Yamaha’s Grant Langston claimed his second-straight overall win of the AMA Motocross Championships with a 2-1 performance at round 11 of the series held at Freestone County Raceway, near Wortham, Texas.
Langston came into the Texas event with a two point lead in the standings and left with an eight point advantage, however, Team Honda’s Andrew Short looked to have the overall and the series points lead in the bag after taking a decisive win in the opening moto and following up with the holeshot in the second. The Colorado native fell at the halfway point of the moto, however, giving Langston an easy road to the overall win and the additional championship points that goes along with it.
“The points lead is so tight and I knew I needed to win to take control of the championship,” said Langston, who notched his 11th career AMA National win. “Obviously I got a little extra cushion but it doesn’t change any strategy. I like Glen Helen I’ve always done well there. I’m definitely looking forward to it and hopefully I can finish this off and win a championship.”
Short rebounded to finish third overall, with a 1-5 finish, while KTM’s Mike Alessi finished second overall with 3-2 moto finishes.
Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry finished fourth overall (4-3) and is third in the championship chase with a 13-point deficit.
The championship is still up for grabs as 50 points are available at the final round next week in San Bernardino, California.
In the Lites division, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto turned in two near-perfect rides to clench the overall with via 1-1 finishes, and now holds a 19 point lead over teammate Ben Townley, who finished third overall with a sixth and a second.
Townley crashed on the opening lap of the first moto and had to charge his way back from last to sixth.
In the second moto, Townley pushed Villopoto early, but could not keep the pace of the defending champion and settled for second.
Yamaha’s Broc Hepler finished second overall with a solid 3-3 performance.
Motocross
1. Grant Langston (Yam)
2. Mike Alessi (KTM)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
5. Cody Cooper (Hon)
6. Ivan Tedesco (Suz)
7. Kevin Windham (Hon)
8. Michael Byrne (Suz)
9. Josh Hill (Yam)
10. Gavin Gracyk (Hon)
Motocross Lites
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Broc Hepler (Yam)
3. Ben Townley (Kaw)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
5. Trey Canard (Hon)
6. Martin Davalos (KTM)
7. Thomas Hahn (Hon)
8. Broc Tickle (Yam)
9. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
10. Austin Stroupe (Kaw)
