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Fox Raceway MX Preview: Roczen, Tomac need to sustain momentum

After seven years without a Motocross round at Pala Raceway, the track returns to the schedule displacing Glen Helen.

At Glen Helen last year, Eli Tomac scored his second consecutive victory on the strength of two Moto wins to kick off his championship bid over Marvin Musquin (2-3) and Jason Anderson (4-2).

Tomac was heavily favored to win last week at Hangtown, but he was not able to overcome a poor start in Moto 1 and had to settle for a second-place finish. He needs to win this week before anyone questions his ability to earn a third consecutive MX title.

Now that he has the monkey off his back, Ken Roczen has something to prove as well and he will do so if he can at least win another Moto this week. Between his 2016 victory that began his winless streak and last week, Roczen scored only two Moto wins.

Roczen wasn’t the only rider to stage a comeback. Anderson picked up where he left off by finishing third overall at Hangtown. As with the other top finishers last week, his key to success is going to be in sustaining that momentum.

A good start and the willingness to ride flat out for 30 minutes in each Moto will be the key to success this week.

In the 250 class, Martin Davalos and Mitchell Falk both crashed hard at Hangtown. Despite taking a foot peg to his ribs that left him with cartilage damage, Davalos will race this weekend. Falk was not so lucky. Crashing early in Moto 1, he broke a collarbone and is out until further notice.

MORE: Eli’s Coming

Schedule:

Qualifiers: 1:15 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold
Race: Live, 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold (Moto 1) and 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN (Moto 2)

May 18 - 2019 Hangtown MX Classic

450: Ken Roczen (1-2) won over Eli Tomac (4-1) and Jason Anderson (2-5).
250: Adam Cianciarulo (2-1) beat Justin Cooper (1-4) and Colt Nichols (5-3).

September 10, 2011 - Pala Raceway

450: Pala Raceway returns to the schedule for the first time since 2011 when Ryan Dungey (2-1) defeated Ryan Villopoto (1-3) and Justin Barcia (3-2).
250: Dean Wilson (1-1) beat Blake Baggett (2-3) and Marvin Musquin (4-4).

Overall Wins

450:
[1] Ken Roczen (Hangtown)

250:
[1] Adam Cianciarulo (Hangtown)

Moto Wins

450:
[1] Ken Roczen (Hangtown)
[1] Eli Tomac (Hangtown)

250:
[1] Adam Cianciarulo (Hangtown)
[1] Justin Cooper (Hangtown)

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