Cycle News

NOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 7 / JUNE 7, 2018 BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN / REDBUD P58 iii My Own Race: 54 PHIL NICOLETTI 5TH 450MX (6-6) Phil Nicoletti scored his first top-five overall of the season at Red- Bud, and he's clearly getting along with his Husqvarna at this point. He ran as high as second in the first 450MX moto before finishing an eventual sixth, then repeated that score with another sixth in moto two, but did it coming from behind. "It felt really great to get in the top-five," Nicoletti said. "It's been a long time coming, and we made great progress this week. The track was brutal, and it wasn't easy by any means. I ran in second for a long time in the first moto, but I'm not quite used to that pace. If I keep putting myself in that position I'll keep getting better." 98 RYAN SIPES 16TH 250MX (16-13) Former motocross racer, and current off-road star, Ryan Sipes filled in for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team at RedBud on a 250cc four-stroke and managed to score points in both motos. "I was able to get pretty good starts both motos," Sipes said. "It took me a while to get going in the first moto. I rode a lot better the second moto. I'm okay with 16-13 for only having two days on the bike. I haven't ridden a track this gnarly in years, so I'm good with it." 35 AUSTIN FORKNER 7TH 250MX (35-2) Austin Forkner continued to show he's someone to be dealt with up front in the 250MX class. For the second moto in a row, he was leading when he was taken out, this time by eventual winner Aaron Plessinger. His DNF from that crash, paired with his strong, come-from-behind runner-up in moto two gave him seventh overall. "I started probably four gates from the outside," Forkner said of the second moto, after the moto-one DNF. "Had that incident happen in the first moto. Obviously, really bummed about that. Kind of two weekends of the same thing happening. But honestly, I'm stoked on my riding. I did some testing back in Oklahoma at [Robbie] Reynard's training complex, with Adam from Showa this week, and the bike's the best it's been. I honestly think I had the speed to win the first moto. If I didn't have to start fourth from the outside I think I could have done the same second moto. Either way, I'm really confident right now. I feel good about my riding. Just a little bit of bad luck." 4 BLAKE BAGGETT 4TH 450MX (5-5) Although he's had better finishes so far in 2018, Blake Baggett has found a sweet spot in his bike setup that has improved his raw speed on the race track dramatically. He was the fastest qualifier at RedBud, and if not for crashes, he very likely would've been on the box. In the first moto, he crashed out of the lead and had to pit but still managed to finish fifth. He had another fall in the second moto. "That's the good thing about motocross: There's always next week- end," Baggett said. "But for sure, I thought I was going good. I got a good start the first moto. Was out front and then just had a little mishap and ended up going down. Then had to go to the mechan- ics area and try to straighten things out. It just snowball effect for the rest of my day. Second moto, not a great start. Ended up going down again. Just fought it all day."

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