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MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 12 / AUGUST 25, 2018 IRONMAN RACEWAY / CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA P56 450MX 1. Justin Barcia (Yam) 1-1 2. Ken Roczen (Hon) 3-2 3. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 4-3 4. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 2-9 5. Cooper Webb (Yam) 9-4 6. Tyler Medaglia (Kaw) 7-6 7. Phil Nicoletti (Hon) 6-7 8. Chad Reed (Suz) 5-8 9. Valentin Teillet (Hus) 8-10 10. Blake Baggett (KTM) 16-5 250MX 1. Aaron Plessinger (Yam) 1-1 2. RJ Hampshire (Hon) 4-3 3. Chase Sexton (Hon) 2-6 4. Colt Nichols (Yam) 8-2 5. Justin Cooper (Yam) 3-7 6. Austin Forkner (Kaw) 7-5 7. Dylan Ferrandis (Yam) 10-4 8. Shane McElrath (KTM) 5-10 9. Michael Mosiman (Hus) 6-11 10. Alex Martin (KTM) 9-9 Briefly... ROCZEN REFLECTS Ken Roczen had another tough year related to injuries, but he finished out the season on a strong note and heads into the off-season on a positive note. "This season was tough, but great," Roczen said. "Nobody really sees the struggle during the week. To throw myself into this season with very little track time or testing and not even be sure I could really race, to how things progressed, especially the second half of the season, was great. I finished on the podium a bunch and got third overall in the championship, which was the goal coming into this weekend. It's really good to finish this season healthy and strong, which is what the plan was for this year, and to get some racing under my belt." Roczen's Honda HRC Team Manager Erik Keohe said, "This whole season was a confidence builder for next year. Remember- ing back to where Ken started this season at Hangtown, to where we're at now is huge, making this season a complete success and definitely something we can build on for 2019. We learned a lot, which is always the main goal. Ken is such a fierce competitor that he wants to win all the time, but sometimes it takes being smart, which I think is the big- gest takeaway. He's gained so much patience in his riding." GOGGLES Goggles might be the most impor- tant piece of safety equipment at any mud race, and to have them fail during a race could be a major prob- lem. The only occasional excep- tion to this rule is if you're leading the race, as the roost is much less problematic. Ken Roczen apparently had a goggle malfunction in the first 450MX moto that left him frustrated, and he seemed to blame that for his inability to chase down the leaders and settle for third in the race. Both Dylan Ferrandis and Marvin Musquin started with two pairs of goggles on—one on top of the other—in the races. But ultimately the guys who won both classes finished without goggles. NO MORE BACON One of the most well-known guys on the MX circuit, and in SoCal Moto circles, Jim "Bones" Bacon, is retiring. Bones has been the key chassis technician for the Pro Circuit race team since its incep- tion in 1991, and has done similar development and technical work in Pro Circuit's product/suspension development programs since the mid-1980s. After 34 years of abso- lute dedication, he's getting married and moving on from racing. FAST GUYS MISSED MOTOS With the heavy rain and mud at the Ironman MX finale, there was only one round of practice/qualifiers, and the order—as usual—went 250 B, 250 A, 450 A, 450 B, with the A qualifiers representing the "factory" groups. But in conditions like they had in Indiana, the 250 B qualifier was faster than the 250 A qualifier, as the first couple laps on a mud track tend to be fastest before the ruts start to form and things get too thick and soupy. Also, at a normal National, the top 36 qualify by time and then the other four race into the motos in a consolation race, where the top four advance. There was no consi at Ironman, so they took the top 40 in each class by time into the motos. Because of this, a lot of top talent failed to make the 250cc field. Both Shane McElrath (41st) and Aus- tin Forkner (43rd) failed to make the field on time, but they were saved by the AMA rule that allows anybody in the top 10 in points to get into the field on a provisional qualification. But many others were not so lucky, including Rockstar Energy Husqvar- na's Ryan Sipes (42nd), Enzo Lopes (44th), Dakota Alix (50th), Jimmy Decotis (52nd), Sean Cantrell, Hayden Mellross (59th), Mitchell Harrison (63rd) and Jordon Smith (65th). Forkner, McElrath and Smith were all inside the top 10 in points, but Smith decided to sit out the race with an injured knee, which meant that McElrath and Forkner ended up bumping Jordan Bailey and Mitch- ell Falk. Bailey ended up racing in moto two after KTM privateer Cody Vanbuskirk dropped out of the race following the first moto. Bailey got 12th in the moto.