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/694857
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 / JUNE 18, 2016 HIGH POINT RACEWAY / MT. MORRIS, PENNSYLVANIA P66 250MX Since the start of the 2014 rac- ing season, a significant amount of the talk in the 250cc class has involved the Yamalube/ Star Racing Yamaha team and how much the team had turned around, with help from the all-new (at the time) Yamaha YZ250F. Suddenly, a 250cc class that was previously domi- nated by the Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki, GEICO Honda, and KTM teams had a clear, new powerhouse at the front of the pack. Since the start of 2014, the Star team has scored four championships—two 250cc West titles with Cooper Webb and two 250cc National MX titles with Jeremy Martin— and went into the 2016 Lucas Oil AMA 250cc National Moto- cross Championships as a clear favorite. While the Star team has been a dominant force on the podium and inside the top five for the first three rounds of the series, it was Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy who managed to win two of the He scored a DNF. Jeremy Martin, who says he's still recovering from an early-sea- son illness, went after Osborne late in the moto but came up just short. Osborne took the moto victory—the first of his career, and the first for Husqvarna since their return to AMA 250cc Mo- tocross—followed by teammates Jeremy Martin and Webb. Points leader Savatgy began the race solidly inside the top 10, but a fall slowed his progress late in the moto and he ended up fourth, just in front of rookie teammate Austin Forkner and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Aaron Plessinger. Jeremy Martin snatched an- other great start in moto two, but was quickly passed, this time by Savatgy's teammate Adam Cian- first three rounds and lead the championship chase heading into round four. And at round four in Pennsylvania, we may have seen the first chink in the Star team's armor. Star Yamaha's Alex Martin has been absolutely on fire as of late, and he still was in Penn- sylvania. In moto one, he went by his brother and defending series champion Jeremy Martin early on the opening lap to take the lead, and after a few laps he succumbed to pressure from Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Zach Osborne, who passed both Martins in the early going to take over the lead. Earlier in the day, Osborne ac- tually joined his 450cc teammate Jason Anderson in sweeping the top qualifying spots on the day for the first time in Husqvarna's modern MX-racing history, so he was on his game. Alex Martin stayed close until a little past halfway through the moto, when his bike began to puff smoke. The smoke got heavier and heavier until, with three laps to go, the engine finally gave out. Joey Savatgy came from behind to take the 250MX win.