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/683145
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 / MAY 21, 2016 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA / RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA P76 Rain, which hit the area Friday eve- ning, was on everyone's mind all day Saturday. Rain was forecasted from 1 p.m. through 4 p.m. (right dur- ing race times), so the track wasn't ripped as deeply as usual in anticipa- tion of the wet stuff, but, except for a brief shower during the first 250 moto, the rain never came. As a re- sult, the track didn't get as rough as usual, so speeds were up and pass- ing was down. "It [the track] was pretty smooth, honestly," said Alex Martin. "Hangtown is traditionally, at least the last three years, one of the toughest and gnarliest tracks on the circuit, but they got thrown a curve- ball with the weather forecasting rain, so they didn't rip it like they normally would've. We all had to ride the same track, it started to show signs of get- ting rough at the end of our second moto but for the most part it was pret- ty smooth." Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawa- saki's Arnaud Tonus returned to racing after the rider from Switzer- land injured his shoulder early in the supercross season. He rode conser- vatively and went 22-15 for 18th over- all. "Coming into Hangtown, I hadn't been able to ride or train as much as I've wanted to due to my shoulder," said Tonus. "It's getting stronger ev- ery time I ride and our goal was to leave Hangtown with solid finishes and I believe that's what we did, so I'm happy with how today went." A few riders left the Hangtown banged up, including Roost MX's Stone Edler whose crash caused the red flag to be shown in the sec- ond 250MX moto, and Team Mi- croBilt/PRBC Suzuki rider Ronnie Stewart, who went down in the first 450MX moto and reportedly suffered injuries to his upper back/shoulder areas. Cycle Trader/Rock River Ya- maha's Tommy Hahn nearly went over the bars in the second 450MX but apparently injured his knee/leg in the incident. He pulled off the track and received assistance from the As- trisks Medical crew. 450MX 1. Ken Roczen (Suz) 1-1 2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 2-2 3. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 4-4 4. Jason Anderson (Hus) 6-3 5. Trey Canard (Hon) 7-5 6. Cole Seely (Hon) 5-10 7. Justin Barcia (Yam) 10-6 8. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 9-7 9. Josh Grant (Kaw) 8-8 10. Phil Nicoletti (Yam) 11-9 250MX 1. Joey Savatgy (Kaw) 1-1 2. Alex Martin (Yam) 8-2 3. Cooper Webb (Yam) 4-5 4. Aaron Plessinger (Yam) 9-3 5. Jeremy Martin (Yam) 3-9 6. Jessy Nelson (KTM) 7-6 7. Jordon Smith (Hon) 2-16 8. Austin Forkner (Kaw) 13-7 9. Tristan Charboneau (Hon) 6-14 10. Mitchell Oldenburg (KTM) 11-10 Briefly... My Own Race: 14 COLE SEELY 450MX 6 TH (5-10) Cole Seely had a strong day but admits he needs to keep working on his strength. "I'm both happy and sad with how the day went," Seely said. "There were some good and bad aspects but I think it was a pretty good start to the season— definitely something I can build on as the series continues. The first moto was really good; I was happy with the way I rode, but I still need a little more at the end. I put a lot into that race and didn't really recover enough to go into the second moto with the same heat and aggression. I'm still building and trying to become a better outdoor rider."