Baggett Emerges with Second Consecutive Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Victory at High Point, Takes Over Points Lead
Martin Breaks Through with First 250 Class Win of the Season
The fourth round of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, hosted the 41
st annual Red Bull High Point National at the beautifully landscaped High Point Raceway, which served as the first east coast stop of the season. Following a breakthrough first career win at the previous round, RMATV/MC-WPS-KTM rider Blake Baggett kept the momentum rolling as he captured a second straight 450 Class victory, taking control of the championship points lead along with it. In the 250 Class, two-time champion and GEICO Honda rider Jeremy Martin emerged with his first win of the season.
The opening 450 Class moto witnessed Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Grant emerge with the Motosport.com Holeshot, narrowly edging out Team Honda HRC’s Christian Craig and Australian import Dean Ferris aboard his CDR Yamaha. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac quickly found himself passing for third, however, he made a costly mistake that sent him to the ground and was forced to restart in dead last. At the completion of the opening lap it was Grant, Craig, Ferris, RCH/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Justin Bogle, and Baggett rounding out the top five. Entering points leader Marvin Musquin was buried in the field aboard his Team Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine and was credited with 13
th position.
While Grant set a fast pace at the front of the field, Ferris went to work on Craig and took control of the runner-up position. Baggett used every inch of the track searching for lines and overtook Bogle for fourth on Lap 1. Baggett, who earned the nickname “El Cupacabra” after a heroic ride during the 2011 High Point National, continued his march to the front as he closed in on Craig and made the pass stick for third on Lap 2. Ferris shocked the crowd as he began to chase down early race leader Grant, latching onto his rear fender and stalking his every move. Ferris would eventually pull alongside the Kawasaki rider through the deep forming ruts and take over the race lead with an aggressive pass on Lap 4.
Baggett had his sights set on the race lead and instantly began applying the pressure to Grant on Lap 4, following Ferris’ closely. Once into second, Baggett dropped the hammer and started to lower his lap times as he started reducing the gap to Ferris. On Lap 5, Ferris lost traction exiting a corner that resulted in a bobble, ultimately allowing Baggett to use his momentum and make the pass for the lead. Once into the lead, the KTM rider quickly used his creative lines and blistering pace to open a comfortable gap that he continued to build on with each passing lap.
As the checkered flag waved, it was Baggett who used a dominant performance to claim his second moto win of the season, more than 22-seconds clear of his nearest competitor. Ferris rode incredible to take the runner-up position in his first ever Pro Motocross moto, while early race leader Grant held on for his fourth moto podium of the season. Tomac recovered from his first lap mishap to finish 12
th, while Musquin, who apparently entered the race with a nagging injury, battled through to finish 16
th.
RCH/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Broc Tickle launched off of the starting gate to take the Motosport.com Holeshot in Moto 2, edging out Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson, Tomac, Baggett, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Dean Wilson. In the opening stages of the race, Baggett made a mistake that cost him several positions, while both Anderson and Tomac moved their way around Tickle and into first and second, respectively, at the completion of the opening lap. Tomac was determined to rebound from a difficult first moto and was on a mission as he charged his way to the front.
Anderson and Tomac set a torrid pace that allowed them to open a small gap over the field early on, leaving the battle for third to unfold between a handful of riders. Tomac was hot on the heels of Anderson and capitalized on the leader, who made a mistake by missing his line in a turn, to overtake the top position on Lap 3. Once into the lead, Tomac demonstrated why he came into the season as the championship favorite and turned some of the quickest laps of the race to break away from the pack of riders behind him. First moto winner Baggett started to find his flow and began picking riders off one-by-one, and broke into the top five on Lap 4.
Just one lap later Baggett continued his charge forward and moved into podium position with a pass on early race leader Anderson. There was no slowing down Baggett as his blistering pace quickly put him onto the rear wheel of Tickle, who had passed Anderson for second, as they dueled for the runner-up spot. On Lap 6, Baggett made the pass stick to secure the position and put his head down in hopes of mounting a charge on Tomac.
Despite Baggett matching his lap times for several laps, Tomac went unchallenged throughout the remainder of the race to secure his third moto win of the season. He crossed the line 20.1 seconds ahead of Baggett, with Anderson following in third after a late pass on Tickle.
The 1-2 effort for Baggett was enough to clinch his second consecutive victory, which also made him the first double winner of the season in the 450 Class. Anderson finished second (5-3) and Tickle completed the overall podium in third (4-4), his first top-three result of the season.
“The new layout was really good, it was a little muddy this morning, but the track shaped up great for racing,” said Bagget. “I got off to decent starts today and I was able to kind of run away with the first moto win and cruise it in for second in Moto 2. I was going to make a charge for Eli [Tomac], but I was coming up on lappers quick and it’s hard to judge where they are going to go. It wasn’t worth hanging it out and taking the chance of crashing and handing the championship over, so I tried to be smart with my decisions out there.”
Baggett’s victory moved him from third place in the 450 Class standings and into the championship lead for the first time in his career. He holds an eight-point advantage over Musquin, who finished 11
th overall after a stronger second moto (16-6). Tomac sits third, 11 points out of the lead and just three points out of second. Baggett will carry the red number plate as the points leader for the first time next weekend, marking the first time a bike with the No. 4 will sit atop the standings since Ricky Carmichael back in 2007.
