Defending champion Eli Tomac wins home-state Pro Motocross national

By Oct 4, 2020, 8:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

Eli Tomac nipped Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo to win the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship 450 division at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado.

Tomac, the reigning Supercross champion and three-time defending 450 motocross champion from Cortez, Colorado, won’t be defending his title after a disappointing season, but Saturday’s victory provided a lift.

Tomac finished third in the first moto and won the second while Cianciarulo won the first and finished third in the second. The tiebreaker went to the second moto winner.

“Such a cool day here in Colorado,” Tomac said in a release after his second victory this season and the 25th of his career. “So glad we were able to get back here this season. I finally had a race where I felt like myself.

“In the first moto I was out of touch (from the leaders) early on, but in the second moto I was much closer to the front. I had a bit of a clutch hang up, but it fixed itself. We really needed this. I’ve kind of been searching lately, so it feels good to have a day like this and get back on top.”

In the championship battle, Cianciarulo gained five points and trails by 24 points to Zach Osborne entering the Oct. 10 season finale in Southern California.

“In the first moto I got slammed by another rider in the second turn and my foot got jammed really bad. The more I went the more I could feel it,” Osborne said after finishing third at Lakewood. “I got it massaged before the second moto and then adrenaline carried me from there.

“I had a midrace lull there in the second moto but was able to finish strong and get a good result. I wasn’t in my comfort zone today so I did a little bit of point racing. We’ll look forward to next week.”

250 winner Justin Cooper (Align Media)

In the 250 class, Justin Cooper won the overall with a second and first in the motos.

Points leader Dylan Ferrnadis won the first moto and placed second overall. He leads by 18 points over Jeremy Martin entering the finale.

“I was in a bad position (in the second moto),” Ferrandis said. “I wanted to get as many points as possible, so I rode as hard as I could.

More Motocross news

Motocross returns Unadilla
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross returns to action at Unadilla: Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton...
McElrath Muc-Off Yamaha
Shane McElrath joins Muc-Off Yamaha for final four rounds of 2022 Pro Motocross...
Sexton Motocross Round 8
Chase Sexton wins Motocross Round 8 at Washougal; Jett Lawrence takes 250s...

“I got a bad start and then I got caught up in an incident. There was nothing I could do. I just put my head down and gave it my all. We still were able to get on the podium so that’s good for the championship.”

NEXT: The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will conclude its season Oct. 10 with the The MX vs ATV Fox Raceway National at Fox Raceway in Pala, just outside of San Diego. Live coverage of the second motos will begin at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

RESULTS

WPS/FLY Racing Thunder Valley National (Thunder Valley Motocross Park – Lakewood, Colorado)

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

  1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (3-1)
  2. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (1-3)
  3. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-2)
  4. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-5)Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (6-2)
  5. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (7-4)
  6. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (6-8)
  7. Max Anstie, England, Suzuki (9-6)
  8. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., Husqvarna (14-7)
  9. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., KTM (12-9)
  10. Jake Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Husqvarna (13-10)

450 Class Championship Standings

  1. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 325
  2. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 301
  3. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 283
  4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 278
  5. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 245
  6. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 234
  7. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 232
  8. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda – 195
  9. Max Anstie, England, Suzuki – 166
  10. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Suzuki – 147

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

  1. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (2-1)
  2. Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-3)
  3. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (4-2)
  4. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha (3-5)
  5. Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (5-4)
  6. Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-6)
  7. Jo Shimoda, Japan, Honda (7-8)
  8. Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki (8-9)
  9. Jarrett Frye, Mechanicsville, Md., Yamaha (9-10)
  10. Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Honda (13-11)

250 Class Championship Standings

  1. Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 352
  2. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 334
  3. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha – 254
  4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 251
  5. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki – 242
  6. Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 230
  7. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 217
  8. Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki – 165
  9. Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki – 163
  10. Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., KTM – 148
Align Media

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
0 Comments

Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”