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/867014
MOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 12 / AUGUST 26, 2017 CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA / IRONMAN MX P62 Creek, Cianciarulo duked it out for second in the first moto at Ironman. He made changes to his bike between motos to try and narrow the gap to Osborne, but he went the wrong way, and although he got the holeshot in moto two, he still couldn't keep Osborne at bay. "We ended the season strong," Cianciarulo said. "It took some ups and downs to get here, but that's what racing, and life, is all about. It's going to be up-and-down; it's just how you react to it. I feel like me and the team came together, and we got better, and got to where I know I can be; and that's challenging for race wins and podiums every time. "Zach rode fantastic today, and in that second moto, we made a little change with the taking off. His 1-1 score was his first 1-1 since the series opener at Hangtown. Osborne ends the 250MX Championship with an 81-point lead in the series, during which he scored podium finishes over- all at 11 of the 12 rounds run. The 501 points scored by Osborne would've been enough to win him the title every year since 2014, with the closest being the 500 points scored by Jeremy Martin in his first championship run in 2014. Since Osborne returned to the U.S., the only racer to score more points in a 250MX Championship was Eli Tomac, who scored 552 points to win the 2013 title. Behind Osborne on the day was Cianciarulo. After winning his first AMA National moto and overall a week earlier at Budds Cianciarulo out front, passed him just past halfway and took off with the moto win. "These fans here at Ironman deserve for me to go out there and put in my best," Osborne said. "That's what they paid to see today, so that's what I'm go- ing to do. My Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, I finally put it up front there in the beginning on the start, so it's good to win the first moto. It's my first first-moto win since, shoot, maybe High Point. It's been a while. It feels really good to just come here with no pressure and be able to ride the way God gave me the talent to ride and just kind of be myself on the bike, and on the track." In the second moto, Osborne wasted much less time, starting out second behind Cianciarulo, passing him early, and simply My Own Race: 14 COLE SEELY 4TH 450MX (4-4) Honda's Cole Seely was sick all week before the finale, and it got worse the morning of the race, so to finish with a 4-4 on the day was a win for him. "For how terrible today started, it ended up pretty good," Seely said. "I've been fighting a sickness for the past couple days and today it decided to kick up a notch, so I woke up feeling like I may not even be able to race. In practice I just went out and tried to lay down at least one fast lap before pulling off because I felt so weak and out of it. My time got me into ninth, which wasn't great by any means but good enough. In the races, I just got off to two good starts, gave it my all, and tried to ignore how I was feeling. I felt pretty good once I was out there and it ended up being an awesome day with two fourths. I was really trying to hang on to top-five in points, so I'm happy with that and think it was a great way to end the season." 46 JUSTIN HILL 9TH 250MX (11-9) With teammates Joey Savatgy and Austin Forkner still out injured for the finale, Justin Hill made his return to racing after missing five rounds due to an injury. In what very likely could be his final 250 race, he was top-10 in qualifying, and battled around that spot throughout moto one to finish 11th. In the second moto, he started 15th, but moved forward to eventually finish ninth. "It was nice to come back and get in the top 10 after spending little time on the bike since my injury," Hill said. "The conditions were really nice in Indiana, but the track can be brutal. Just glad we stayed healthy and showed some progress."