The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, hit the home stretch last Saturday with the 10th round of the 2014 season from legendary Unadilla. The Red Bull Unadilla National is known for being one of the toughest tests on the schedule and after a pair of motos in both the 450 and 250 Classes, two previous winners at the track returned to the top of the podium – Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Christophe Pourcel. Dungey was challenged on his path to victory, while Pourcel was no doubt the class of the 250cc field.
Through partnerships with series sponsors, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will recognize the riders who achieve the series’ specialty awards all summer long. Each week, MX Sports Pro Racing will recognize the riders who are able to lay claim to the Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program, the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in each moto, and the Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award throughout the 2014 season.
The Oakley Bomb Fastest Lap Program is designed to present a unique challenge for the 2014 season, providing a different twist by recognizing the rider who sets the fastest lap of practice in both the 250 and 450 Classes. Each rider will receive special Oakley Bomb trophy, specially designed by the brand.As the season wears on, the total number of Oakley Bomb awards a rider receives will be tallied into a final season total. The competitor with the most awards at season’s end will be presented with an Elite Oakley Time Bomb II Swiss Automatic Watch.
Trey Canard earned his second Oakley Bomb Award of the season at Unadilla with the fastest lap of the timed qualifying sessions. (Photo: Matt Rice)
In the 450 Class, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard earned his second Oakley Bomb Award of the season on a day in which he was able to break through for the first moto win of his career. Canard posted a time of 2:14.313 to put nearly a second between him and second place, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac.
Pourcel’s dominant afternoon began after he earned his eighth Oakley Bomb Award in 10 rounds. The Frenchman already locked in the Elite Oakley Time Bomb II Swiss Automatic Watch by setting the most fast laps this season, and that trend continued with a 2:14.349, edging out Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin by just a tenth of a second.
Pourcel carried the momentum right into the motos, where he continued to prove he’s also the most formidable starter in the 250 Class.
MotoSport.com Holeshot Award
The Motosport.com Holeshot Award is brand new to Lucas Oil Pro Motocross this season and it awards $500 to the rider who gets the holeshot of each moto – in both the 450 Class and 250 Class – at every round of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. A total of $2,000 will be up for grabs at each event between the two classes, thanks to Motosport.com.
Christophe Pourcel (377) swept both MotoSport.com Holeshot Awards en route to his first overall win of the season. (Photo: Matt Rice)
Pourcel had swept the Motosport.com Holeshot Awards for the past two rounds leading into Unadilla and he was able to duplicate that effort for a third time, putting his Yamaha at the front of the field each time the gate dropped. He now has a six-moto holeshot streak and has collected $3,000 in prize money over that span. In total, Pourcel boasts a series-leading nine holeshots in 2014. At Unadilla, those stellar starts ultimately proved to be the defining factor in his winning effort, going 1-2 on the afternoon.
The 450 Class was also a showcase for Yamaha. Much like Pourcel, Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Justin Brayton has been impressive with his starting abilities of late and went on to sweep the Motosport.com Holeshot Awards for the second straight round at Unadilla, to give him four straight and $2,000 of bonus money. Brayton parlayed those starts into his best outing of the season, finishing fifth overall after 6-7 moto results. Brayton now has five holeshots since returning to action from an injury.
Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha’s Justin Brayton (10) and Phil Nicoletti (38) have been impressive with their starting abilities this season. (Photo: Matt Rice)
RC Hard Charger Award
The RC Hard Charger Award is entering its sixth season in 2014. Named after Ricky Carmichael, the most winning motocross rider of all time, the award recognizes the one competitor at each of the 12 rounds of the championship who overtakes the highest number of his fellow racers in any of the four championship motos between the 250 and 450 Classes.The award is a testament to “The Greatest of All Time” or “The GOAT” and his never-give-up attitude over the span of a career that warranted 10 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross titles and 102 wins – two feats that will likely never be duplicated. All recipients of the RC Hard Charger Award are given a custom-designed trophy.
