Dylan Ferrandis remains atop the 450 Pro Motocross Power Ranking for the fifth week, but he showed the first signs of vulnerability by finishing off the podium in Moto 2 for the first time in 2021. Meanwhile in the 250 class, Justin Cooper and Jett Lawrence continue to secure the top two spots, but there was plenty of movement further down the chart.
Despite his domination at the ends of motos, Ferrandis has struggled to get good starts. At Spring Creek, that hurt his effort and snapped a three-race overall winning streak. Buried in the pack in the opening laps, he was nevertheless able to climb to second at the checkers for Moto 1. He wasn’t as fortunate in Moto 2 and for the first time all season, Ferrandis failed to stand on the podium.
Eli Tomac moved up a spot this week from third to second in the Pro Motocross Power Rankings with consistency. Before Spring Creek, it had been difficult for him to string two strong motos together in 2021, but a 3-4 on the Minnesota track gave him second overall in the race results.
The overall win at Spring Creek helped raise Justin Barcia from sixth to third in the Power Rankings. Barcia has a few outdoor moto wins under his belt, but this was the first time in his career that he won a 450 Motocross race. It was also the first moto and overall win for GasGas.
Chase Sexton centerpunched his teammate Ken Roczen when that rider fell in the middle of the pack. Sexton high-sided over the handlebars, but was able to remount and finish seventh in Race 1. A third in Moto 2 elevated him to fourth overall and brought him up one rung in the Motocross Power Rankings.
Aaron Plessinger rebounded from his DNF in Moto 2 at Southwick to finish 5-9 at Spring Creek MX Park and narrowly hold onto fifth in the rankings.
This week’s big mover was Roczen. When he went down in Moto 1 at Spring Creek and was ridden over by several bikes, was helped from the track and finished last. He was checked for broken bones, passed inspection and came out to win Moto 2 - but the damage was done and Roczen finished only eighth overall.
450 Power Rankings (Last Week)
- Dylan Ferrandis [4 overall, 3 moto wins] (1)
- Eli Tomac [3 moto win] (3)
- Justin Barcia (6) [1 overall, 1 moto win]
- Chase Sexton (5)
- Aaron Plessinger (4)
- Ken Roczen [1 overall, 4 moto wins] (2)
- Christian Craig (9)
- Cooper Webb (8)
- Joey Savatgy (10)
- Marvin Musquin (11)
- Adam Cianciarulo [1 moto win] (7)
- Brandon Hartranft (13)
- Justin Bogle (12)
- Max Anstie (14)
- Chris Canning (17)
- Justin Rodbell (20)
- Fredrik Noren (15)
- Ryan Surratt (19)
- Jacob Runkles (23)
- Jeremy Hand (22)
Down but not out 😈 @KenRoczen94 #ProMotocross pic.twitter.com/koEsaUZ4wS
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) July 20, 2021
Justin Cooper won’t be happy with failing to win either moto at Spring Creek, but he finished ahead of his principal rival in points and that secured the red plate. That has to salve the wound somewhat and his 2-3 in Minnesota keeps him atop the Motocross Rankings.
Jett Lawrence got off to two poor starts last week in Spring Creek, finished 4-6, and lost valuable points to Cooper in the process. With his fourth-place finish overall, he has four top-fives and a sixth in the past 45 days.
The gutsiest performance of Spring Creek belonged to the hometown rider Jeremy Martin. Racing on the track owned by his family and quite literally in his backyard, Martin overcame wrist and finger injuries to sweep the weekend with two moto wins and the overall.
Hunter Lawrence was also consistent, but not quite as strong. His 5-5 in the motos landed him fifth overall and secured his position fourth in the Motocross Power Rankings.
Colt Nichols rounds out the top five after finishing 7-7 last week and sixth overall. This is his fourth result of sixth or better in the last five Pro Motocross 250 races.
Michael Mosiman is also rebounding from injury. He finished 7-7 at the Wick and reappeared on the chart last week in 16th. At Spring Creek, his 3-2 was enough for second overall and it elevated him to eighth in the rankings. This is his first appearance in the top 10 in 2021.
250 Power Rankings (Last Week)
- Justin Cooper [1 overall, 2 moto win] (1)
- Jett Lawrence [1 overall, 3 moto wins] (2)
- Jeremy Martin [2 moto wins] (9)
- Hunter Lawrence [1 overall, 2 moto wins] (3)
- Colt Nichols (4)
- Jalek Swoll [1 overall, 1 moto win] (5)
- Jo Shimoda (6)
- Michael Mosiman (16)
- Max Vohland (12)
- RJ Hampshire [1 overall] (8)
- Austin Forkner (10)
- Stilez Robertson (19)
- Garrett Marchbanks (7)
- Carson Mumford (14)
- Dilan Schwartz (13)
- Pierce Brown (11)
- Ty Masterpool (15)
- Jarrett Frye (18)
- Ramyller Alves (NA)
- Joshua Varize (20)