It may be “Sunny in Philadelphia” but it always rains in Mt. Morris on race day. This year’s third round of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship had a lot of both. In Moto One of the 250cc Lights and the 450cc pro MX classes, riders scrambled for position as rains turned the hilly western Pennsylvania track into a giant slip-n-slide. Honda’s sophomore ace, Justin Barcia, who grew up racing in the Georgia mud, dominated the opening moto in the Lights class with South African Tyla Rattray and rookie pro Blake Baggett in second and third place respectively. In the big bike class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey passed the factory Yamaha of Toyota rider Josh Grant at the halfway mark of Moto One and pulled away for an impressive victory.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey rides with a Target on his back (or helmet) as he took command of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship posting 1-1 finishes in Round Three at High Point MX outside Mt. Morris, PA.
Before the start of the final moto, the sun popped out and baked the clay track leaving deep ruts cut into the uphills, downhills and sidehills of the challenging High Point MX track. Then, Mother Nature decided that it should be hot – very hot. That was just fine for a pair of well-conditioned former MX2 World Champion title holders with teammates Christophe Pourcel and Tyla Rattray leading Geico Powersports Honda rider Blake Wharton to checkers. The overall win went to Rattray, his first win on U.S. soil, and moved the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider into second place in the championship hunt just 27 points behind Pourcel. Wharton’s (8-3) finishes landed the young Texan on the podium for the first time this season.
Jagermeister KTM rider Mike Alessi grabbed the holeshot for Moto Two in the 450cc pro class before being passed by Team Honda’s Andrew Short. At the midway point, Dungey again relied on his stellar physical fitness in the Pennsylvania heat and pulled away from Short to claim the win and the top tier of the podium for the day’s overall. Geico Powersports Brett Metcalfe followed Short to the line for second and third overall finishes on the day. Australian ace Metcalfe trails Dungey by 25 points in the AMA Pro MX standings. After a miserable day in the Mt. Morris heat, defending National Champion Chad Reed abandoned his broken bike in Moto Two and dropped to fourth overall in the AMA points standings just three notches behind KTM’s Alessi.
Continue to follow the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship on the E3 Spark Plugs Blog as round four of the 250cc Lights class and 450cc pro MX class is scheduled for next weekend at Budds Creek MX Park on June 19th in Mechanicsville, MD. The lady motocrossers were off last weekend but the women’s class of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship series continues on June 26th when the WMX riders catch up with the men at Lakewood’s Thunder Valley MX in Denver, Colorado.
Click “more” to see full results.
2010 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Pro Championship
AMA 450cc MX – High Point National (Round 3)
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, MN, Suzuki (1-1)
Andrew Short, Smithville, TX, Honda (3-2)
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (6-3)
Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda (4-6)
Mike Alessi, Victorville, CA, KTM (7-5)
Matt Goerke, Murrieta, CA, Yamaha (5-7)
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, TX, Suzuki (11-4)
Josh Grant, Riverside, CA, Yamaha (2-24)
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, KY, Yamaha (10-11)
Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, TX, Yamaha (9-12)
AMA 450CC MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, MN, Suzuki 126
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda -25
Mike Alessi, Victorville, CA, KTM -28
Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki -31
Ben Townley, New Zealand, Honda -39
Josh Grant, Riverside, CA, Yamaha -44
Andrew Short, Smithville, TX, Honda -47
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, CA, Honda -50
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, TX, Suzuki -55
Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, FL, Yamaha -71
AMA 250cc MX – High Point National (Round 3)
Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (2-2)
Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki (4-1)
Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, TX, Honda (8-3)
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, CA, Suzuki (3-9)
Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki (5-6)
Broc Tickle, Holly, MI, Yamaha (9-5)
Trey Canard, Shawnee, OK., Honda (14-4)
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, GA, Honda (1-21)
Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Yamaha (11-7)
Jake Weimer, Rupert, ID, Kawasaki (7-11)
AMA 250CC MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki 129
Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki -27
Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki -29
Trey Canard, Shawnee, OK, Honda -36
Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO, Honda -39
Broc Tickle, Holly, MI Yamaha -40
Jake Weimer, Rupert, ID, Kawasaki -49
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, GA, Honda -50
Wil Hahn, Decatur, TX, Honda -57
Tommy Searle, England, KTM -69