The truly challenging conditions at Unadilla ultimately means making passes is also a lot more challenging, so a good start is paramount. On Saturday, one rider in the 450 Class and another in the 250 Class proved they had the ability to fight their way forward. In the 450 Class privateer Cade Clason rode his Gurrnaid Energy/AG Motorsports Honda through the pack, battling his way from a 39th-place start to pass 17 riders and finish 22nd. In the 250 Class, recent amateur graduate Luke Renzland fought for a pair of finishes in the points in his pro debut for Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha. Renzland proved his resiliency in his very first pro moto, overcoming a 35th-place start to also pass 17 riders and finish 18th.
In his pro debut, Luke Renzland overcame a first turn crash to pass 17 riders en route to his first RC Hard Charger Award. (Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X)
2014 Specialty Award Winners
Oakley Fastest Lap Program
450 Class
Glen Helen – Ryan Dungey
Hangtown – Ken Roczen
Thunder Valley – Trey Canard
High Point – Ken Roczen
Muddy Creek – Eli Tomac
RedBud – Ken Roczen
Budds Creek – James Stewart
Spring Creek – Ken Roczen
Washougal – Ryan Dungey
Unadilla – Trey Canard
250 Class
Glen Helen – Christophe Pourcel
Hangtown – Christophe Pourcel
Thunder Valley – Christophe Pourcel
High Point – Jeremy Martin
Muddy Creek – Christophe Pourcel
RedBud – Christophe Pourcel
Budds Creek – Christophe Pourcel
Spring Creek – Christophe Pourcel
Washougal – Marvin Musquin
Unadilla – Christophe Pourcel
Motosport.com Holeshot Award
450 Class
Glen Helen
Moto 1 – Josh Grant
Moto 2 – Ken Roczen
Hangtown
Moto 1 – Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 – Jake Weimer
Thunder Valley
Moto 1 – Josh Grant
Moto 2 – Trey Canard
High Point
Moto 1 – Chad Reed
Moto 2 – Chad Reed
Muddy Creek
Moto 1 – Eli Tomac
Moto 2 – Ryan Dungey
RedBud
Moto 1 – Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 – Ken Roczen
Budds Creek
Moto 1 – Justin Brayton
Moto 2 – Ryan Dungey
Spring Creek
Moto 1 – Ryan Dungey
Moto 2 – Eli Tomac
Washougal
Moto 1 – Justin Brayton
Moto 2 – Justin Brayton
Unadilla
Moto 1 – Justin Brayton
Moto 2 – Justin Brayton
250 Class
Glen Helen
Moto 1 – Jeremy Martin
Moto 2 – Jeremy Martin
Hangtown
Moto 1 – Zach Bell
Moto 2 – Jeremy Martin
Thunder Valley
Moto 1 – Jessy Nelson
Moto 2 – Zach Bell
High Point
Moto 1 – Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 – Christophe Pourcel
Muddy Creek
Moto 1 – Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 – Justin Bogle
RedBud
Moto 1 – Matt Biscegila
Moto 2 – Joey Savatgy
Budds Creek
Moto 1 – Justin Bogle
Moto 2 – Jeremy Martin
Spring Creek
Moto 1 – Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 – Christophe Pourcel
Washougal
Moto 1 – Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 – Christophe Pourcel
Unadilla
Moto 1 – Christophe Pourcel
Moto 2 – Christophe Pourcel
RC Hard Charger Award
Glen Helen – Josh Grant (+22)
Hangtown – Andrew Short (+24)
Thunder Valley – Fredrik Noren (+21)
High Point – Shane Sewell & Zack Williams (+14)
Muddy Creek – Josh Grant (+29)
RedBud – Fredrik Noren & Joey Savatgy (+21)
Budds Creek – Dean Wilson (+21)
Spring Creek – Jason Anderson (+25)
Washougal – Tevin Tapia (+18)
Unadilla – Cade Clason & Luke Renzland (+17)
