Ryan Dungey took the premier class win at Southwick. Image: Simon Cudby.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart made a strong start at round nine of the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, with a holeshot in the first 450 Class moto at Southwick.

Stewart quickly stretched a comfortable lead over BTO Sports KTM’s Andrew Short in second, but a big crash on lap nine would quickly put Stewart out of action for the remainder of the moto.

Short took over the lead spot while Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto found themselves battling through the pack after being tangled up in a first-turn crash.

Dungey made his way past Short for the lead on lap 15 and rode away to an impressive moto win. Short finished second followed by Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia, Villopoto and Australia’s Brett Metcalfe aboard his ADR Motorsports Kawasaki.

In moto two it was Dungey who secured the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot Award, but it wasn’t long before Villopoto moved himself into the lead with Barcia following the lead duo in third.

Villopoto maintained a gap of just over a second on Dungey throughout the first half of the moto, but eventually began to extend his lead as the pair encountered lapped riders.

Dungey’s charges to close the gap on Villopoto helped him gain a comfortable margin on Barcia in third and secured a runner-up finish in the moto that guaranteed him the overall win.

Villopoto’s 4-1 moto scorecard landed him second overall, while Barcia rounded out the podium in third with a 3-3 result. Metcalfe was fourth overall with 5-6 results and Short rounded out the top five with 2-16 moto scores.

TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed was 12th overall at Southwick with fellow Aussie Michael Byrne finishing 18th overall in the premier class aboard his BTO Sports KTM.

Dungey gained four points on Villopoto in the 450 Class standings, with 12 points separating himself from series the series leader. Barcia sits third overall in points followed by Trey Canard and Mike Alessi.

The action in the 250 Class kicked off with an impressive Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot from GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn, who extended his holeshot streak to three since returning to competition from injury one week ago.

New England native Jimmy Decotis challenged Hahn for the lead early in the moto, while his teammate Eli Tomac made quick work of a top-five start.

Championship leader Ken Roczen and Red Bull KTM teammate Marvin Musquin both experienced trouble in the first corner, completing the opening lap in 11th and 24th, respectively.

Tomac assumed the lead during the first lap and never looked back. He opened up a multiple second margin over the field and consistently pulled away throughout the 30-minute moto.

The battle for second eventually turned into a showdown between reigning champion Blake Baggett, aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki bike, and Roczen.

The points leader appeared to have an edge in speed on the series’ most recent winner, but a late crash put distance between the duo and allowed Baggett to claim second, with Roczen in third. Early leader Hahn suffered mechanical issues and took a DNF score.

In moto two it was Roczen who secured the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot over his teammate Musquin, instantly putting both riders up front early. Both Tomac and Baggett found themselves outside the top 10, forcing each rider battle his way through the field.

Roczen was never challenged for the lead in the second moto and ultimately posted a wire-to-wire performance en route to the win, often maintaining an advantage of over 20 seconds.

With Roczen out front, the battle for the overall win was squarely on Tomac’s ability to move toward the front of the field, which he did very well, ultimately climbing from 11th to second over the span of 17 laps.

Tomac edged out Roczen by two points to secure the overall, while GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne completed the overall podium thanks to 5-3 moto finishes.

Baggett just missed out on the overall podium in fourth after a small crash pushed him to the back of the top 10 in the second moto. Australia’s Jackson Richardson was 16th overall aboard his privateer honda, his best finish of the season to date.

Roczen continues to lead the 250 Class standings with Tomac in second just seven points back. Baggett currently holds third overall with Musquin and Osborne rounding out the top five.

The WMX championship wrapped up at Southwick with Jessica Patterson taking the overall win and the title, followed by Australia’s Mackenzie Tricker and Sara Pettersson. Patterson also announced here official retirement from professional Motocross racing after the event.

The 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Red Bud next weekend for round seven of the series on 6 July.

2013 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Round six – Southwick, MA

450 Class overall results:
1. Ryan Dungey 47
2. Ryan Villopoto 43
3. Justin Barcia 40
4. Brett Metcalfe (AUS) 31
5. Andrew Short 27
6. Tyla Rattray 24
7. Phil Nicoletti 23
8. Mike Alessi 22
9. Broc Tickle 21
10. Josh Grant 18
12. Chad Reed (AUS) 17
18. Michael Byrne (AUS) 12

250 Class overall results:
1. Eli Tomac 47
2. Ken Roczen 45
3. Zach Osborne 36
4. Blake Baggett 35
5. Jason Anderson 33
6. Cole Seely 27
7. Kyle Cunningham 24
8. Marvin Musquin 23
9. Adam Cianciarulo 21
10. Alex Martin 19
16. Jackson Richardson (AUS) 10

WMX overall results:
1. Jessica Patterson 50
2. Mackenzie Tricker (AUS) 44
3. Sara Pettersson 36
4. Sayaka Kaneshiro 34
5. Linsdey Palmer 29
6. Taylor Higgins 28
7. Marissa Markelon 25
8. Sade Allender 23
9. Brianna DeGray 23
10. Amanda Brown 22

Click here for detailed results