2017 High Point Motocross 250MX Results and Coverage
There was rain the two days before the Red Bull High Point National at Mt. Morris, Penn. While practice was a mud bath and still muddy in places early in Moto 1, by the end of Moto 2, there was dust on the hot track. The racing and the brutally rutted track were more about survival and consistency than speed.
1. It was a standoff between Jeremy Martin and Zach Osborne. Each rider had a win and a second, so Osborne (Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing) remains 18 points ahead of Martin (GEICO Honda).
2. Jeremy Martin looked to win Moto 1, but Osborne reeled him in about halfway through the race. Martin took an early lead after a battle with Osborne and Aaron Plessinger (Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha) and built a 2.6-second lead. However, Osborne methodically chipped away at it, and after a half-lap battle, Martin was held up by lappers and Osborne breezed by. At the end, Osborne was nearly eight seconds ahead of Martin.
3. Plessinger took a lonely third in Moto 1, while Dylan Ferrandis bested with Adam Cianciarulo for fourth. After losing touch with Osborne early in Moto 1, Plessinger made an unsuccessful run on Jeremy Martin with five minutes remaining on the clock. Martin responded and beat Plessinger by more than 10 seconds at the checkers. Plessinger was 13 seconds ahead of teammate Ferrandis. Ferrandis took Cianciarulo (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) 28 minutes into the moto on lap 14 of 17.
4. Osborne and Jeremy Martin talked about arm pump after Moto 1. Both suffered from it, while Plessinger was trying to shake off a painful injury in the groin area suffered in practice. Still, all three made the Moto 1 podium.
5. The same three riders made the Moto 2 podium: Jeremy Martin, Osborne, and Plessinger. Martin avenged his Moto 1 loss to Osborne, but not by battling Osborne. Jeremy Martin and his brother Alex were the only riders to lead a lap in Moto 2. Alex Martin (Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM) fought with Jeremy Martin and Plessinger through the first lap, coming out on top even as Plessinger was all over him. With 13 minutes gone in the moto, Jeremy caught Alex and the Martin battle was on. With a five-second lead on Ferrandis and Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki), the brothers rode respectfully and competitively. On lap 9, Jeremy went bar-to-bar with Alex, taking the lead for good.
6. Plessinger had an up-down-up Moto 2. In second place on the opening lap, Plessinger was passed by Jeremy Martin, Forkner, Ferrandis, and Osborne in the space of three laps (four through six). Forkner gave Plessinger back a spot on lap 7. On lap 13, Plessinger got by Ferrandis for fourth place, and then by a dramatically fading Alex Martin on lap 15 for the final podium spot.
7. Osborne made a serious Moto 2 charge. Relentless after a ninth place start, Osborne picked off Colt Nichols (Lap 2), R.J. Hampshire (Lap 3), Joey Savatgy (Lap 5), Plessinger (Lap 6), Forkner (Lap 9), Ferrandis (Lap 11) for the podium, and Alex Martin (Lap 14) for his final second place position.
8. Osborne’s rampage was almost derailed on Lap 14. Alex Martin’s KTM put a rock in Osborne’s face on lap 14, breaking Osborne’s goggles and injuring his nose. When Osborne tried to remove the goggles, they got stuck on his Airoh’s peak. When Osborne attempted to free the goggles, he tore two of the three plastic screws holding the peak on. Osborne managed to get the goggles off, as well as put a block on Martin to prevent a pass at a critical point on the track. Free of the goggles, Osborne was able to pull away from Martin.
9. Savatgy, Forkner, and Alex Martin had bad days. All three had podium motos at Thunder Valley two weeks early, and none of them were close to the podium at High Point. Savatgy (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) was never a contender, going 8-7 and losing 20 points to Osborne in the championship race. Forkner went 6-6, but that’s a big letdown from 2-3 at Thunder Valley. Like Savatgy, Alex Martin had a win in Thunder Valley, but went just 7-5 at High Point, losing second place in the standings to his brother. To Alex’s credit, he did make a strong rebound in Moto 1 after a first lap crash buried him deep in the pack.
10. Ferrandis got back on track at High Point. His 9-6 in Thunder Valley didn’t look too good after a moto win at Glen Helen the previous week. However, two fourth place finishes at High Point moved Ferrandis up two positions in the 2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250MX Championship standings to eighth place. Cianciarulo, who struggled to 5-13, is now just nine points ahead of Ferrandis.
11. Justin Hill continues to struggle. After winning the Monster Energy Supercross 250SX West Championship, you would have expected Hill (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) to storm into the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 250MX series. Instead, he had a couple of top 10 finishes at Hangtown, and only one more top 10 since. Add in two non-scoring motos and Hill is mired in 14th place in the standings, 110 points behind Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East Champion Osborne.
12. After breaking his leg at the Toronto SX, RJ Hampshire returned strong. Having been sidelined for months with a major injury, a 9-8 card for the day is an impressive comeback.
2017 High Point National Pro Motocross 250MX Results
- Jeremy Martin, 2-1, 47 points
- Zach Osborne, 1-2, 47
- Aaron Plessinger, 3-3, 40
- Dylan Ferrandis, 4-4, 36
- Alex Martin, 7-5, 30
- Austin Forkner, 6-6, 30
- Joey Savatgy, 8-7, 27
- RJ Hampshire, 9-8, 25
- Adam Cianciarulo, 5-13, 24
- Mitchell Harrison, 10-9, 23
- Shane McElrath, 11-14, 17
- Luke Renzland, 15-12, 15
- Chase Sexton, 19-10, 13
- Lorenzo Locurcio, 18-11, 13
- Sean Cantrell, 14-15, 13
- Kyle Cunningham, 13-16, 13
- Colt Nichols, 12-30, 9
- Nick Gaines, 16-18, 8
- Justin Hill, 35-17, 4
- Michael Mosiman, 17-36, 4
2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250MX Championship Standings (4 of 12 rounds)
- Zach Osborne, 166 points (3 moto wins)
- Jeremy Martin, 148 (2 moto wins)
- Alex Martin, 140 (1 moto win)
- Joey Savatgy, 120 (1 moto win)
- Austin Forkner, 119
- Aaron Plessinger, 118
- Adam Cianciarulo, 109
- Dylan Ferrandis, 100 (1 moto win)
- Colt Nichols, 98
- Mitchell Harrison, 89
- Shane McElrath, 77
- Sean Cantrell, 69
- Michael Mosiman, 64
- Justin Hill, 56
- Lorenzo Locurcio, 41
