View From The Infield: Broiled, Not Fried

WW Ranch hosted its first Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship event for round five of the '19 season. The facility is really well-done, and combined with the heat and humidity, made for a tough test for all the riders.

Derek Drake had a few people scrambling for their programs by nabbing the holeshot in the first 250 moto.

This big booter early in the lap had the pack looking more like a Supercross race than a National. Ten-plus riders in the air at the same time? That's big.

250 points leader, Adam Cianciarulo, didn't get off to the great start in moto one, but worked his way to fifth by the end of the checkers. Afterwards, he said he felt a little off all day.

Derek Drake led for the first two laps, but a crash lead to a pair of DNFs on the day.

After Drake's crash, Justin Cooper took over the lead.

Hunter Lawrence was eighth in moto one, and fourth in the second moto.

At the halfway point of the first moto, Chase Sexton made a move on Justin Cooper for the lead. Unfortunately, the effort, combined with the heat and humidity, took a toll on Chase, and he called it a day early in moto two.

RJ Hampshire ended his day in eighth overall.

Michael Mosiman continues to impress, with a third in moto one.

What do you do after a moto on a blazing hot day? Jump into a trash can full of ice water, of course.

Trying to recover between motos is a big challenge. Ty Masterpool cools off in a pool, grabs something to eat, and will down a recovery drink. He was running in the top three early in the moto, but must have had an issue before slipping to 16th.

Fredrik Noren's wife, Amy, works on his gate before moto one.

Cooper Webb nailed the start in the first 450 moto.

Ken Roczen was all over Cooper, and made the pass for the lead before the end of lap two.

Justin Barcia hosted the team at his place last week for some testing, and had his best pair of moto scores (6-6) of the season.

Ken's pit board tells the tale. Marvin was laying down some fast laps and reeling him in.

Marvin took over the lead on lap seven, and hung on for his first moto win of the season.

Fredrik Noren had a great day in the sand at WW Ranch, finishing ninth with a 9-8 score.

Mitchell Oldenburg grabbed the holeshot in the second 250 moto, but quickly gave up the lead to the two teammates behind him.

Alex Martin put together his best two moto finishes for this season with a 7-6 score and nabbed sixth overall.

Adam Cianciarulo finished the day with a 5-3 score, good for third overall. He also has a pretty substantial 18-point lead in the title chase. Michael Mosiman (3-5) almost made the podium again, but had to settle for fourth this week.

The Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha guys had a lot to celebrate in moto two. First, it was Dylan Ferrandis taking the moto win...

...and Justin Cooper finished second, which easily gave him his first pro overall.

Justin Cooper was really pumped to get his first overall, and it came without a moto win.

Benny Bloss looked cool, calm, and collected before moto two. He did have to make a pit stop during the race to fix what looked like a clutch lever issue.

Zach Osborne put in a great late-race charge to nab second in that one, which put him on the podium. Fitness isn't a concern, but he does want more early-race speed.

Eli Tomac grabbed the holeshot to start moto two.

Cooper Webb finished the day with a 4-5 score for fifth overall. Joey Savatgy is still working his way back to full speed after missing the first couple races of the season, and was 13th overall.

Things took a turn for the better for Eli Tomac in moto two, as he went wire-to-wire for the win.

In moto two there was a steady parade of beet-faced riders (like Bobby Piazza here) pulling into the pits.

Jason Anderson's 3-4 moto scores gave him the same amount of points as his Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna teammate, Zach Osborne, but Zach's late-race pass on Marvin Musquin and higher finish in moto two gave him the edge to make it onto the podium.

You know it's tough out there when the leader comes by the finish line and takes a good long look to make sure the two-lap board isn't out yet. It came out on the next lap.

The cooling for Ken Roczen started immediately after the moto, with the team pouring a couple bottles of ice-cold water down his back. A couple crashes in moto two dropped him to tenth place, and back into second in the 450 standings, six points behind Eli Tomac.

Marv's bike wasn't too sandblasted afterwards.

Here's your trio of 450 podium inhabitants for the first National at WW Ranch.

How about a little cooling spray for the crowd? Eli (and most of the other riders) were happy to oblige. Hopefully, next weekend at Southwick won't be quite as brutal on the heat index.

3 comments

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View From The Infield: Broiled, Not Fried 3

Florida in the summertime? Yep, you knew this was going to be hot, steamy, and a test of conditioning and preparation. It didn't disappoint.

View replies to: View From The Infield: Broiled, Not Fried

View From The Infield: Broiled, Not Fried 3

Florida in the summertime? Yep, you knew this was going to be hot, steamy, and a test of conditioning and preparation. It didn't disappoint.

View replies to: View From The Infield: Broiled, Not Fried

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