2017 Southwick Motocross Preview
The second half of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series starts on Saturday in Massachusetts. Here’s what you need to know to watch Round 7, the Southwick National, July 7 at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Mass.
1. You can tune in live on MAVTV, NBCSN, and NBC Sports Gold. Saturday qualifying is at 10 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold only (a $50 season subscription is required for on-demand streaming—all racing and qualifying is live and commercial-free). From 1 to 3 p.m., you can watch the first motos live in each class on MAVTV. The second 450MX moto runs live from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on NBCSN. NBCSN is delaying second-moto coverage of the 250MX class until 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 9. The hour-long Highlight Show on NBCSN is scheduled for 11 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12.
2. Eli Tomac has huge momentum coming into the second half of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series. With four wins in the last five motos (and a second place finish when he didn’t win), no one has even close to the momentum that Tomac is carrying. Tomac stumbled midway through the first half of the season, but he is entering the second half of the season in a dominating fashion. Tomac won Southwick last year by taking both motos, and is the only rider in the field to have won the 450MX class at The Wick 338.
3. Blake Baggett will try to keep Tomac honest. Baggett had a run of eight consecutive podiums end at RedBud. Down 13 points in the standings, Baggett will need to put together more than the two moto wins he had in the first half of the season. Baggett has shown plenty of speed, but he hasn’t won since Moto 1 at High Point—and it was right after that that Tomac started his powerful roll.
4. Jason Anderson is consistent, but needs to win. Anderson has finished in the top five in the last six motos. That’s good, but he’s losing ground to Tomac and is 35 points back with 12 motos remaining. Anderson still does control his own destiny, though. If Anderson ran off 12 wins in a row, Tomac would trail him by one point at the end, even if Tomac finished second in every race. That’s not likely, but it gives you an idea of the task facing Anderson.
5. Marvin Musquin is looking good again. Going 3-3 at RedBud tells you that he’s back. However, the four-moto struggle with a knee injury put him 40 points behind Tomac. While Musquin is fast, he hasn’t won since the first moto at Glen Helen. He’s always a podium threat, but rarely finds himself on top of the box.
6. Justin Barcia is a dark horse at Southwick. Barcia was on the overall podium last year at Southwick, and his 7-6 performance last week at RedBud was his best of the year. 2017 Barcia isn’t 2016 Barcia, but he did run in the lead for a while at RedBud. It’s unlikely, but Barcia is capable of an upset at Southwick.
7. The weather could be the wild card at Southwick. Rain is predicted for Thursday through Saturday, with temps in the mid 80s. If a monster thunderstorm settles down on The Wick 338 on Saturday, anything could happen!
2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Standings (6 of 12 rounds)
1. Eli Tomac, 241, (6 moto wins)
2. Blake Baggett, 228 (2 moto wins)
3. Jason Anderson, 216 (2 moto wins)
4. Marvin Musquin, 201 (1 moto win)
5. Justin Bogle, 163 (1 moto win)
6. Dean Wilson, 163
7. Broc Tickle, 146
8. Weston Peick, 137
9. Josh Grant, 133
10. Cole Seely, 132
11. Justin Barcia, 125
12. Cooper Webb, 112
13. Martin Davalos, 110
14. Fredrik Noren, 103
15. Dakota Alix, 65
16. Christian Craig, 62
17. Trey Canard, 39
18. Heath Harrison, 31
19. Dean Ferris, 29
20. John Short, 25
