Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac won both 450MX class motos at the second round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series at Fox Raceway over the Memorial Day weekend. The race held in Pala, California, marked the first time the outdoor motocross series visited the venue since 2011. Tomac began the opening lap of the first moto in fifth and worked his way into the top three by the halfway point. Shortly after, he was able to capitalize on a mistake from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Cooper Webb to move into fourth and set his sights on Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Jason Anderson for third, where he overcame a five-second deficit to pass the Husqvarna rider. Later on, he was able to get around Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Marvin Musquin and Team Honda HRC's Ken Roczen, moving from third to first on the same lap, to take the race win. In the second moto, Tomac quickly worked his way into second place and was able to pass Musquin in the latter half of the moto holding the lead for the win. The Kawasaki rider's 1-1 performance in Southern California gave him the overall win and series point lead heading into his home race at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado.
“That second moto I was really comfortable [on the bike],” Tomac said. “It was really clean at the end. Marvin [Musquin] had a really good pace going there, and about halfway I was able to put pressure on him and make a really good pass. Once I got out front I was able to ride loose, picking good lines, and carried on to the win. We’re in a great position now [with the championship], so we’re right where we want to be.”
Musquin was in contention for the win in moto 1, pressuring Roczen near the end of the race, but was unable to get around the German rider and was passed by Tomac, pushing him back to third. In the second moto, he held off a hard-charging Tomac for the first half of the race and got passed for the lead on lap nine. The French rider ultimately finished second in the moto and second overall for the day.
“Coming from Hangtown, I had a rough week with only a little bit of riding on Thursday and Friday, so I didn’t have much expectation,” Musquin said. “I just wanted to get back to my full potential and I feel like today I was back to myself. I’m glad to be back on the podium with second overall and happy with my riding.”
Roczen led the majority of moto 1 before relinquishing the lead to Tomac and finishing in the runner-up spot. In the second moto, he managed a fourth-place start but lost positions on the hectic first lap, sitting sixth at the green flag. He began to find his groove on the tricky circuit, making passes and continuing his charge forward to take over third on lap six. Through the final five minutes of the race, Roczen was forced to play defense, fielding multiple attacks but hanging tough to finish third in the moto and third overall for the day.
“I’m pretty happy with today,” Roczen said. “Obviously, we want to win, but we also have a championship mentality and are in this for the long run, so I’m totally fine with third place. This was my first national here at Fox Raceway and it was a tough day. The track was gnarly, so you really had to be smart. I didn’t feel the greatest, so to still come out with a podium is good. I got a good start and led for most the first moto, but unfortunately I made a couple big mistakes, where I almost slid out and crashed. That allowed Eli [Tomac] to close in and get by me. I grabbed another good start in the second moto and just tried to do the best I could. I managed to get around some guys and into third, but toward the end I really had to fight to hold the position because Zach [Osborne] was right on me. I’m happy with how I pushed to the end. We’ve got a lot of racing left, so I’m looking forward to next week.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne continued his top-five moto streak with two consistent finishes. In moto 1, he got off to a ninth-place start and worked his way up to sixth by lap four. From there, he put on a charge to break into the top five on the final lap, holding strong to capture fifth. In moto 2, Osborne began in eighth place on the opening lap, working his way into fifth by lap two. While in fifth, he caught up to his teammate, Anderson, and the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna duo went to battle for fourth. He made his move around Anderson about halfway through and from there, he set his sights on the podium battle. With only a few laps to go, Osborne closed in on Roczen, finishing only 2.7 seconds off with fourth place.
“It was a pretty solid day for me and I have to be content leaving California healthy,” Osborne said. “This track was brutal today. This is the one that I was the most nervous about as far as the schedule goes and I came out with two decent results. I feel good about my position moving forward and I’ll just keep hammering.”
Anderson began his second round back from injury by qualifying third overall in practice. He put himself into third off the start of moto 1 and he battled for second early on. Eventually settling into third, he went to battle with Tomac where he ultimately finished fourth. In moto 2, he got off to a fourth-place start and quickly worked his way into third. He made an early charge to close in on the front-runners, but he was soon joined for the third-place battle. Anderson bounced around inside the top five for the remainder of the race, taking fifth in the moto and fifth overall for the day.
“My weekend went pretty good,” Anderson said. “The first moto, I kind of just hung in there for a fourth place and stayed with the guys. The second moto, I was riding good, but I didn’t really have it in me to up the pace comfortably, so I tried to latch onto third and fourth and do my best to finish strong.”
