Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1007261
VOL. 55 ISSUE 29 JULY 24, 2018 P59 But even with that lead, Tomac was able to catch Roczen within just a couple of laps and begin putting pressure on the former champ. The battle lasted more than half the race until, with about a handful of laps left, Roc- zen was balked by a lapped rider entering the sand whoops and Tomac was able to go by. Musquin crashed late in the first half of the race, giving Baggett third, and the finishing MXON The Motocross of Nations isn't until early October this year, so there's still time to announce Team USA—especially since the race is in the USA this time, at RedBud, which makes the travel arrange- ments, logistics for bikes, etc., much easier to handle. However, that said, it's looking set in stone at this point (unless there are injuries) that Team USA will be made up of Eli Tomac (MX1), Aaron Plessinger (MX2) and Justin Barcia (Open). Team USA hasn't won the Moto- cross of Nations since 2011, believe it or not, and if that team above somehow manages not to win, at RedBud of all places, it would be a major upset. Assuming everybody goes there healthy, though, it will be something to see Tomac face off against Jeffrey Herlings again for the "fastest man on the planet" un- official honors. It's also looking like- ly that Marvin Musquin and Dylan Ferrandis will be two-thirds of Team France, with either Gautier Paulin or Romain Febvre filling in the other spot. And then there's Team Puerto Rico, which is filled with riders who have U.S. passports. If Tomac, Plessinger and Barcia stay healthy for the RedBud MXoN, rumors have Puerto Rico potentially featuring Jason Anderson and Zach Osborne (depending on his shoulder). ROOKIE ROUNDUP Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawa- saki's Garrett Marchbanks returned to action at RedBud, after straining his MCL in his left knee at High Point a few races before, and he went 6-DNF. Then he didn't show up at Millville, even with a week off to recover, and as of press time, the reason for his absence hasn't been given. AutoTrader/Yoshimura Suzuki rookie Enzo Lopes also has been missing from the series since a big crash at High Point, but he made his return to action at Millville and managed to score points in both motos. TAKING IT Geico Honda's RJ Hampshire fin- ished second in the first moto at the previous round at RedBud but was involved in the same start crash that collected Garrett Marchbanks in moto two, dropping out of the event. He was left with some pretty major gashes to his back, knee and chin. The back injury was drained prior to Millville, and stitches were removed from his back and chin, but he left the stitches in his knee as a precaution. He'll have those stitches out before Washougal. Despite all of this, Hampshire still managed to go 6-11 at Millville for seventh overall, and the 11th in the second moto came after he some- how tangled in midair with Joey Savatgy and went down. Somehow, Savatgy saved it. "I don't know how much more I can take!" said Hamp- shire. "I've just been getting beat up every weekend for over a month now. I'm still pretty banged up from RedBud but knew I could be competitive. First moto was decent, I just had a bad start. Second moto I got a much better start. I'm not for sure what happened, though. I got hit in the air, which pulled me right a bit and then I just got landed on that first lap! My throttle was stuck from where the bike hit, and I was going to pull into the mechanics' Briefly... Winner Eli Tomac chases down Ken Roczen—one of his many victims—at Spring Creek.