2019 Thunder Valley Motocross National Results and Coverage (9 Fast Facts)

2019 Thunder Valley Motocross National Results:
Roczen Wins, Regains Series Lead

Under changing weather and track conditions, Ken Roczen stayed consistent and took the True Value Thunder Valley National overall win with a 1-2 performance. Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Series leader Eli Tomac had multiple problems in the first moto, finishing the day in P2 overall, going 5-1. That allowed Roczen, who won round 1, to retake the series lead by two points. Rookie Zach Osborne rounded out the podium, going 2-4 at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado.

1. Ken Roczen looked unbeatable in the first moto, even as the conditions changed. The track started muddy after a downpour during the first 250MX moto. Although Osborne grabbed the holeshot, Roczen (Team Honda HRC) quickly took the lead on the sticky muddy track and never looked back. Roczen had a 10-second lead by lap 4 (of 16), bumping it up to 20 seconds five laps later, and then pushing over 30 seconds ahead on lap 14 as the sun came out. Roczen eventually finished 35 seconds ahead of Osborne, who held P2 the entire moto. It was a dominating victory.

   

2. Eli Tomac was not to be denied in front of the Colorado crowd in moto 2. Cooper Webb nabbed the dry-track holeshot and held onto the lead for a lap ahead of Roczen and Blake Baggett. As Baggett was passed by Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Marvin Musquin on the second lap, Roczen went into the lead. With Roczen still in sight, Tomac had a tussle with Musquin for P2, with Tomac taking it on lap 4 as Musquin bobbled on the outside line of a left-hand corner. Roczen’s lead peaked at just over four seconds on lap 5. From there Tomac went to work, shaving off big chunks of Roczen’s gap. Clearly faster, on lap 10 Tomac went by Roczen in the whoops and immediately opened up a 2.6-second advantage. Tomac extended that lead until the end, beating Roczen by over nine seconds.

   

3. Moto 1 was a tough one for Eli Tomac, and it cost him a shot at the overall. Getting a bad start on a muddy track is always a challenge, and Tomac was outside of the top 10 after completing the first lap. Tomac worked his way up to P9 by lap 3, but stalled there for the first half of the moto due to problems with his goggles. He eventually came in to swap them, losing just one position in the process. With fresh goggles and a drying track, Tomac surged toward the front. Tomac took P5 on lap 14 when he passed Dean Ferris. Tomac then put intense pressure on Jason Anderson. On the last lap, Tomac got stuck on a still-muddy inside line that had earlier claimed Cole Seely, and that was enough for Anderson to take P4 with a seven-second margin.

   

4. Zach Osborne’s rookie year is off to a great start—P3 overall at Thunder Valley and now P3 in the series standings. Osborne’s 2-4 in Colorado moved him ahead of Musquin in the standings. Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) got on the podium quietly, as he had a lonely ride in P2 in moto 1—finished nine seconds ahead of Webb. In moto 2, Osborne’s start wasn’t as good, and he had to work his way up from P7 at the start to P4 by lap 6, which Osborne held to the end. Osborne was 21 seconds behind Musquin and 11 seconds ahead of teammate Anderson when he crossed the finish line. Although already over a moto behind series leader Roczen, Osborne has been in the top 5 in all six motos this year.

   

5. Jason Anderson continued his run of consistent finishes, going 4-5 to take P4 overall. After finishing in P2 in the opening moto of the season at Hangtown, Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) has gone 5-4-5-4-5. Anderson was able to hold off Tomac in moto 1 for P4, and stay ahead of Justin Barcia to secure P5 in the second moto, despite a final lap that was eight seconds off his pace. Anderson’s performance at Thunder Valley Motocross Park, which is more than 6000 feet above sea level, is impressive, as Anderson has had altitude sickness issues in the past.

   

6. Marvin Musquin crashed in the second corner of moto 1, ruining his overall podium chances. Ending up on the ground early in the first moto, Musquin (Red Bull KTM) was in P27 after one lap in the mud. Musquin persevered, finding himself in P11, far behind Tomac by lap 6. However, after Tomac’s goggle swap allowed Musquin to get on Tomac’s tail, Musquin did not have the speed to hang with Tomac’s charge. Musquin did work his way up to P8, a partial salvage of the moto. Things went much better for Musquin in moto 2, as a good start put him in a podium spot. Although Musquin surrendered P3 to Tomac on lap 3, Musquin regained it by passing Webb two laps later. Musquin’s 8-3 was good for P5 overall, but allowed Osborne past him in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National standings.

