MX After-Party: Loretta Lynn's National 1

450 Class

Zach Osborne – 1st

“I’ve worked really hard to come back from my injury and to be here on this podium I’m blessed and so grateful to the people that have put this together to let us go racing in a very uncertain time,” Osborne said. “I knew we had a racehorse when we came here today because it’s the bike I finished with at Indiana last year and when a team brings you a bike like that, it’s hard to not do it justice.”

Jason Anderson – 2nd

“I feel like my pace was good in the second moto but my arms pumped up and I was headed back with four to go,” Anderson said. “All-in-all, I’m out here and I’m on the podium so I can’t be too bummed. I’m excited to get out here next weekend and try to redeem myself.”

Eli Tomac – 3rd

“Third overall on the day and the best way to put it is it was hot and cold. I was up front with the leading group in Moto 1, but I just went backward because I was struggling a bit and with the track. I just wasn’t comfortable, so the team and I made some changes to the bike between motos and I was able to improve and push to the front to be in the fight for the win in Moto 2. We’ll take this result on the day, but we’re looking forward to getting better when we get back out here again next weekend.”

Marvin Musquin – 4th

“It’s great to be back after almost a year since my last race at the Indiana National. I put in some good work and it gave me time to get ready, so I’m okay where I’m at. To be out there and to be competitive, that’s exactly what I wanted. When you’re not racing for a year like that actually, to be honest, I didn’t know where I was going to be but overall, I’m happy. I wish I would have hung on to get on the podium, but it’s my first race back and fourth overall, I’ll take it.”

Justin Barcia – 5th

“Loretta Lynn’s was a good weekend overall. I had some good practice times and ended up qualifying fifth. I didn’t get the greatest start in the first moto, but I had one of the greatest charges I’ve had in a long time. I charged all the way up to third but just ran out of time. In the second moto, I ended up going down two times. I just used a lot of energy in that first moto and unfortunately I wasn’t able to get back up to the front, seventh was all I could muster up. There are definitely some positives on the weekend. I’m going to go back and work on a few things and be even better at Loretta’s next weekend.”

Blake Baggett – 6th

“I felt good out there today. The track was rough and my starts helped me run with the front pack. My speed is there and we will make a few adjustments for next week, come back for round two ready to fight for a podium.”

Cooper Webb – 7th

Post-race: “It was a very up-and-down day for me. Practice went well and I was feeling good heading into the motos but I was riding pretty tight so I just kind of lost my flow about halfway through the first moto. The second moto, I had a bad start and on about the fourth lap I landed really weird and jammed my back, so I’m not sure what’s going on but I was in a lot of pain for the rest of that race. I’ve been dealing with a pre-existing back issue from Dallas so I’m going to get it looked at this week so I can be ready to go next Saturday.”

In a later press release, Red Bull KTM announced that Cooper will sit out the rest of the outdoor season.

Chase Sexton – 8th

"This weekend was pretty good. I qualified first, which was a good confidence booster. In the first moto I came from 11th to third on the first lap and then I ran up there for probably half the race. I ended up going down and then from there on it kind of just went downhill; I fell about four or five times, so definitely not a great moto, but I showed I had a good speed. In the second moto I had a good start and was running third. Then Adam [Cianciurulo] fell, and I got into second but kind of got freight-trained by Eli [Tomac], [Jason] Anderson and [Marvin] Musquin. I just got on the back of those guys and made a run, getting Anderson and Musquin back which was good, and ended up third. I went 13-3 for eighth, but overall I showed really good speed and I'm happy with how it went."

Joey Savatgy – 9th

"Yesterday was subpar for me. It was my first race back in almost a year and it got the best of me," Savatgy reflected. "There are some things I need to work on but my starts were good and that’s a big piece of the puzzle. So it's now back to work this week and try it again next weekend."

Dean Wilson – 10th

“I’m obviously not very happy with the overall result but that was a good little wake-up call to keep pushing,” Wilson said. “The conditions were very tough and rutty today and the class is stacked right now so I’m just going to have to keep pushing and it will all happen.”

Max Anstie – 11th

“It felt awesome to be back at the races,” said Max Anstie. “I have been out of action for a long time. Moving to America to race was a big change, and for our first race together it was really positive. The team has done a great job and I can’t wait for the next one.”

Adam Cianciarulo – 12th

“The Loretta’s track was nothing like I remember. I had zero sense of nostalgia out there. The track was ripped way deeper and you need to ride so much harder than I ever did as an amateur here. Obviously I’m tired of crashing, but I felt really good in Moto 2 and even grabbed the holeshot. We’ll keep working hard over the week and suit up for better results for Round 2 at the Ranch.”

Broc Tickle – 13th

“Today was a positive day for myself. I haven’t raced an Outdoor National in three years now. Yeah, the goal was to be in the top 10. I didn’t manage to finish there but it was good to get our first race under our belt. We’ll be back next week. We’re in a good place and we have a direction now after racing. I’m looking forward to heading back to California this week and working with the team to make some improvements and come back next weekend to build off of today.”

