Osborne goes 1-1 at Redbud | Jett Lawrence P6

Zach Osborne extends championship lead to 26-points

Images by Jeff Kardas

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, kicked off its first-ever doubleheader from Michigan’s legendary RedBud MX for the fourth round of the 2020 season. The Circle K RedBud I National saw cloud gives way to sunny skies and cooler temperatures that hovered in the mid 20’s. A dominant performance by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne propelled him to his third overall 450 Class victory of the season, extending his championship point lead. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin earned his third consecutive win to take over the championship point lead.

Video Highlights

450 report

The opening 450 Class moto saw Osborne launch out of the gate to take the Motosport.com Holeshot just ahead of Twisted Tea Suzuki’s Max Anstie and JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Freddie Noren. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo wasted no time moving towards the front as he passed both Noren and Anstie to take over second, however, a mistake would force him to lose several positions and remount outside of the top-10. At the completion of the opening lap it was Osborne followed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin and GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig.

The top three asserted themselves at the front of the pack, while Team Honda HRC rookie Chase Sexton gave pursuit. Sexton closed in on his team-mate Craig near the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto and eventually made the move into third. Osborne continued a strong pace up front with Musquin trailing by just a couple of seconds.

Osborne withstood Musquin’s late race charge to capture his third moto win of the season by 1.9 seconds over the Frenchman who finished runner-up. Sexton finished third, earning his second podium since moving up to the 450 Class.

When the gate dropped on the final 450 Class moto it was once again Osborne who prevailed to take the Motosport.com holeshot ahead of Cianciarulo, while Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia, Musquin and Sexton gave chase right behind them. Barcia quickly went to work, making contact with Cianciarulo and taking second.

Osborne continued his opening moto form by using the clear track to open a comfortable lead, while Barcia and Cianciarulo engaged in an intense battle over second, trading positions several times. The top three riders maintained their positions throughout the remainder of the moto as Osborne took his fourth moto win of the season by 2.6 seconds. Barcia finished second, narrowly edging out Cianciarulo in third.

Osborne’s 1-1 moto results helped him secure his third overall victory of the season and marked the first time that he has done so by winning both motos in the premier class. Sexton’s 3-4 scores were good enough to secure his first-career overall podium in the 450 Class. Barcia’s strong second moto gave him third (6-2) on the day.

Zach Osborne

“It was pretty much a perfect day for me,” Osborne said. “Two holeshots and wire-to-wire race wins for the overall. I’m really happy with my riding and my fitness, and my bike is working perfectly so I’m looking forward to Monday and the rest of the series.”

The perfect day for Osborne helped him extend his championship point lead to 26-points over Musquin. Barcia sits third, 13-points behind Musquin in second.

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Marvin Musquin

“It’s always great to be here at RedBud. Going into the first moto, I felt really good and I was enjoying it. I wasn’t too far off Zach but we were both riding well at pretty much the same speed and I couldn’t come back on him. It was a tough second moto, I felt like I was riding good and aggressive but I was never able to get around those guys. I am bummed because I did the first one really well and the second one I’m not able to do the same, so I’ll try to work on that.”

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
RedBud I MX – Buchanan, MI
September 4, 2020 – 450 Class Overall Results

450 Class Points Standings

250 Report

The first 250 Class moto saw Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Ty Masterpool grab the Motosport.com holeshot in his season debut, just edging out Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei and GEICO Honda’s Jett Lawrence. Championship point leader Dylan Ferrandis took a hard fall on the opening lap and found himself remounting his Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing machine near the tail end of the field.

With Masterpool in control and opening a comfortable lead out front, the battle for second heated up early as Jeremy Martin closed in and made the pass stick on Sanayei. Shortly after Sanayei also found himself under pressure from Lawrence who quickly overtook him for third. Jeremy Martin put his head down and slowly chipped away at Masterpool’s lead, and with 10-minutes remaining in the moto, he started searching for a way around the young Yamaha rider. Jeremy Martin eventually made his way around Masterpool to take over the lead.

Jeremy Martin continued to push the pace at the head of the field, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire used an aggressive pass to steal second from Masterpool. Jeremy Martin would remain unchallenged as he took his 31st career moto victory with 5.2 seconds to spare on Hampshire in second. Masterpool held on to third, giving him his first-ever moto podium. Ferrandis’ hard charge credited him with seventh.

As the field emerged from the first turn to start Moto 2 it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath who emerged to grab the Motosport.com holeshot ahead of Sanayei and Jeremy Martin. The second position was quickly overtaken by Jeremy Martin, while his brother Alex Martin followed him to get by Sanayei for third on his JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing machine. Behind them Ferrandis found himself off to another bad start and outside of the top-20.

The top three riders paced one another out front and lap-after-lap extended their advantage over the rest of the 40-rider field. Despite setting a blistering pace, McEralth was unable to shake a determined Jeremy Martin who was relentless and made the pass for the lead at the halfway point of the race. Ferrandis continued his hard charge from the back of the field to battle his way into fourth.

Jeremy Martin went unchallenged en route to his fourth moto win of the season, taking the checkered flag by 4.8 seconds over McElrath who finished a season-best second. Ferrandis used a last lap charge to make the pass on Alex Martin for third.

Jeremy Martin’s first 1-1 of the season gave him his third consecutive overall victory and the 17th of his career. Hampshire’s consistency helped him secure the runner-up spot (2-5), while McElrath earned his first overall podium of the season in third (8-2). Ferrandis just narrowly missed the podium to finish fourth  (7-3).

Jeremy Martin

“Today’s a great day going 1-1,” said Jeremy Martin. “It feels really good to grab another win. We’ve got a little bit of work to do in order to get better, but the grind doesn’t stop and we will get there. The GEICO Honda team had my bike working really well all day and I’m stoked to put myself back up on top of the podium for everyone in my corner who makes this possible.”

RJ Hampshire

“I didn’t have great starts in either moto but I had good speed and the bike was working good,” Hampshire said. “We made the right call first moto with the tire and I had probably one of my better motos I think I’ve ever had. I’m stoked on a 2-5 for second overall. The team and I seem to be doing pretty well together so we’ll keep chipping away and take it race by race.”

Jeremy Martin’s impressive day moved him into the championship point lead and he now holds a 12-point advantage over Ferrandis. Alex Martin maintains third, 48-points out of the championship lead.

Dylan Ferrandis

“I had a small crash in the first moto and hit my head and shoulder,” said Ferrandis. “I was in pain between the first and second moto and wasn’t sure if I was even going to be able to ride while doing the sighting lap. I’m a little behind in points now, but it’s not the end of the world and I will regroup for our next race on Monday.”

Jett Lawrence’s 4-8 results gave him sixth for the round and the young Australian now moves into the eight place in the championship.

Older brother Hunter went 17-10 for 12th overall and is 17th on the championship points table.

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
RedBud I MX – Buchanan, MI
September 4, 2020 – 250 Class Overall Results

250 Class Points Standings