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MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 / JULY 10, 2021 THE WICK 338 / SOUTHWICK, MASSACHUSETTS P64 down and secure P3 and I wasn't listening, I wanted to go back to the front and pass Ken, and then they were pushing for me to slow down, so I had no choice but to do it." "Obviously, Eli was on another level to us," admitted Roczen afterwards. "I struggled with the bike all day, and I also struggled with the track. You know what you are going to get with South- wick, but then you go on the track, and it is 10 times worse. I made some changes for the second moto, I definitely wasn't loving it, but in general I have been limited with testing down in Florida—I haven't really done any- thing. We need to improve a little bit. Some tracks I can manage it and muscle my way through better, but today I wasn't good ease up and manage the engine rather than to try and track down Roczen and pick up a few more points. He slowed to a comfort- able third in the second moto, where he finished, still enough to grant him the overall win. The decision seemed to disappoint Ferrandis, who felt that he had more to give in the closing laps. "I don't think I could match Eli's speed in moto two; he was really on fire and riding really well. But I feel like I could have come back on Ken and tried and challenge him in the last lap, so yes, for sure I was frustrated about that, and I was frustrated because I had a small crash," said Fer- randis. "Without the small crash maybe, I could have passed Ken, I don't know. The team asked me four laps from the end to slow the track well and can get in fast laps before the bumps and ruts begin to form. However, messy conditions in the morning flipped the script on qualifying, and the second sessions were actually quicker than the first. New Jersey privateer Luke Renzland was fastest in the first 250 "B" group with a 2:23.295, which was impres- sive, considering the fact that he was on a very trick-looking Husqvarna TC 125 two-stroke. But then the 250 "A" group Justin Cooper turned in the fastest time at 2:17.952. The 450MX pole went to Monster Energy Kawa- saki's Adam Cianciarulo with a time of 2:12:659, nearly four seconds faster than the best time in the first session, which belonged to Ken Roczen. A DUNGEY MOMENT? Speaking of Renzland, after qualify- ing 22nd on the 125, he finished 23rd in the first moto, but then on the way back to the pits his engine seized. His Dreamland MX Racing crew managed to put a new top end on the bike, and Renzland went down to the starting gate for the second moto to pick a spot, then worked on packing his gate. Unfortunately, his bike never came down due to a problem with the power valve. As time was running out, Renzland, said, "I was hoping that my bike would show up like Ryan Dungey's in 2011 but no such luck. Would have been an epic moment! I could not believe how the people reacted to the 125—air horns and cheers around the track every single lap, even in practice." SOUTHWICK NOTES Southwick first appeared on the AMA Pro Motocross schedule in 1976 with a 250 National, won by Dutch Honda import Pierre Karsmakers… Among Briefly... This time it was Hunter Lawrence's turn to win the 250MX class. There has been a different winner in all five rounds so far.