Christian Craig – 14th

"The weekend started off pretty good when I qualified 10th. The track was super muddy in the beginning. I went into the first moto pretty confident in myself, but unfortunately I got off to a bad start and had to make my way through the pack. It was already pretty hot out there, so it took a lot of my energy to get up to where I was. Unfortunately, that was only 14th, but I went into the second moto refueled and ready to go. I had a better start and was making passes early on, but me and another rider got together and we both went down. Then when I was getting up I got hit by another rider. It was nobody’s fault, just an unfortunate mishap on both of our parts. After that I just wanted to salvage what I could, and I came back to 14th again. My goals are to be inside the top 10, so we’ll try again here next weekend."

Fredrik Noren – 25th

"I'm super pumped to be back racing!" Noren added, "I had great starts and I holeshot my first ever pro motocross start, so that was great. Unfortunately I had pretty hard crashes in both motos which made the overall result for the weekend not very good. Now we'll regroup and recharge for next weekend!"

250 Class

Dylan Ferrandis – 1st

“It’s awesome. It was a perfect day. We got two good starts and were strong in both of the motos. There’s always a little bit of an unknown when you don’t race for a long time, and with the Outdoors, you never know where you are. We have a good setup on the bike, and with the team behind me, I feel like it’s going to be a great year. For sure, I will have to stay healthy, but after today, I feel like we can go for the win every weekend.”

RJ Hampshire – 2nd

“I wish we could have gotten a win but that felt good,” Hampshire said. “I tried to hang on but Dylan was riding really good and I just had to settle in otherwise I would have been on my head. I’m happy to be up here, thankful to be here and ready to go for next weekend!”

Jeremy Martin – 3rd

“The day was not bad,” said Martin. “It felt really good just to be back at the races and to have that goal and to line up with the boys and just try to have that competitive drive to try to beat everybody. I qualified second fastest. I struggled with my starts today. I knew that start was slippery, but I didn’t expect it to be like Washougal slippery. So, I didn’t get out of the gate the best in both motos but I just tried to be tough and suffer through that heat and get up to the front. I was getting on RJ [Hampshire, second place] in moto one, and then he unfortunately hit a lapper. RJ had nowhere to go and I got a blessing from him. Then in moto two, I just tried to be smart and end it with a third and get a podium the first round. RJ [second place] was so far gone at that point.” 

“It’s been pretty much two years since I’ve raced an outdoor national,” said Martin, who won the 250 National Motocross Championship in 2014 and 2015. “I’m adjusting to some things, as far as when it gets really hot out. The hardware in my back, I get pretty hot. So that’s different for me. I used to welcome the heat pretty gnarly and stuff. So, I do notice a little bit of a difference there with the instrumentation in my back. Just looking forward to this series. I love the great outdoors. I love the grind. We’re doing a lot of racing in a short amount of time, and I think that’s pretty sweet too.”

Shane McElrath – 4th

“I’m happy to get out of this first round with some decent finishes. I got some good starts and led some laps, but we still have a lot of room to grow. I’m excited for next weekend!”

Alex Martin – 5th

"It was exciting to be back at the races. I was happy with the speed we had, we just need to minimize the mistakes," A-Mart said after the dust had settled. "Three crashes throughout the two motos kept me from a podium. But I'm happy I could still manage a top five result for myself and the team."

Jett Lawrence – 6th

“First practice was not too bad, but I didn’t know where the finish line was so I probably didn’t time my laps the best in that, but the second practice was better, third in that and fourth overall,” said Lawrence. “First race started off terrible because I chose to run a paddle tire which didn’t work good on dry hard pack dirt, but I was able to tuck around the inside in the first turn. I just ended up over riding the track and made mistakes and then crashed so that put me back to tenth I think, I slowly made my way back to sixth. But I felt like I was going to throw up! Second race I had the right tire on but just had too much revs and spun in the gate and this time I wasn’t able to tuck around the inside in the first turn. So, I was like 25th. I was pretty happy how I rode in this one ‘cause I rode really smart and didn’t try to rush anything. I just made my way up in the top 10. Tried to make a pass for sixth on the last lap but couldn’t make it happen. Sixth overall for not getting good starts and riding bad in the first one was still pretty good.”

Cameron McAdoo – 7th

“The ruts were pretty crazy and each time you went out it felt like a different track,” said McAdoo. “It was a lot about managing but also wanting to push forward. It will be nice to be able to come back and try it again next week to see if we can do even better.”

Justin Cooper – 8th

“The track was really tough today. It was an up and down day for me. I had a bunch of crashes in the first moto that made me use up a lot of energy, and I was pretty fatigued for the second moto. All in all, I’m just happy to be back racing and to leave in one piece. There are only a few days on the bike before we race here again. We will be better for the next one.”