The first 250 Class moto saw Jeremy Martin lead the 40-rider field and grab the Motosport.com Holeshot with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger in tow. Plessinger powered his way around the points leader, Osborne, in the opening corners to move into second. At the completion of the opening lap, it was Jeremy Martin, Plessinger, Osborne, GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy rounding out the top five.
With Martin asserted himself out front, Plessinger and Osborne battled bar-to-bar as they engaged in an all out war for the second spot. Osborne began to hit his stride and heat up as he charged down the steep hills in search of a passing spot, eventually blitzing his way by for a successful pass on Lap 5. While Martin pushed hard and meticulously navigated the technical track to establish a small advantage over the competition, it was Osborne who put his head down and started nipping away at the deficit. By Lap 7, Osborne had Martin in his sights and started to apply pressure.
The duo encountered heavy lapped traffic near the halfway point in the race, gaining an advantage in one section of the track and then being held up in other sections as the race for the win tightened up. Osborne pulled alongside Martin to show a wheel on several occasions, however, small bobbles and Martin’s championship experience kept the Honda out front. On Lap 9, Osborne continued his relentless charge and launched past Martin through the rollers to gain control of the race lead. Osborne immediately distanced himself from Martin, who soon began to fall under attack from a hard-charging Plessinger.
Osborne took his third moto win of the season 7.8 seconds ahead of Martin, with Plessinger rounding out the podium. Alex Martin, who entered the race runner-up in points, fell victim to a first turn pileup and rode brilliantly from the back of the field to finish seventh.
The win was Martin’s first of the season and ended a seven-race gap between victories. It was also his first win with GEICO Honda, which put a rider atop the podium for the first time since the final round of the 2013 season with Eli Tomac. He became the third different winner in the 250 Class through the first four rounds of the season.
“It’s been one heck of a rough season for me with supercross and the beginning of outdoors,” said Jeremy Martin. “I’m just trying to enjoy the win, these are hard to come by these days with how well these guys are riding and I hope that the team and I can enjoy it tonight. I could see my brother Alex [Martin] in the second moto and knew that it was time to make a move, we’re on the same flight and I’m going home with the bragging rights this week.”
Osborne maintained his hold of the red plate and now enjoys an 18-point lead over Jeremy Martin in the championship points. Alex Martin’s fifth place overall finish on the day puts him third in the standings, just eight points behind his brother Jeremy in second.
“A rock hit me on my goggles on the last lap and caused sweat to go in my face, which made it difficult to see,” said Osborne. “I knew that I needed to pass quick because I couldn’t see and my goggles needed to come off. When I got my goggles off my visor was flapping in my face and I saw Alex [Martin] on the outside of me and blocked him. If he would have gotten around me it could have been bad.”
The 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will return to action next Saturday, June 24, for the fifth round of the season at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee. First motos of the Tennessee National can be seen live on MAVTV at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, while the second motos will air live on NBCSN, live at 12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET.
Results
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Red Bull High Point National
High Point Raceway – Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania
June 17, 2017
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (1-2)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (5-3)
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki (4-4)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (12-1)
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (6-5)
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (3-11)
- Dean Ferris, Kyogle, Australia, Yamaha (2-14)
- Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna (9-7)
- Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki (7-9)
- Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (10-8)
450 Class Championship Standings
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 155
- Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM – 147
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 144
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 129
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki – 115
- Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Suzuki – 112
- Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Husqvarna – 110
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki – 106
- Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 105
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha - 88
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (2-1)
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (1-2)
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (3-3)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha (4-4)
- Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM (7-5)
- Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (6-6)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (8-7)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda, (9-8)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (5-13)
- Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha (10-9)
250 Class Championship Standings
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 166
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 148
- Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM – 140
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 120
- Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 119
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 118
- Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 109
- Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Yamaha – 100
- Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 98
- Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Yamaha – 89
The ultimate throwback motocross event took place this weekend at High Point Raceway.
Photo – Eric Doty
Part-time AMA Pro Motocross racer, Charles Bright, experienced what it was like to
race years ago where he participated in three different vintage bike classes.
Photo – Eric Doty
Tim Cochran’s 1970-1971 Husqvarna stole the show in the
Golden Era of the Vintage Bike Contest.
Photo – Eric Doty
A special High Point Raceway themed museum boasted
memorabilia that took attendees back to the 1970’s.
Photo – Derek Garcia
Not only will Sun be on hand to bench race with fans all weekend long at the event, but he will also be participating in the festivities and racing the Grand Prix Moto-X Country race on Saturday, September 16, and the DC Vet Homecoming on Sunday, September 17. Multiple class divisions are available on both days for most ages and skills levels, creating a family environment. For a detailed list of classes available on Saturday and Sunday, click 
The DC Vet Homecoming commemorates the life and career of Dave Coombs Sr., honoring his passion and commitment to the veteran motocross community with vet and vintage classes, a swap meet, vintage bike show and more. Please click 
If you miss a race, full replays will be available on-demand with the 
