Cycle News

Cycle News 2019 Issue 26 July 2

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 6 / JUNE 29, 2019 MX338 / SOUTHWICK, MASSACHUSETTS P52 iii My Own Race: 16 ZACH OSBORNE 2ND 450MX (3-1) Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Zach Osborne led, and then won, his first-ever 450MX moto at Southwick. "I felt really good in the second moto," Osborne said. "I had a little lull there midway through the first moto and Eli [Tomac] pulled a little gap on me. I knew there was not really a rea- son to hammer, so I maybe saved a little bit at the end of that first moto which benefitted me in the second moto. That second moto was the edge of me, I think. I was pushing really hard and the track was super physical." 1 ELI TOMAC 3RD 450MX (2-3) Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac has always been good at Southwick. He went 1-1 in 2016, 1-1 in 2017 and 1-2 last year to finish second overall. In the 250MX class in 2013, he won with a 1-2, and he finished second in 2012 with a 1-3. This is the first time he failed to win a single moto at Southwick since 2011. Still, he ended the day with a 26-point lead in the championship. "It was an awesome day for points in that aspect, but it was a little bit of a goofy day, too," Tomac said. "Normally I always have a really good feel here and today I was searching a little bit here and there. The two guys in front of me, they were going fast in those motos. Tough day. This track is brutal. It's always pretty worn out. I tried to catch those guys in the second moto. Did all I could, but I came up a little bit short that way." 2 COOPER WEBB 4TH 450MX (4-4) Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb ran near the front most of the day once again at Southwick and improved on his results a week earlier to finish fourth. "Southwick was a step in the right direc- tion for me," Webb said. "The day went well and it's definitely the best I've ridden so far. Head- ing to RedBud, I really enjoy racing there and hopefully I can get on the podium." 34 DYLAN FERRANDIS 2ND 250MX (3-1) Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Dylan Ferrandis complained of bike-setup issues in the first moto, but that was addressed in moto two, which led to a moto win and second overall. "I think my experience from the GP helps me a lot because in GP we have a lot of sand races," Ferrandis said. "They are much tougher than here, and also less fun. I think the experience makes a difference. This track is always fun to ride. Sand is a different technique. Today for me it was okay. I'm really disappointed in the first moto. I take a bad decision on the setting of the bike. It's difficult. We don't have sand tracks in California. The only one we have is really dry, so we can't really prepare for this race and riding sand. So we try to do testing on race day and sometimes it works, sometimes not. For the first moto I tried to go a direction with the team and it didn't work at all. I was struggling the full moto and get out of the track two times because I was out of control. I managed to finish third, but I think that mistake cost me the overall today. Second moto we made a better choice. We found a better direction on the bike setup. I was just riding much better. I feel much better on the bike and I won the moto, so it was a good thing." 32 JUSTIN COOPER 3RD 250MX (2-3) Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Justin Cooper qualified first at Southwick, but he didn't quite have it in him to repeat the first win of his career in Florida a week earlier. "I started good with practice and was making good adjustments with the bike," Cooper said. "I struggled a little bit finding my flow early in moto one and Adam [Cianciarulo] really got away from me. The damage was done pretty quick there. Just kind of managed the race from there. Didn't get off to the best start in the second one, but made some better bike changes and was kind of flowing. I was feeling good out there, just didn't have enough towards the end. I think that's kind of what separated us out there, just getting the full 35 minutes in pretty strong." 4 KEN ROCZEN 9TH 450MX (12-10) At WW Ranch in Florida a week prior to the Southwick national, Honda's Ken Roczen finished second in the first moto before things came apart for him in moto two. His struggles continued at Southwick. "I was coming into Southwick fairly excited, though struggling a little bit recovering from last weekend's race," said Roczen. "Still, I came in with full motivation and a new fork setting that unfortunately didn't work out very well for me in the first moto. For now I have to take it as it is, but I'm going to keep my head up and hope for a much, much better result from RedBud."

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