Carson Mumford - 13th

“My weekend was crazy!” said Mumford, who ended up 13th with 12-15 scores. “I learned so much, I felt like I had so many different circumstances thrown my way for one weekend with it being muddy first practice and the track being insanely rough but I’m happy with how everything worked out. The first moto I was just outside the top five. Then by about 20 minutes I was getting pretty tired and really was kinda shocked that I was still in sixth. I should have just focused more on going forward because when the mistakes started coming I was almost crashing every corner but somehow stayed on two wheels. That just took so much energy, and I was thinking about it way too much, and I went all the way back to 12th. Rode a little different in second moto but I was further back the whole time. Ready for next weekend after everything I learned here.”

Mitchell Harrison – 15th

“Without that mistake, I was going to be able to put it in the top 10,” said Harrison. “It’s such a bummer, but I also look at it as a positive that I know my speed is there and I just need to minimize the mistakes. I am so thankful for the opportunity and I want to showcase how great this bike and team really is.”

Jo Shimoda – 16th

“Yeah I felt pretty good in the first timed qualifying but I missed the finish line, I thought it was same as amateur day,” said Shimoda. “The second timed qualifying I was riding not so good and struggling on the track, qualified 15th. Race 1 I started around 15th and made some passes but couldn’t finish my race due to a bike malfunction. That put me all the way on an outside gate in moto two, which didn’t let me have good start. I was able to catch up to 11th place by the end.”

Hunter Lawrence - 17th

“First moto really just wrecked our day with the DNF,” said the elder Lawrence brother. “Being gate pick 40 for the second moto, I was going okay in the second moto until [Mitchel] Harrison took me out. I then just pushed too hard for what the track conditions were and crashed again. Then it was survival mode, the track was really weird and just so funny, like, you couldn’t push too hard on it and slower was almost faster! Looking to redeem myself big time this weekend.”

Darian Sanayei – 18th

“It wasn’t the day I had hoped for to start the season, but we have some positives to take with us into next week,” said Sanayei. “The track was pretty rough and I think I’ll be able to manage it a little better next week, knowing what to expect out.”

Team Personnel

Erik Kehoe - Team Honda HRC Manager

"I think it was a solid day for Chase. He rode really hard and went from about 11th to fourth in a couple laps. I think he put out too much effort in the first part of that race; his nerves got to him and he hit the ground a few times. In the second moto he had a way better start and rode to his full capabilities. I think he learned a lot from the experience today, coming to grips with the 450. Christian’s starts hurt him today. He was in the back and couldn’t get out of all the mayhem going on back there. He just needs to work on his starts and get better there. We’ll work with the guys and come back stronger next weekend.”

Dustin Pipes - H.E.P. Motorsports Team Manager

“Good first weekend competing in the outdoor nationals for the team,” said Team Manager Dustin Pipes. “We came in with a lot of unknowns, how the team would function in a new format, how Max would finish in his first race after over a year off due to injuries, Adam’s transition to outdoors, etc. Although there were some bumps in the road, I felt round 1 was a solid base for the team. Getting Max into the top 10 in moto 2 was a good starting point after so long off. I was impressed with his resiliency after falls in both motos. We also topped the charts in qualifying a little bit which is something I hope to see more of. I would expect to see a steady incline in Max’s results as he has shown he has more in the tank. His fastest lap came on the last lap in both motos. Adam had a culture shock after enjoying the comfy confines of supercross stadiums for so long. 31st overall isn’t up to standards and he knows it. I would Expect him to ride more towards his ability for the rest of the series.”

Jeremy Albrecht - JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team Manager

"The team is happy to be back racing again with these guys," Jeremy Albrecht, Team Manager said. "All the components for putting together a great race were there for each rider. Alex rode the best I’ve seen in a while, and Freddie's and Joey’s starts were super impressive. It was great to see Joey back on the bike. We’re really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do when they put all the pieces together." 

Jade Dungey - Mechanic: Chase Sexton

“Practice today for Chase was pretty good in the second qualifier. The first moto started off good, but didn’t end the best like we wanted. In the second moto, he rode phenomenally, like the Chase that I know, so it was a good start to the season and hopefully we keep making progress.”

Jordan Troxell – Mechanic: Christian Craig

“The first round here at Loretta’s was a cool experience, just to come to the Ranch. We definitely dealt with some weather making the track pretty rough. This was Christian’s first race with this team this season, and I wasn’t sure where we would fit in. He’s only been on the bike for three days, but he’s been training. We kind of had some bad starts and a couple falls, ended up 14th overall. We’ll go back and do some work this week and try to improve since we get to come back here next weekend.”

Jim Roach – Yamaha Racing Department Manager

“Overall today was a pretty good start to the motocross season for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team. Justin didn’t have the best of starts in the first moto but worked his way up to a solid finish in third. Broc spent some time getting comfortable in the first moto. We made a couple of subtle changes and the bikes were working well for the second moto. Justin overcame challenges to put in another good moto to finish fifth overall. Broc was hoping for a top 10 and was close. It was a good effort for his first Pro Motocross race in three years and he looks to finish solidly in the top 10 next week.”

Wil Hahn – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“Today was a great start to the series for us. Dylan rode awesome today, and all of our guys got some great starts. We’re looking forward to building on this momentum.”