietrich 136

14. Matt Goerke 131

15. Kyle Regal 107

16. Tyler Bowers 95

17. Jake Moss 94

18. Jeff Alessi 85

19. Antonio Balbi 81

20. Jarred Browne 72

Women’s Overall

1. Jessica Patterson (Honda) 1-1

2. Ashley Fiolek (Honda) 2-3

3. Tarah Gieger (Yamaha) 3-7

4. Sherri Cruse (Suzuki) 4-2

5. Heidi Cooke (Kawasaki) 5-6

6. Sara Price (Kawasaki) 6-4

7. Julie Anne Parizek (Kawasaki) 7-5

8. Alyssa Fitch (Honda) 8-9

9. Elizabeth Bash (Kawasaki) 9-8

10. Jacqueline Strong (Honda) 10-12

11. Penni Cyrus (Kawasaki) 11-10

12. Krisa Sweeney (Kawasaki) 12-14

13. Ashley Boham (Kawasaki) 13-13

14. Allison Vrba (Yamaha) 14-17

15. April Zastrow (Honda) 15-16

16. Brittany Gagne (Suzuki) 16-15

17. Danielle Sawicki (Kawasaki) 17-11

18. Nicole Madsen (Yamaha) 18-18

19. Tressa Rau (Honda) 19-20

20. Ayla Cabus (Honda) 20-19

Women’s Point Standings

1. Ashley Fiolek 336

2. Jessica Patterson 295

3. Sherri Cruse 258

4. Sara Price 208

5. Vicki Golden 192

6. Elizabeth Bash 187

7. Sara Whitmore 149

8. Penni Cyrus 134

9. Mariana Balbi 126

10. Jacqueline Strong 114

11. Tatum Sik 101

12. April Zastrow 91

13. Ashley Boham 82

14. Kimberly Kocher 81

15. Sayyaka Kaneshiro 80

16. Jackie Ives 68

17. Hailey Larson 60

18. Alyssa Fitch 59

19. Nichole Madsen 59

20. Danielle Sawicki 44