Ken Roczen, Dylan Ferrandis win at Unadilla

By Aug 10, 2019, 5:17 PM EDT
ProMotocross.com
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Ken Roczen scored his third overall victory of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season at Unadilla, NY, while deep in the field the championship battle intensified.

Eli Tomac scored the hole shot in Moto 1, but it did not take long for Roczen to get around the points leader. Once in the lead, he scooted out to a comfortable lead and was not challenged for the remainder of the race. Roczen built an advantage of nearly 20 seconds during that moto and finished more than 15 seconds ahead of Marvin Musquin.

Roczen scored his first moto win in six weeks. He did not have to wait as long for his next moto victory and scored a perfect finish of 1-1.

“Honestly I haven’t done anything in the last two weeks,” Roczen told NBC Sports Gold after the race. “Obviously I want the season to be done so I can give my body a rest.”

Roczen has been struggling with fatigue all season and practiced only twice during the previous two weeks.

Tomac enter the weekend with a considerable lead of 50 points. With that, he had a full race weekend advantage over the field. But he squandered it in the first moto.

When caught by Roczen, Tomac did not put up much of a fight. He was not particularly scrappy when challenged by Musquin – nor when he succumbed to Zach Osborne and Justin Barcia a little bit later. On the final lap, Tomac was passed by teammate Joey Savatgy and fell to seventh. That matches his worst moto finish of the season.

Tomac rebounded with a third in Moto 2 that was enough for fourth overall. This is only the second time this season that he has not stood on the overall podium.

“My body was better (in the second moto),” Tomac said. “The first moto, I struggled with my body and I got really tight. I was kind of just along for the ride. I guess it’s a good thing we had those 50 points coming into here.”

Musquin was poised to win Moto 2 and the overall until the middle of the race. He lead early until a stuck throttle sent him momentarily off course and allowed Roczen to sweep past. Musquin settled into second and with a 2-2 scored 44 points to trim 10 off Tomac’s lead.

With a 4-4, Osborne’s consistency was enough to give him third overall.

“I felt really good today,” Osborne said. “This track was exceptionally gnarly. It’s always pretty gnarly, but today was hardest I’ve ever ridden it.”

Behind Tomac, Jason Anderson (5-5) rounded out the top five.

In Moto 1, Cooper Webb took a hard landing as he tried to avoid a slower rider. Injuring his knee, he was not around for the second race because he was on his way to the hospital for an MRI.

450 Moto 1 Results
450 Moto 2 Results
450 Overall Results
Points Standings

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Dylan Ferrandis earned his fourth overall victory, but he failed to make up any points on the championship leader.

“Today the track was difficult,” Ferrandis said. “Was firm, a really nice motocross track but it was rough with ruts. One of the most difficult dry tracks I’ve ever ridden. The setup was not perfect in the first moto and we improved a little bit in the second one and I think that was a big help.

“I took the holeshot. That was also a big help.”

In order to have a shot at the championship, Ferrandis needed to be perfect in the final three rounds and watch Adam Cianciarulo have a little trouble.

Ferrandis did his part. Finishing second in Moto 1 and winning the second race for his seventh moto win of the season, he was as close to perfection as can reasonably be expected. It was Ferrandis second straight win at Unadilla. He now needs to make up 28 points in the final two rounds to win the title.

Where Ferrandis came up short is where he had no control.

Cianciarulo served notice immediately that he will not make things easy on Ferrandis. Also winning his seventh moto of the season with the first race victory, he then finished second in Moto 2. In the second race, he matched Ferrandis lap for lap. In fact, the best lap time for both riders was identical to the thousandth of a second.

“There were a lot of ‘moments’ – in every moto, I think you guys know by now, but I just tried my best,” Cianciarulo said after the conclusion of Moto 1. “It was super important. I knew Dylan was going to be behind me and I wanted to get around Justin. He made a mistake. I almost did the same thing in the same spot. The track is pretty treacherous.”

In Moto 1, Justin Cooper took the early lead, but was passed by Cianciarulo and Ferrandis with 19 minutes remaining when he went down in the rollers.

Chase Sexton took the final step on the podium with a 3-3 finish.

Justin Cooper (4-4) and Colt Nichols (5-6) rounded out the top five.

250 Moto 1 Results
250 Moto 2 Results
250 Overall Results
Points Standings

Moto Wins

450MX
[8] Eli Tomac (Hangtown II, Pala I & Pala II, Thunder Valley II, WW Ranch II, RedBud I, Washougal I & II)
[5] Ken Roczen (Hangtown I, Thunder Valley I, High Point II, Unadilla I & II)
[3] Marvin Musquin (WW Ranch I, The Wick I, RedBud II)
[2] Cooper Webb (Spring Creek I & II)
[1] Blake Baggett (High Point I)
[1] Zach Osborne (The Wick II)

250MX
[7] Adam Cianciarulo (Hangtown II, Pala II, Thunder Valley I, High Point II, The Wick I, Spring Creek II, Unadilla I)
[7] Dylan Ferrandis (WW Ranch II, The Wick II, RedBud I & II, Washougal I & II, Unadilla II)
[3] Justin Cooper (Hangtown I, Pala I, Thunder Valley I)
[2] Hunter Lawrence (High Point I, Spring Creek I)
[1] Chase Sexton (WW Ranch I)

Next race: Budds Creek Motocross Park, Mechanicsville, MD, August 17

Season passes can be purchased at NBC Sports Gold.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).