Tim Ferry made it a USA sweep in the team qualifying segment for tomorrow’s Red Bull Motocross of Nations. In the Open-class heat race, Ferry finished well ahead of Australia’s Michael Byrne and Portugal’s Joaquim Rodrigues.
Ferry nailed the holeshot but was cut off in the first turn and settled into fourth. The Kawasaki rider quickly got into third, and then he worked his way around Byrne, then Rodrigues. From the third lap on, a very confident-looking Ferry stretched out his lead to well over 20 seconds at the finish.
Rodrigues and Byrne battled for a while over second place, with both riders at times taking quick trips off the track. While still running second, Rodrigues swapped out at the bottom of a downhill and ran off the track, letting Byrne into second for good.
Honda rider Ken De Dycker, who finished fourth, could be the only rider in the class that could challenge Ferry for the class win tomorrow. The big man from Belgium fell in the first turn and was closing in on Rodrigues for third when the checkered flag came out.
Now that racing is over for the day, it is time to add up each team’s two-best finishes, which will determine which team will get in for tomorrow’s race. Only 20 out of 33 teams will qualify.
Open-class Results Qualification Top 10
1. USA – Tim Ferry (Kaw)
2. Australia – Michael Byrne (Suz)
3. Portugal – Joaquim Rodrigues (KTM)
4. Belgium – Ken De Dycker (Hon)
5. Germany – Marcus Schiffer (KTM)
6. Japan – Yoshitaka Atsuta (Hon)
7. South Africa – Wyatt Avis (KTM)
8. Estonia – Aigar Leok (Yam)
9. Spain – Alvaro Lozano (KTM)
10. Latvia – Lauris Freibergs (Yam)
