Cycle News

MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 / MAY 20, 2017 HANGTOWN MX / RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA P86 caused these issues, but at least three 250cc riders had at least four major malfunctions at Hangtown. The worst hit was JGR Suzuki's Kyle Cunningham, who charged forward from a so-so start to move into the top 10 in the first moto before his bike died on him after he completed 10 out of 16 laps. In the second moto, again, he moved forward into the top 10 early in the race, only for his bike to die yet again, this time only three laps into the moto. Geico Honda's Jeremy Martin also suffered a similar mechanical on lap 11 of the first 250MX moto, causing him to score a DNF after moving forward from ninth up to sixth in the race. And Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Austin Forkner actually only made it about 1/3 of a lap in the opening moto before he was seen coasting down the hill toward the mechanics' area. He repeatedly revved his bike, and it sounded sick—like a two-stroke with a fouled plug. His crew picked the bike up, threw it on a stand and fumbled with something under the tank on the left side of the bike (without any tools) for a few seconds before restarting the bike, at which point it sounded completely normal again. He rejoined the race and finished 11th, then backed that up with a second in moto two. "The first moto, I had some electrical problems on the first lap, and there was nothing the team could do or anything, but they [the AMA] made me wait until everybody passed before I could go, so I was dead last," Forkner said. "But I came back through and got 11th, and I felt good at the end..." The Hangtown Motocross Clas- sic hosted the FMF 125cc Dream Race before opening ceremonies, and it was a fun one to behold. The racers paraded their stinky tid- dlers through the pits on their way to the track, rode a practice, and then lined up for the moto. Robbie Wageman led much of the moto and battled it out for a while with guys like Josh Hansen, but it was KTM's tester extraordinaire Mike Sleeter who worked his way through the field like a man possessed, and then took the lead on the final lap only to toss it all away about 50 feet from the checkered flag when he swapped out on the Mechanics' Straight. Sleeter went down, hand- ing the win to Wageman. It was a bit weird to see both Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen in the pits at Hangtown, knowing they aren't racing. Dungey is retired now, obvi- ously, but there was hopeful news coming from Ken Roczen in regard to his terrible left-arm injury he suf- fered at Anaheim II this year after winning the first two rounds of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Super- cross Series. The reigning 450MX National Champion was perhaps more direct and positive than ever about his potential to recover from this injury, which many have specu- lated could actually be a career-end- ing injury: "It could be a lot worse!" Roczen said. "I'm happy to be here, walking on two legs, and I feel great! I'm working out, I'm eating good, and I'm positive I'll be back next year. You can bet money on that. I'll be back winning, and winning cham- pionships especially. It's a rider's torture to just watch everybody race and stuff. But it comes with it. I love hanging out with the team, and see- ing the fans. I'm in good spirits, and I'll be back!" Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Jason Anderson had a pretty gnarly get-off on the opening lap of the first 450cc moto. He went down awkwardly and had a wooden stake—which holds up the repeater banner well off the outside edge of the track—punch through his goggle and nearly gouge him in the eye. It cut his face open below his left eye, and he was immediately rushed to the Alpin- estars Mobile Medical Unit. Remark- ably, he still came out and lined up for moto two and ended up starting nearly mid-pack from the outside of the gate, but fought his way up to sixth place at the finish, salvaging some decent points on the day. Star Racing Yamaha's Dylan Fer- randis has had a few podium finish- es in the MX2 World Championships over the past few years, and with his strong showings near the end of the 2017 Supercross Championship, many expected big things of him at Hangtown. He qualified a very solid second overall in timed qualifying behind Zach Osborne, and then in the first moto he fought his way from outside the top 10 on the start to snatch fourth place from teammate Colt Nichols around the halfway point, only to go down awkwardly over a tabletop and hit his head hard enough to land himself in the AMA's concussion protocol. He was out for the day. He's expected to return to action at Glen Helen, but it depends on passing his concussion protocol tests with the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit. Briefly...

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