It was a scorcher last Saturday as the Red Bull National Motocross Championships came to a close in Lake Elsinore, California. With temperatures lingering around 100 degrees it was certainly a test of fitness, heart and grit by the riders and even the diehard fans that lined the fences. The Troy Lee Designs/ Lucas Oil/ Honda team came into the last round in contention for the WMX title, in the top ten in the 250 class and looking to go out with a bang.
Christian Craig started the weekend off with a strong ride in the opening moto. He ran sixth for much of the moto, losing one spot towards the end to finish seventh. The heat taxed Christian, who is still building his fitness from an earlier injury. Still, he came out swinging in moto two and ran seventh for half the moto before losing a little steam and dropping to tenth at the checkers. His efforts earned him 7th overall on the day, a solid effort from Craig and a good way to end the season.
Jessy Nelson andTravis Baker both got great jumps in the opening 250 moto. Nelson was sixth for much of the first moto before falling back to ninth at the end. Baker gated well also and scored eleventh in the opening moto. The second moto did not go as well as both riders got bad starts and had to fight for positions moving forward. Nelson would crash once but still climb to thirteenth in the moto while Baker could only get to fifteenth. Nelson finished 10th on the day and 9th in the series while Baker was 14th on the day and 10th overall in the series.
"I feel like I should have been able to stay closer to the leaders in the first moto," said Jessy. "I had a big clump of dirt stuck in my throat and I could barely breathe. It was so dry out there my mouth and throat dried out. I couldn't cough it up and it made it hard to breathe. The second moto I just didn't get the start I needed to. I'm still happy with the way my first season went though. I can't wait for supercross next year!"
Tarah Gieger struggled with the rutted, rough track all day and didn't get the results she needed to win the WMX championship. Still, she put in a great effort and went 5-5 for 4th overall. And that finish was enough to give her second overall in the series, no small feat.
The Troy Lee Designs/ Lucas Oil/ Honda team would like to thank all of the fans, sponsors and friends that helped make this racing season such a success. The crew will take a small break and then refocus their efforts on the 2013 season, which is right around the corner. Thank you and we will see you at the races next year!
TLD would like to thank all of our team sponsors: Lucas Oil, American Honda, PPG, Red Bull, Adidas, Oakley, Seaspan, Fender®, Dunlop, Renthal, Alpinestars, ODI, McQueen Racing, Hot Wheels, GoPro, Shock Doctor, Pro Circuit, Showa, VQ OrthoCare, Couts Heating & Cooling, Specialized, Kasey Kahne, N-Style, VP Racing Fuels, DubyaUSA, Moto Tassinari, PixelMags, ARC, Braking, Boyesen, Cycra, Mammoth Mountain, DID, Dirt Star, Hinson, Twin Air, Pacific Collision Centers, Sports Care Center, Elrod Racing, and New Era.
450 Overall
1.) Ryan Dungey 1-1 KTM
2.) Mike Alessi 2-2 Suz
3.) Broc Tickle 3-3 Kaw
4.) Tyla Rattray 4-4 Kaw
5.) Jake Weimer 5-9 Kaw
6.) Justin Brayton 12-5 Hon
7.) Christian Craig 7-10 Hon
8.) Andrew Short 8-13 Hon
9.) Ben LaMay 10-12 Yam
10.) Weston Peick 13-11 Suz
450 Final Points Standings
1.) Ryan Dungey 580pts. KTM *Clinched 2012 450 title
2.) Mike Alessi 453pts. Suz
3.) Jake Weimer 355pts. Kaw
4.) Andrew Short 354pts. Hon
5.) Broc Tickle 349pts. Kaw
6.) Josh Grant 277pts. Kaw
7.) Justin Brayton 247pts. Hon
8.) Kyle Chisholm 211pts. Kaw
9.) Davi Millsaps 176pts. Yam
10.) Tyla Rattray 176pts. Kaw
11.) James Stewart 163pts. Suz
13.) Nico Izzi 163pts. Yam
14.) Brett Metcalfe 142pts. Suz
15.) Michael Byrne 138pts. Suz
16.) Ben LaMay 105pts. Yam
17.) Tommy Hahn 101pts. Hon
18.) Christian Craig 99pts. Hon
250 Overall
1.) Blake Baggett 1-2 Kaw
2.) Justin Barcia 3-1 Hon
3.) Marvin Musquin 4-3 KTM
4.) Wil Hahn 5-4 Hon
5.) Malcolm Stewart 7-6 KTM
6.) Ken Roczen 6-7 KTM
7.) Eli Tomac 2-14 Hon
8.) Blake Wharton 8-8 Suz
9.) Jeremy Martin 10-10 Yam
10.) Jessy Nelson 9-13 Hon
11.) Kyle Cunningham 14-9 Yam
12.) Jason Anderson 31-5 Suz
13.) Justin Bogle 15-11 Hon
14.) Travis Baker 11-15 Hon
250 Final Points Standings
1.) Blake Baggett 519pts. Kaw *Clinched 250 Championship
2.) Justin Barcia 499pts. Hon
3.) Eli Tomac 487pts. Hon
4.) Ken Roczen 456pts. KTM
5.) Marvin Musquin 406pts. KTM
6.) Wil Hahn 316pts. Hon
7.) Blake Wharton 265pts. Suz
8.) Jason Anderson 238pts. Suz
9.) Jessy Nelson 225pts. Hon
10.) Travis Baker 193pts. Hon
9/10/2012 4:17pm
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