With rain for two days prior to the 2017 Tennessee Motocross National, as well as some droplets during qualifying practice, a mud race beckoned. However, the sun showed itself intermittently, and Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson shined brightly.Series leader Blake Baggett showed that he’s not going to give up his Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series lead without a tussle. Here are eight essential takeaways from the AMA National at Muddy Creek.
1. Eli Tomac is back. Tomac (Monster Energy/Kawasaki) won the overall in two ways. He turned a mediocre eighth-place start in Moto 1 into a runner-up spot, just 4.5 seconds behind winner Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing).In Moto 2, Tomac was in the top three at the start with Justin Bogle (RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing) and Trey Canard (Red Bull/KTM). By the end of the first lap, Tomac was in the lead and he never looked back, winning by over 30 seconds. The overall win was the first time Tomac has been on the overall podium since the opener at Hangtown.2017 Tennessee Motocross Results: Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac2. Blake Baggett made his own statement. Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) stretched his streak of podiums to seven motos, and it wasn’t easy. In eighth place after two laps on Moto 1, it was a long slog onto the podium. It wasn’t until the 22-minute mark in the moto that Baggett passed Justin Barcia (Autotrader/Monster Energy/Suzuki) for third place. Moto 2 was a disaster, as Baggett went down in the first turn with Cooper Webb (Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha) and Broc Tickle (RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing).Baggett hit the top 10 at the Lap 8 (of 18) mark. He moved onto the podium thanks to a pass on Bogle in traffic and Weston Peick (Autotrader/Monster Energy/Suzuki) on a downhill as the clock was running out. It was a tremendous salvage job for Moto 2.3. Jason Anderson made himself a player in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Anderson led from the first turn to the checkered flag in Moto 1 and was never challenged.In Moto 2, Anderson squabbled with Canard and Peick over second place in the first three laps, and that allowed a quick exit by Tomac. While Anderson finished 34 seconds behind Tomac, he was a solid eight seconds up on Baggett. Anderson sits third in the standings, just 19 points behind Baggett with 14 motos remaining.2017 Tennessee Motocross Results: Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson4. Weston Peick is this week’s Broc Tickle. Last week, Tickle came out of nowhere to nab a pair of fourth place finishes. This time, Peick finished fourth twice, though it didn’t get him on the overall podium. Peick rode steady races, and grabbed fourth in Moto 1 thanks to a last minute pass on teammate Justin Barcia.In Moto 2, Peick had to hold off Bogle and Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) to secure his best overall finish of the year. Peick has been recovering from a wrist injury, so we’ll see how he does going forward.5. Marvin Musquin is in trouble. Musquin (Red Bull/KTM) came out of Round 3 leading the series, and it has all gone wrong since. He suffered knee ligament and meniscus injuries in a practice crash before Round 4.Now, after Round 5, he’s fourth in the standings and 34 points behind leader Baggett. Moto 1 was a salvage effort, and he took seventh. But, in Moto 2, he suffered a front brake problem and had to retire from the race. Musquin needs some recovery time, but the RedBud National is next week.6. Justin Barcia almost had a podium ride in Moto 1. Coming back from a concussion before High Point last week, Barcia held onto a podium spot for 22 minutes in Moto 1. Baggett and Peick eventually passed him, but it matched Barcia’s best moto finish of the year. In a post-race interview, he said he felt like “death.” A 10th-place finish in Moto 2, 75 seconds off the pace, backed up his self-assessment. Still, it was a good day for Barcia.2017 Tennessee Motocross Results: Trey Canard7. Trey Canard’s return was a good one. While his 10-11 finishes weren’t impressive, Canard showed good speed early in both motos. He was fifth after the first lap in Moto 1, and then ran in podium spots for the opening five laps in the second moto. Now that his collarbone is healed, we’ll see if he can make an impact on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series.8. Dean Wilson is extremely consistent, but he needs to be faster. Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) has been seventh, eighth, or ninth in his last seven motos. Unfortunately, before that he had a fourth and a sixth. Still, Wilson is seventh in the standings, and just two points behind fifth place Tickle—not bad for a guy who started the Supercross series as a privateer.The 2017 Motocross series now heads to Buchanan, Mich., for the RedBud National on July 1. Leading the way with 196 points after five of 12 rounds is Baggett; the KTM 450 SX-F pilot is four ahead of Tomac, and 19 ahead of Anderson.
2017 Tennessee National Pro Motocross Results, Muddy Creek Raceway, Blountville, Tenn.
Eli Tomac, 2-1, 47 points
Jason Anderson, 1-2, 47
Blake Baggett, 3-3, 40
Weston Peick, 4-4, 36
Dean Wilson, 8-7, 27
Justin Barcia, 5-10, 27
Justin Bogle, 12-5, 25
Martin Davalos, 11-6, 25
Cooper Webb, 9-9, 24
Broc Tickle, 6-12, 24
Fredrik Noren, 13-8, 21
Trey Canard, 10-11, 21
Dakota Alix, 14-14, 14
Marvin Musquin, 7-34, 14
Josh Mosiman, 16-15, 11
Henry Miller, 35-13, 8
Toshiki Tomita, 18-16, 8
Heath Harrison, 17-14, 8
John Short, 15-38, 6
Dakota Tedder, 36-18, 3
2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Standings (5 of 12 rounds)
