Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s inner-team rivalry for the 250 Class title in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is tightening up as Tyla Rattray piles the pressure on teammate Dean Wilson at the top of the standings.
Coming off a podium finish at Red Bud, Rattray was determined to get back on top of the podium. Knowing he was capable of riding in the extreme heat and humidity, Rattray took 2-1 results to seal the overall.
“It was a tough race today between the humidity and the rough track,” said Rattray. “Putting together two decent finishes is always the goal and it worked to our favour today, especially with the points gap tightening up.
“It’s nice to feel like I can get right back in it. I had a bad race at Red Bud and it’s good to come back from that. I’m really looking forward to the next few races.”
Wilson reversed Rattray’s results with 1-2 finishes, and even though he didn’t win overall, his advantage still stands at 16 points to retain the red plate. Wilson is still yet to win overall this season.
“The heat got to me a little today and I wasn’t sure how strong I would be in the second moto,” said Wilson. “While I did hold it together better than I expected, I couldn’t keep the pace of my teammate who was definitely on it.
“Once I saw him pulling away, I knew I didn’t want to do anything that could cost me in the championship. I’ve already lost the points lead once this season and I have been trying to remind myself to race smart.”
The wildcard in the race for the title is the explosive speed of Blake Baggett, who landed on the podium over the weekend despite injuring himself while training over the weekend off.
“I had a crash while practicing earlier this week that dislocated my collarbone and I was pretty sore coming into the weekend,” said Baggett. “I didn’t get the starts I wanted and had to work a little harder than I wanted.
“I am happy that I was able to get back on the podium, but it’s hard to be happy with anything but a win. I’ll get back to work this week and hopefully be back to 100 percent next week.”
The Pro Circuit team remains unbeaten in the championship so far in the 2011 season.