2019 Thunder Valley Motocross | Race Report

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Round three of the 2019 Lucas Oil National Motocross Championship Series rolled into Denver, Colorado, this weekend and as always, the action at Thunder Valley MX Park proved to be nothing short of thrilling. An unexpected thunderstorm in the first moto of the day forced AMA officials to cut the opening 250-class moto a few minutes short, but the skies cleared and the rest of the day’s racing proved to be fast and furious. In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo earned his third win of the year but didn’t gain any ground in the championship standings on his nemesis Justin Cooper, as the duo traded moto wins and earned the same number of points. In the premier division, Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen scored his second win of the season, ahead of crowd favorite Eli Tomac and Zach Osborne.

250 Class

A bit of deja vu in the 250 class this weekend in Colorado, as Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Justin Cooper and Adam Cianciarulo again swapped moto wins, with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider winning the second moto and the overall. For AC, it was his third overall win in three starts and maintains a slight six-point lead over rival Cooper.

Cooper’s rookie teammate Ty Masterpool shot off the starting line in the first moto and led the entire field through the first corner in moto one. GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire, Cianciarulo and Cooper gave chase from the get-go as the trio also enjoyed great starts, but it was Cooper who was the most aggressive at the start of the race and he passed his way into the lead in the early laps and began to put a gap on the field. Cianciarulo worked into second and gave chase, and actually began to close in on the leader as the laps wound down, but ran out of time as the race was called about six minutes early when an unexpected storm front rolled through and lightning strikes became a safety concern. At the checkered flag, it was Cooper with his third moto one win of the season, Cianciarulo, and Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis.

The skies cleared and the sun came out, producing a shockingly dry second moto in the 250 class. Cooper snagged the holeshot and was presented with the best chance possible to earn his first-ever National win, but Cianciarulo gated second and had different ideas. Around the halfway point of the moto, AC swapped on an uphill and flew off the track to the inside of a 90-degree corner, and rode slowly through the infield and rejoined the race behind Cooper. As the AMA rulebook states, a rider who goes off the track must re-enter at the next safe opportunity, without gaining an advantage, and that’s exactly what Cianciarulo did. To make sure, he even seemed to rejoin the race slowly as he adjusted his helmet with one hand. Once back up to speed, AC closed to the rear of Cooper’s Yamaha and he began to search for a way around by utilizing many outside lines in comparison to the leader’s. There was no need for a pass, however, as Cooper lost control accelerating out of a rut and flew off the track, side saddle and went down. Cianciarulo assumed the lead and was never challenged as he raced off to his third win of the year. Colt Nichols took control of second when Cooper went down, but the moto-one winner hunted him down and retook the position. Nichols later fell victim to a hard charging Michael Mosiman, who forced his way past to earn the first moto podium finish of his career. In the closing stages of the moto, Cooper put in a strong charge and closed the gap on the leader. At the checkered flag, Cianciarulo led Cooper by two seconds, then came Mosiman, Nichols, and Ferrandis.

After the race, there was some talk about Cianciarulo’s off-track excursion, but the final results stood after AMA officials reviewed the footage.

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Zach Osborne led the way in the first 450 moto, but Ken Roczen motored past with a daring pass on the big downhill on the opening lap. Once into the lead, the popular German rider raced away with the lead and was never headed for the win as he crossed the finish line over 20 seconds ahead of Osborne, who held on for a solid second over Supercross Champion Cooper Webb. Series points leader Eli Tomac was held up at the start of the race when Marvin Musquin went down in the third corner, and he began the race mired in the pack. As the Monster Energy Kawasaki raced through the field, he encountered vision problems in the muddy conditions and had to pull into the mechanics’ area for a fresh pair of goggles. Still, the home-state hero managed to work up to fifth at the checkered flag, a ways behind former Supercross Champion Jason Anderson.

Webb was quickest off the line in the second moto and led Blake Baggett and Roczen onto the track. Roczen made quick work of Baggett and challenged Webb for the lead throughout the first lap, but it wasn’t until lap two that the Honda rider got into the lead. Tomac, meanwhile, gated around fifth and methodically passed his rivals until he closed in on the leader. With 10 minutes left, Tomac began to attack Roczen with repeated pass attempts, but the Honda rider held tough. At first. Cheered on by the highly partisan crown, Tomac found his way into the lead and charged away with the lead. At the checkered flag, Tomac was nearly 10 seconds ahead as he chalked up his fourth moto win of the season, but it was Roczen who became the first multi-race winner of the year. Musquin came home third on the second moto but his lap-one crash in the opening moto kept him from standing on the podium. Instead, third overall went to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Osborne, who carded 2-4 moto scores.