Southeastern Pennsylvania’s High Point Raceway was the site of the fourth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, on Saturday, for the 36th annual FMF High Point National, presented by United Bank. One week after claiming his first win of the season, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn., grabbed his second straight 450 Class victory with a 1-1 moto sweep. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac, of Cortez, Colo., became the first repeat winner in the division (2-1), emerging victorious after a captivating battle.
In the opening 450 Class moto, MotoConcepts Suzuki’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., grabbed the early lead and opened a significant advantage over the field. However, following a third-place start, Dungey began to make his charge forward. At the halfway point, he made the pass on Alessi to win by nearly 20 seconds.
In Moto 2, Dungey put himself out front at the start, only to have Alessi respond before the conclusion of the opening lap and take the lead. Dungey paced his rival for half of the moto before again making his move and pulling away for the win.
“Mike (Alessi) put up a fight in both motos,” said Dungey. “It was a crazy one (today). These were the toughest conditions I’ve experienced here, (but) the bike worked really well throughout the day. Every race (and) every championship series goes differently, so I’ll keep my head down and go one race at a time. To celebrate the win is awesome; you’ve got to enjoy it, but its time to go to work again. You’re only as good as your last race and you’ve got to be there every single weekend.”
Alessi’s pair of runner-up efforts gave him a season-best finish of second overall, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, of Rupert, Idaho, rounded out the podium in third (3-3) for the second consecutive round.
Winner of the first two rounds this season, James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., finished fifth in the first moto aboard his Team Yoshimura Suzuki, but did not return to compete in Moto 2, still feeling the effects of a crash at the previous stop.
“Halfway through the first moto I could barely hold on,” said Stewart, whose right throttle hand has been of concern. “I was struggling a bit (because) I got a bad start, but I was working my way up. I was trying to do my best to hold on and I almost fell over a few times. At this point, I came out here (and) I tried. I knew I wasn’t 100 percent and I felt like I at least needed to try and do that, but I couldn’t. I was still going to try and give it another shot for the second moto, but (the team) knew about my riding. We’ll see what we can do maybe next weekend or in a few weeks.”
Dungey extended his lead in the 450 Class standings to 42 points over Alessi, who moved into second.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
High Point National, High Point Raceway – Mt. Morris, Pa.
Round 4 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (1-1)
2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki (2-2)
3. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (3-3)
4. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (4-8)
5. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha (9-4)
6. Brett Metcalfe, Mannum, Australia, Suzuki (7-5)
7. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (6-9)
8. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha (12-6)
9. Nico Izzi, Rochester, Mich., Yamaha (8-10)
10. Michael Byrne, Rockhampton, Australia, Suzuki (13-7)
450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 186
2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki, 144
3. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 141
4. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 128
5. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 116
6. Brett Metcalfe, Mannum, Australia, Suzuki, 114
7. Nico Izzi, Rochester, Mich., Yamaha, 95
8. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 90
9. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki, 84
10. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki, 66
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