It took six motos, but Jeremy Martin finally showed a hint of imperfection.
Martin has absolutely dominated the 250 Class this year, winning the first four motos of the season in convincing fashion. His sudden ascent to the top of the division caught the rest of the field by surprise, but now that the secret’s out, everyone has him in their crosshairs.
One of the riders who has been vocal about wanting to put an end to that success is Blake Baggett. The 2012 champion of the 250 Class entered the season as a title contender but has become more of an afterthought with Martin stealing the headlines at each of the first two rounds.
After he pulled out of the second moto a week ago at Hangtown with bike problems, Baggett told the TV crew that he was determined to “come back next weekend and try to stop the Yamaha streak.” Saturday at Thunder Valley, Baggett followed through on that wish.
In Moto 1, Martin found himself in an unfamiliar position – having to chase down the leader for the first 20 minutes of the race after Jessy Nelson got off to a great start and opened up a lead. A couple mistakes from Nelson allowed Martin to close the gap and make the pass for the lead, which he would not relinquish. Although it was his smallest margin of victory this season, Martin extended his winning streak to five motos.
Martin would face an even tougher challenge in Moto 2. Finding himself in seventh after the first lap, he was left with a lot of work to do in order to get up front. Baggett took advantage with a vintage performance, moving from fifth to first over the opening six laps and then checking out with the lead en route to a win.
Having battled his way up to fourth, Martin still would have been able to secure the overall win had he picked up one more position, but an uncharacteristic crash cost him several spots and gave the overall victory to Baggett. Martin would settle for sixth in the moto and third overall for the day but still holds a significant edge in the point standings.
250 Class Overall Results
1. Blake Baggett (4-1)
2. Justin Bogle (3-2)
3. Jeremy Martin (1-6)
4. Jessy Nelson (2-9)
5. Marvin Musquin (7-4)
6. Jason Anderson (5-5)
7. Christophe Pourcel (11-3)
8. Cooper Webb (9-7)
9. Cole Seely (8-8)
10. Justin Hill (10-10)
*Moto 1 and Moto 2 results in parenthesis
In the 450 Class, James Stewart stepped up to the task of ending the streak of wins from Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey. Leading the race nearly wire-to-wire, Stewart fended off a challenge from Roczen in the final laps of Moto 1 to take the win – becoming the fourth rider to win a moto in the premier class this season.
Roczen stormed back in the second moto though, passing Josh Grant and Ryan Dungey on the opening lap to move into second, then overtaking Trey Canard for the lead two laps later and holding on for the win. With 2-1 moto finishes, Roczen locked up the overall win for the second consecutive week and more than doubled his points lead in the process. After a third-place finish in Moto 2, Stewart secured second overall for the day and continues to look better each week.
450 Class Overall Results
1. Ken Roczen (2-1)
2. James Stewart (1-3)
3. Ryan Dungey (4-2)
4. Trey Canard (3-4)
5. Josh Grant (5-6)
6. Brett Metcalfe (9-5)
7. Malcolm Stewart (7-8)
8. Andrew Short (6-9)
9. Weston Peick (10-7)
10. Jake Weimer (8-12)
*Moto 1 and Moto 2 results in parenthesis