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2019 High Point Motocross | Race Report

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2019 High Point Motocross | Race Report

Presented by Fasthouse

After three rounds out west, the competitors of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Nationals enjoyed a well-deserved weekend off, then regrouped at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, for the fourth round of the series and the kickoff of what will be a long summer tour on the East Coast. The High Point track was prepped to perfection and the action that resulted in the hills and valleys today had the crowd on its feet all day long. In both classes, we were treated to two new moto winners in the first set of races, thanks to superb performances by GEICO Honda’s Hunter Lawrence and Rocky Mountain ATV/MC/KTM’s Blake Baggett. On the day, though, it was another Kawasaki sweep as Adam Cianciarulo and Eli Tomac emerged victorious. For AC, it was his fourth National win in as many tries, while Tomac moved into a points lead with Ken Roczen with his second win of the year. Next weekend at WW Ranch in Florida, both Tomac and Roczen will race with red plates.

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250 Class

Winner of the first three opening 250-class motos, Justin Cooper sped off the line in the first moto with the holeshot and led his Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate Colt Nichols and GEICO Honda’s Hunter Lawrence onto the track at first gate drop of the day. Points leader Cianciarulo gated sixth, while fast qualifier Chase Sexton was mired at the start and began the race outside the top 10. Lawrence found his way past Nichols just before the halfway point of the moto and set his sights on Cooper. Two laps later, the Australian used a quick outside line to slingshot past Cooper and into the lead, and with that, Lawrence was never headed as he raced away with his first-ever National moto win. Behind Lawrence, the Star Racing trio of Cooper, Dylan Ferrandis and Nichols had its hands full with Cianciarulo and a hard-charging Sexton. Ferrandis made contact with Cooper and sent his teammate flying off the track, which allowed AC to move into third. Ferrandis tipped over in a corner and allowed the Kawasaki rider past, and with that, the top four finishing positions were set. Lawrence crossed the finish line with a solid lead over Cianciarulo, Ferrandis, Sexton and Nichols. Cooper crossed the line sixth; his worst moto one finish of the year.

Nichols led the way at the drop of the second moto and led Cianciarulo, Sexton and Lawrence across the finish line at the completion of lap one. Nichols led the way for nearly 10 minutes before succumbing to the pressure from Cianciarulo, and once into second, he also fell prey to Sexton and Lawrence not long after. Once into second, Sexton turned up the heat and closed in on Cianciariulo, breaking away from his teammate and moto one winner Lawrence, in the process. At the checkers, however, there was no denying Cianciarulo and the Floridian scored his fourth overall win in four tries with 2-1 moto scores. Sexton was second, but Lawrence’s 1-3 bested him for second on the day.

“For the first time in my whole pro career, I really believe in myself,” said Cianciarulo. “I am ecstatic. Four wins in a row is just amazing. I am so stoked.”

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450 Class

Blake Baggett ripped a big holeshot at the start of the first moto and led the way with Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and the rest in tow. In spite of early pressure from Tomac, Baggett held his ground and led all 17 laps en route to his first 450 moto win of the year. Tomac tipped over in a rut early on and dropped as far back as fifth, but eventually worked his way back into third at the flag behind winner Baggett and fast qualifier Jason Anderson. The former Supercross champ rode great throughout the race, showing that he has successfully translated his Supercross skills into the rougher, longer motocross races. Webb suffered a spectacular crash while running fourth and finished an eventual seventh, just behind points leader Ken Roczen, who struggled with some new bike settings and finished sixth.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy snagged the holeshot in moto two but Webb took control of the lead almost immediately. Title rivals Tomac and Roczen were mired at the start and were forced to play catch up. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates Anderson and Zach Osborne had an insane battle for third early on, with Anderson gaining the edge initially. Osborne, however, would find his way past his team captain eventually and hold that advantage to the finish. Sadly, that edge over Anderson was for fourth at the end of the moto as Roczen caught fire after starting poorly and worked his way past all of his rivals for a super-impressive moto win. The popular German methodically worked his way through the field and looked much more comfortable in the final race than he had throughout the first, having returned to his baseline bike settings that had worked so well for him at the first three Nationals. For as impressive as Roczen was, Tomac matched his every pass with a strike of his own, and he found his way into second by the moto’s end, which was good enough for the overall win on the day. Third overall went to Anderson, whose 2-5 scores edges Webb’s 7-3.

“I knew where Blake was throughout the race, and I just tried to manage my points over him as he won the first moto,” said Tomac. “Kenny rode great today and second was all I could work to in the second race. It is good to get the overall, though.”

“I felt terrible out there in the first moto, but I went back to my Colorado settings in the second moto and felt great,” said Roczen. “I was buried at the start but it was nice to work through to the moto win.”

 

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Donn Maeda

Donn Maeda is a 30-year veteran in moto-journalism, having worked at Cycle News and Dirt Rider before launching MXracer Magazine and TransWorld Motocross Magazine. Maeda is the Editor-In-Chief at Swapmoto Live and you can catch him on a dirt bike or in the saddle of a mountain bike on most days.

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