2019 Redbud Motocross National Results: Tomac, Musquin Swap Moto Wins
As the second half of the 2019 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross National Championship Series gets underway, Eli Tomac took the overall win and stretched his lead in the standings to 34 points with 10 motos remaining. Marvin Musquin won a moto for the third round in a row, extending Musquin’s lead over Ken Roczen as both of them fall farther behind Tomac. Jason Anderson joined Tomac and Musquin on the overall podium, going 2-4 to take P2 for the Circle K Redbud National at Redbud MX. Anderson is P4 in the standings, 12 points behind a struggling Roczen.Anderson (left) battles Tomac in moto 2.
Eli Tomac took the overall win, though he never engaged with emerging challenger Marvin Musquin. In the first moto, Musquin (Red Bull KTM) went down on the first lap and dropped to P38, while Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) worked his way to the front early and took off. In moto 2, Tomac’s mediocre P7 start meant he never saw Musquin, who took the lead at the halfway point and never looked back. However, Musquin’s crash was much more costly than Tomac’s start, as Musquin’s 7-1 performance means he drops eight points farther behind Tomac, who went 1-2. Now 34 points back with 10 motos to be contested, Musquin no longer controls his own destiny against Tomac.
Eli Tomac is looking like a champion. In the first moto, he started in P3 and hounded Cooper Webb for three laps before accelerating past him. A lap later, Tomac took the lead from Justin Bogle and sprinted away. Tomac took it easy late in the moto, yet still beat Anderson by a comfortable six seconds. Tomac had to work harder in the second moto, and that included a long battle with childhood rival Anderson. Tomac made an impressive inside pass on a flat turn on lap 12 (of 16) to pass Anderson. With two laps remaining, Tomac went by a fading Roczen to secure P2 and pad his overall win. Tomac is beatable in individual motos and rounds, but the championship is entirely under his control.
Marvin Musquin has found his stride at the mid-season point, though it may be too late. Musquin has five podium finishes in the last six motos, along with three moto wins. He is separating himself from Roczen in the standings and is the only remaining threat to Tomac for the championship. Regardless, Musquin is going to need some help to win the 2019 title. As it sits, Musquin could win the final ten motos of the year and still not pass Tomac in the standings. A first-lap crash was Musquin’s undoing early at Redbud MX. His push to P7 from nearly last was epic, and his second-moto victory was impressive. However, this is Musquin’s second first-lap crash of the year, and that is not how you take a championship away from Tomac, who has won the 2019 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship the last two years.Second moto winner Marvin Musquin
Jason Anderson is steady and fast, but not quite fast enough. Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) has now finished in the top five in every moto except the first moto at Southwick. Only Tomac has a record that equals that this year. However, Anderson has yet to win a moto, let alone an overall. That puts Anderson 52 points behind Tomac in the standings. Still, Anderson looks great out there, even if he’s not at Tomac’s level. Anderson couldn’t quite hang with Tomac in moto 1, and eventually failed to hold Tomac off in moto 2. Anderson is close, and he may find that extra boost of speed as the series closes out.
Ken Roczen’s health issues continue to hamper his performances. Roczen (Team Honda HRC) never looked quite right in moto 1. He started in P8 and worked his way up to P5 by the halfway point. Roczen’s progress stalled there. As Roczen looked like he might challenge Bogle for P4, Roczen slowed by 19 seconds on lap 15. Roczen later revealed that he got sick and threw up in his helmet, dropping him to P6 and over a minute behind Tomac as Blake Baggett repassed him. Roczen recovered to lead the first half of moto 2 until Musquin sped by on lap 9. Lap 15 again was Roczen’s undoing, as he was five seconds slower than Tomac. Tomac took P2 on the penultimate lap and beat Roczen by 10 seconds. Still, the P3 finish in moto 2 was Roczen’s first moto podium in five motos.Roczen (#94) and Baggett battle for the moto 2 lead
Zach Osborne was out with a shoulder injury, and fill-in teammate Dean Wilson returned from a Supercross injury. Osborne had a moto win under his belt and was a regular up front—he didn’t finish a single moto this year out of the top 5. Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) isn’t quite ready to replicate those performances, as he went 12-7 in his 2019 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series debut—not bad, really.
Justin Bogle continues to get the starts, but doesn’t have the speed to run up front for long. Bogle (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) led the opening four laps of moto 1 before dropping to P4. In moto 2, he was in P4 on the opening lap before being passed in quick succession by Anderson, Webb, and Tomac. Bogle was dropped to P8 on the next lap by Joey Savatagy, though Bogle returned to P7 when Savatagy retired on lap 13. Savatagy finished neither moto. Bogle’s 4-6 earned him P6 overall, and he is now in P8 in the series standings, nine points behind teammate Blake Baggett.
Aaron Plessinger is starting to find some race pace. A Supercross injury in Daytona kept Plessinger (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing) out of the Pro Motocross Nationals until last week. His return was ignominious, as he went 18-16. This week, Plessinger went 11-11, making him the top Yamaha rider. Plessinger’s teammate Justin Barcia had a P10 finish in moto 2 following a mechanical DNF in the first moto.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM went 6-7-8 for the day—not bad for a satellite team. Bogle’s 4-6 day lead the way over Baggett. In his fourth round since returning from a Supercross injury, Benny Bloss finally found some consistency. His 9-8 day was good for P8 overall.Bogle leads moto 1 ahead of Webb (#2) and Tomac
JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing fill-in rider Fredrik Norén’s run of top 10 moto finishes ended in moto 2. Fortunately, for Norén, his P8 in moto 1 was good enough for Norén to finish in P10 overall as the top Suzuki.
After three consecutive Saturday’s of blistering heat and high humidity, the riders get a week off. The next round is the Frescados Spring Creek National at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota. Be sure to bookmark our 2019 Pro Motocross TV Schedule so you know when to tune in on July 20. Spoiler alert: The second motos will not be shown live on NBCSN.
2019 Redbud Motocross National Results, Redbud MX, Buchanan, MI
Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 1-2; 47 points
Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 2-4; 40 points
Marvin Musquin, KTM, 7-1; 39 points
Cooper Webb, KTM, 3-5; 36 points
Ken Roczen, Honda, 6-3; 35 points
Justin Bogle, KTM, 4-6; 33 points
Blake Baggett, KTM, 5-9; 28 points
Benny Bloss, KTM, 9-8; 25 points
Dean Wilson, Husqvarna, 12-7; 23 points
Fredrik Noren, Suzuki, 8-13, 21 points
Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha, 11-11; 20 points
Henry Miller, KTM, 10-14; 18 points
Lorenzo Locurcio, Kawasaki, 14-12; 16 points
Justin Barcia, Yamaha, 39-10; 11 points
Coty Schock, KTM, 15-16; 11 points
Kyle Cunningham, Honda, 13-39; 8 points
John Short, Honda, 33-15; 6 points
Kyle Chisholm, Suzuki, 17-19; 6 points
Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki, 16-21; 5 points
Taiki Koga, Kawasaki, 35-17; 4 points
Dustin Winter, Yamaha, 23-18; 3 points
Isaac Teasdale, Suzuki, 19-20; 3 points
Ben Lamay, Honda, 18-38; 3 points
James Weeks, Yamaha, 20-36; 1 point
2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship Standings (after 7 of 12 rounds)