2019 Pala Motocross National Results and Coverage (8 Fast Facts)

2019 Pala Motocross National Results: Tomac Sweeps

Eli Tomac took a commanding lead in the still-fresh 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship series with a pair of moto wins at the Lucas Oil Fox Raceway National in Pala, California. Tomac takes a four-point lead over first-round winner Ken Roczen in the standings, with Marvin Musquin 19 points back. Tomac was joined on the podium by Musquin (3-2) and Roczen (2-3).

1. Eli Tomac came from behind to win each moto, though he took commanding wins. Starting back in P7 on the first lap of moto 1, it took Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) a while to get going. Although he made the top five by lap 3 (of 16), it wasn’t until lap 13 that Tomac hit the top 3. Tomac joined a battle between Roczen and Musquin, passing them both to take the lead on lap 14. Tomac checked out and won comfortably. After hounding Musquin for the first half of moto 2, Tomac flew by Musquin in a rhythm section on lap 9 and never looked back. Tomac crossed the finish line over 11 seconds ahead of Musquin. Tomac’s performances in the second half of motos this year is astounding.

2. With a 3-2 performance, Marvin Musquin is back after a difficult opening round. Musquin (Red Bull KTM) was not 100 percent at Hangtown after a practice crash, but looked strong at Pala just a week later. Although Musquin never could pass Roczen in moto 1—Musquin trailed Roczen from lap 3 to the finish—Musquin was within one second of Roczen at the end. Musquin grabbed the second-moto holeshot, but could not shake Tomac. Although Musquin was able to stretch out a two-second lead on lap 6, most of the time Tomac was within a second. Tomac easily passed Musquin at the halfway point, and Musquin did not have the speed to stay with Tomac. Musquin moves up to P3 in the points, but is already 19 points behind leader Tomac in the standings.

   

3. Ken Roczen’s 2-3 day was a strong follow-up to his Hangtown win, though not enough to retain his series lead. Roczen (Team Honda HRC) looked like a sure winner of the opening moto. After quickly snapping the lead away from holeshotter Blake Baggett, Roczen opened up a lead of nearly six seconds by lap 3. As late as lap 9, Roczen’s lead was over four seconds. Four laps later, Tomac charged past Roczen and Musquin to take the lead, while Roczen went on to hold off a persistent Musquin. Roczen was in the hunt for the win in moto 2 after a P6 start and moving into a podium spot by lap 6. However, by the halfway point in moto 2, Roczen had fallen eight seconds behind leaders Musquin and Tomac. Roczen retains a strong position in the 2019 Pro Motocross Championship Standings, just four points behind Tomac.

4. Teammates Zach Osborne and Jason Anderson battled for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Team supremacy, finishing in a draw. Both riders had a P4 and P5 finish at Pala, with Osborne getting the P4 overall due to the moto-2 performance tiebreaker. Still, each rider scored 34 points and are just two points apart in the standings, with Anderson in P4. In both motos, Anderson got the jump on Osborne. Osborne was over seven seconds behind Anderson at the end of moto 1, while Osborne beat Anderson by over 12 seconds in the second moto. Neither looked like potential moto winners, however.

   

5. Six is the magic number for Cooper Webb. After making the podium in the season’s opening moto, Webb (Red Bull KTM) has three P6 finishes in a row and is P6 in the standings. Webb was running in P5 most of moto 1 until he got nipped by Osborne on the final lap. Webb had to hold off Justin Hill for the second half of moto 2 to preserve his P6 spot, finishing just three seconds ahead of Hill.

6. It was a comeback day for Justin Hill, who did terribly at Hangtown. Opening the season with a 16-21 was not what Justin Hill (JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing) had in mind. He bounced back at Fox Raceway with an 8-7 performance. Hill did it with mediocre starts and creeping up a couple of spots in each moto. Hill fell just short of improving his final position in each moto, finishing a half-second behind Justin Barcia in moto 1 and three seconds behind Webb in the second moto.

   

7. Blake Baggett’s championship-contending hopes came to a halt at Fox Raceway. Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) had a tough time at Hangtown, going 6-10. In moto one at Fox Raceway, Baggett crashed after grabbing the holeshot, damaging his front wheel. Baggett had to go into the pits and finished in P33, well out of the points. Baggett started in P5 in moto 2 and faded quickly. Baggett was out of the top 10 by lap 11, eventually finishing in P14. Baggett is already 60 points behind Tomac, sitting in P11 in the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship standings.

8. The next round is next week—the True Value Thunder Valley National in Eli Tomac’s neighborhood. Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado, is the site of round three of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series. Be sure to check and bookmark our 2019 Pro Motocross TV Schedule so that you tune into the right channel at the right time.

2019 Pala Motocross National Results, Lucas Oil Fox Raceway National, Pala, CA

1. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 1-1, 50 points
2. Marvin Musquin, KTM, 3-2, 42 points
3. Ken Roczen, Honda, 2-3, 42 points
4. Zach Osborne, Husqvarna, 5-4, 34 points
5. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 4-5, 34 points
6. Cooper Webb, KTM, 6-6, 30 points
7. Justin Hill, Suzuki, 8-7, 27 points
8. Justin Barcia, Yamaha, 7-10, 25 points
9. Fredrik Noren, Honda, 9-9, 24 points
10. Cole Seely, Honda, 11-8, 23 points
11. Dean Ferris, Yamaha, 10-13, 19 points
12. Justin Bogle, KTM, 12-12, 18 points
13. Todd Waters, Husqvarna, 16-11, 15 points
14. Dylan Merriam, Husqvarna, 15-15, 12 points
15. Jake Masterpool, Honda, 13-26, 8 points
16. Blake Baggett, KTM, 33-14, 7 points
17. Lorenzo Locurcio, Kawasaki, 14-31, 7 points
18. Ben Lamay, Honda, 37-16, 5 points
19. Erki Kahro, KTM, 17-20, 5 points
20. Taiki Koga, Kawasaki, 22-17, 4 points
21. Toshiki Tomita, Honda,  24-18, 3 points
22. Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki, 18-29, 3 points
23. Mathias Jorgensen, Honda,  25-19, 2 points
24. Henry Miller, KTM, 19-23, 2 points
25. Brandan Leith, Kawasaki, 20-25, 1 point

2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship Standings (after 2 of 12 rounds)

1. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 93 points (3 moto wins)
2. Ken Roczen, Honda, 89 (1 moto win)
3. Marvin Musquin, KTM, 74
4. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 72
5. Zach Osborne, Husqvarna, 70
6. Cooper Webb, KTM, 65
7. Justin Barcia, Yamaha, 52
8. Dean Ferris, Yamaha, 42
9. Justin Bogle, KTM, 41
10. Cole Seely, Honda, 38
11. Blake Baggett, KTM, 33
12. Justin Hill, Suzuki, 32
13. Fredrik Noren, Honda, 32
14. Todd Waters, Husqvarna, 32
15. Jake Masterpool, Honda, 26
16. Ben Lamay, Honda, 21
17. Dylan Merriam, Husqvarna, 18
18. Toshiki Tomita, Honda, 10
19. Taiki Koga, Kawasaki, 10
20. Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki, 8
21. Lorenzo Locurcio, Kawasaki, 7
22. Cody Cooper, Honda, 6
23. Erki Kahro, KTM, 5
24. Mathias Jorgensen, Honda, 3
25. Henry Miller, KTM, 2
26. Dare Demartile, Honda, 2
27. Brandan Leith, Kawasaki, 1