Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013 since the two have finished next to each other nine times during the season. But when Roczen botched his first-moto start and finished fourth to Tomac's first, suddenly the prospect of clinching the title early became a reality for Tomac. Knowing that his first outdoor title was definitely within reach now, Tomac had that extra incentive to make up for his own botched start in the second moto and reel in and pass leader Roczen four laps from the end. Tomac quickly pulled away from the stunned Roczen but the title wasn't his just yet, Tomac needed help, which came from an unlikely source - Blake Baggett, who finished second in the first moto and was the same rider who beat out Tomac in the final moto of the season last year to win the championship. While Tomac cruised out in front, Baggett caught Roczen and the two started battling. With second overall (and Tomac's championship) in the balance, Baggett passed Roczen after taking the white flag. With a few turns left, Roczen made a lastditch run on Baggett, and the two sailed across the finish line side by side with Baggett getting the nod and Tomac the 2013 250 title. Tomac was stoked to have P71 Briefly... TREMX.com/Pasha Racing Privateer Colton Aeck suffered a hard get-off during practice and was carried off the track by stretcher. On Monday, August 19, he reported: "I would like to update my status after a nasty crash at Utah that left me unconscious. I am very sore , but my scan came back clear. I would like to thank the many people that contacted me for their support, God for keeping me safe, the Asterisk crew, Troy Lee for never compromising on the quality of his helmets and gear, Bob Miyako for making sure I had a brand new helmet before the race, and my family for being there." BLOWN AWAY AND LESSONS LEARNED Thunderstorms in the area resulted in a sudden microburst of wind that lasted for about a quarter of the second 250 moto. The high winds picked up the dry and loose dirt from the infield, making visibility extremely difficult for both the riders and spectators, and the track crews frantically had to pull uprooted and torn banners off the track. The wind also made it extremely difficult for the riders to clear the massive double and triple jumps that were scattered all around the track. Riders had to make noticeable adjustments in the air to keep from getting blown off the track. Zach Os- borne said he got blown at least 10 feet from side to side once while in the air. He added, however, that most of the big jumps were either into the wind or with the wind, which, "…wasn't too bad," said Osborne. "But a couple of them had crosswinds and that was sketchy for sure." "I was expecting them to throw the red flag," said Ken Roczen. Evidently it was discussed, but AMA officials felt it was safe to go on with the race, especially when the winds started dying down. The wind also tore up the podium, leaving it without a background for the 250-class trophy and championship presentation. "That was a pure desert wind storm," said MX Sport's Davey Coombs. "We learned a lot from that and will have a plan in place and be better prepped and ready for that next year, especially with the banners. We did design most of the big jumps to run east and west [with the area's prevailing winds] but we weren't expecting winds like we had in the second 250 moto, but we will next year. But weather is a big part of motocross, and there is nothing we can do about the weather unless we put a roof over the race, but we already have that, it's called Supercross. We will just be better prepared next time."

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