Image: Octopi Media.

Round 10 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is in the books, with Eli Tomac taking his first overall win of the season in 450MX and Jett Lawrence going 1-1 in 250MX to reclaim the lead in the championship.

Lawrence kicked off the day in Indiana for round 10 of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship down three points on Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) in the title race.

In qualifying, it was clear Lawrence was on a mission, qualifying over a second faster than the competition and in the first session lapping nearly seven seconds faster than Cooper.

When the gate dropped on moto one, Cooper grabbed the holeshot, with Lawrence in tow. Lawrence worked his way into the lead by the end of lap three. Martin worked his way around Cooper and set out after Lawrence in the lead.

The lead duo began to battle, with Lawrence withstanding the charge from Martin, who would eventually crash hard, effectively ending his day and season, sustaining a broken wrist in the crash.

Cooper dropped behind a charging Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), falling into the clutches of Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas) who would eventually make a pass dropping the points leader to fourth.

In the end, Lawrence grabbed the moto one win with Shimoda and Mosiman, Cooper and Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) rounding out the top 5.

In moto two, a confident Shimoda grabbed the holeshot with Lawrence and Cooper just behind. Lawrence and Shimoda battled for a lap, with Lawrence finding the front and setting out to an early lead.

The top three settled in until around the halfway point, when Hampshire found his way around Cooper for third and set his sights on Shimoda in second.

With Lawrence over eight seconds out front, Hampshire caught Shimoda in the closing laps and set up a battle for second, with Hampshire ultimately coming away with the position.

Lawrence eventually grabbed the win, securing 1-1 moto scores for the overall and reclaiming the red plate in the process. A 12 point swing on the day gives him a nine-point advantage heading into the final four motos of the season.

Second went to Japanese rider Shimoda with 2-3 moto scores giving him his career-best result and grabbing one of few podium finishes for the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team this season.

Cooper’s consistent 4-4 finishes put him third overall, securing yet another overall podium for his season. He remained confident following the race, commenting that there was plenty of racing left to close the gap to Lawrence for the championship.

Mosiman had an impressive day in his return to action following an injury that happened in the break ahead of Unadilla, taking fourth overall via 3-6 finishes on the day. Forkner continued his great run of form from last round, notching 5-5 finishes for fifth.

After finishing 13th in moto one, Hampshire’s second place in the final moto lifted him to sixth overall. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider admitting his struggles in the high temperatures and humidity the Indiana weather provided today.

AEO GasGas rider Ty Masterpool continued his impressive season with 6-7 moto scores leaving him with seventh overall on the day. The rider out of Texas has been dealing with rib issues that seem to be subsiding as he continues to progress late in the season.

Eighth went to Carson Mumford aboard his FXR Chaparral Honda who notched consistent 8-8 moto finishes, beating Hunter Lawrence’s (Team Honda HRC) 12-9 scores that saw him finish ninth on the day. Dilan Schwartz again put his BarX Chaparral Suzuki inside the top 10 with 9-13 finishes seeing him round out the top 10.

The series now heads back to the west coast for the final two rounds, starting Saturday with round 11 at Fox Raceway, a venue that Jett Lawrence has found success in the past two visits to the track.

Image: Octopi Media.

Eli Tomac secured his first overall victory of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season at Ironman via a dominant second moto performance.

Round 10 of the Pro Motocross season saw the series head to Indiana for an incredibly hot and muggy conclusion to the series’ east coast swing.

As the action got underway in qualifying, it looked to be more of the same, with Dylan Ferrandis topping the timesheets by over a second ahead of Tomac and Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC).

When the gate dropped on moto one, it was Joey Savatgy (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) grabbing the holeshot ahead of Ferrandis and Tomac. Roczen surged from seventh to third, eventually working his way to the lead with Ferrandis just behind.

Tomac joined the lead duo and the three of them gapped the field, setting up a battle for the first half of the moto. Ferrandis and Roczen swapped positions with Ferrandis eventually settling into the lead. Tomac found his way around Roczen at the halfway point, setting his sights on the leader.

While Tomac was able to reel in the red-plate holder, Ferrandis was never headed, taking the moto win ahead of Tomac with Roczen, Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM), and Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) rounding out the top five.

In moto two, Ferrandis ripped out of the gate to take the holeshot ahead of Webb, Sexton, Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda), and Tomac. Webb took the lead from Ferrandis, the latter eventually getting passed by Tomac for second.

Tomac caught Webb in the lead, eventually making the pass with 20 minutes to go in the moto. Ferrandis would follow suit shortly after but was unable to catch Tomac, who would score 1-2 and take his first overall win of the season.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider said following the race it was his ability to find the front in moto one that led him to victory, giving him confidence for a moto two win and eventual overall.

Ferrandis’ 1-2 finish for second overall leaves him with a 50-point advantage heading into the final two rounds and continues his season-long streak of overall podiums.

After a season full of struggles, Webb notched his first overall podium, finishing the day in third via 4-3 finishes on the day. Webb showed plenty of speed late in the second moto, chasing Ferrandis until the end, citing a mid-week frame change as the catalyst to his success.

Fourth overall went to Roczen with 3-5 moto scores, the Team Honda HRC rider saying the heat gave him a run for his money today, admitting he was gassed in the second moto, eventually passed by Sexton who would finish fifth overall via 5-4 scores.

Coty Schock (FXR Chaparral Honda) took a career-best finish on the day, finishing with 8-6 moto scores, besting Savatgy in seventh who notched 7-8 on the day, followed by Justin Bogle’s (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) 10-7 scores for eighth.

Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki rider Brandon Hartranft put his RMZ450 in the top 10 again with consistent 9-9 finishes on the day. Hartranft has shown great pace in recent rounds, finally returning to the top 10 for the first time since RedBud earlier this season.

Rounding out the top 10 was Kyle Chisholm in just his third Pro Motocross race this season. The 33-year-old fan favorite took home 11-10 moto scores on the day aboard his privateer Yamaha.

Ferrandis now has the opportunity to clinch the championship one round early when the series returns to Fox Raceway next Saturday, 4 September.

Detailed results