   

7. Cooper Webb was strong in moto 1, but faded badly at the end of the day. After a P3 finish in the first moto at the Hangtown opener, Webb (Red Bull KTM) had an uninspiring string of P6 finishes coming into Thunder Valley. Webb came alive in moto 1, slotting himself into P3 on the first lap and remaining there for the entire race. A holeshot in moto 2 meant that Webb had a shot at the overall win. Instead, Webb was quickly swallowed up. Roczen got by on lap 2. When Tomac got by Webb on lap 4, it started a slide that saw Webb losing a position a lap until he steadied in P7 on lap 8. Webb battled with Barcia and Baggett for P6, finishing on the losing end in P8. Webb’s 3-8 was good enough for a P6 result, a disappointment after an overall win looked possible.

   

8. Blake Baggett has his best overall finish of the year, going 7-7 for P7 overall. It is not the year Baggett was hoping for. Three rounds in, Baggett is P10 in the series standings, 75 points behind leader Roczen. In both motos, Baggett had good starts but could not convert them into competitive finishes. Baggett was over 56 seconds behind Roczen in moto 1 and over a minute back of Tomac in moto 2.

   

9. After a week off, the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship Series reconvenes at High Point in Pennsylvania. It’s the first East Coast round of the year. The good news for those who don’t have an NBC Sports Gold subscription is that the coverage will be live on MavTV, NBC, and NBCSN—a big improvement over the full-day delay in airing the second motos at Thunder Valley. Check our essential 2019 Pro Motocross TV Schedule for viewing times and channels.

2019 Thunder Valley Motocross National Results, Thunder Valley Motocross Park, Lakewood, CO

1. Ken Roczen, Honda, 1-2, 47 points
2. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 5-1, 41 points
3. Zach Osborne, Husqvarna, 2-4, 40 points
4. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 4-5, 34 points
5. Marvin Musquin, KTM, 8-3, 33 points
6. Cooper Webb, KTM, 3-8, 33 points
7. Blake Baggett, KTM, 7-7, 28 points
8. Dean Ferris, Yamaha, 6-9, 27 points
9. Justin Barcia, Yamaha, 11-6, 25 points
10. Justin Bogle, KTM, 10-10, 22 points
11. Cole Seely, Honda, 9-12, 21 points
12. Justin Hill, Suzuki, 12-11, 19 points
13. Fredrik Noren, Honda, 15-13, 14 points
14. Todd Waters, Husqvarna, 14-14, 14 points
15. Lorenzo Locurcio, Kawasaki, 18-15, 9 points
16. Henry Miller, KTM, 13-20, 9 points
17. Ben Lamay, Honda, 19-17, 6 points
18. Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki, 17-19, 6 points
19. John Short, Honda, 25-16, 5 points
20. Jake Masterpool, Honda, 16-40, 5 points
21. Toshiki Tomita, Honda,  21-18, 3 points
22. Taiki Koga, Kawasaki, 20-38, 1 point

2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross AMA National Championship Standings (after 3 of 12 rounds)

1. Ken Roczen, Honda, 136 points (2 moto wins)
2. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 134 (4 moto wins)
3. Zach Osborne, Husqvarna, 110
4. Marvin Musquin, KTM, 107
5. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 106
6. Cooper Webb, KTM, 98
7. Justin Barcia, Yamaha, 77
8. Dean Ferris, Yamaha, 69
9. Justin Bogle, KTM, 63
10. Blake Baggett, KTM, 61
11. Cole Seely, Honda, 59
12. Justin Hill, Suzuki, 51
13. Fredrik Noren, Honda, 46
14. Todd Waters, Husqvarna, 46
15. Jake Masterpool, Honda, 31
16. Ben Lamay, Honda, 27
17. Dylan Merriam, Husqvarna, 18
18. Lorenzo Locurcio, Kawasaki, 16
19. Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki, 14
20. Toshiki Tomita, Honda, 13
21. Henry Miller, KTM, 11
22. Taiki Koga, Kawasaki, 11
23. Cody Cooper, Honda, 6
24. John Short, Honda, 5
25. Erki Kahro, KTM, 5
26. Mathias Jorgensen, Honda, 3
27. Dare Demartile, Honda, 2
28. Brandan Leith, Kawasaki, 1