PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
Yamalube/Rockstar/StarYamaha Racing’s Jeremy Martin made a statement at the Hangtown Classic – he’s definitely the man to beat in the 250 class. Repeating his dominant performance at the season opener at Glen Helen, Martin scored another perfect weekend in the second round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. His teammate Cooper Webb finished behind him on the podium, making it also a second-straight Star Yamaha Racing 1-2 punch. And making it an all-Yamaha podium was Frenchman Christophe Pourcel for the Valli Yamaha team.
While GEICO Honda’s Zach Bell took the holeshot in the first moto, it didn’t take long for Martin to take the lead and hold it comfortably all the way to the checkered flag. Mr. “I want to win” Martin improved on his already impressive moto one performance, taking the holeshot in moto two, leading the entire race and finishing with a 20-second lead on his teammate Webb.
Webb’s repeat runner-up performance puts him 12 points behind Martin for the championship. The North Carolina native’s second-place finish was a little harder fought in the first moto after having to get past a couple of GEICO Hondas. Webb got around Bell early on and eventually got Bogle on his second attempt with eight minutes to go.
Bogle rounded out the podium in the first moto but crashed hard out of fourth place in the moto two and retired from the race. But the AMA Supercross 250 East Champion’s first moto effort secured him 10th overall.
Pourcel, the fastest 250 MX qualifier for the second week in a row, got a much better start in moto two to take second from Webb. But before the halfway mark Webb took it back, with Pourcel to settling for third. With Bogle out of action in moto two, Pourcel’s 8-3 tally was good enough to put him third overall.
Leading the way for the Monster Energy Pro Circuit team was Justin Hill in fourth with a 4-6 tally. Behind Hill was Troy Lee Designs Lucas Oil Honda’s Jessy Nelson, who finished 7-5.
In sixth was the 2014 AMA Supercross 250 West Champion Jason Anderson on the Rockstar Energy KTM. Anderson turned his luck around and finished fourth in moto two after a crash early on in the first moto had him fighting his way back to finish in 10th.
Behind Anderson on the Red Bull KTM was Marvin Musquin, who also had a better moto-two finish with a seventh. Musquin fell victim to Anderson’s first-moto crash and also went down, but he made a valiant comeback to finish ahead of Anderson in ninth.
Bell ended the day eighth overall, finishing fifth in moto one and 12th in moto two. Behind him was teammate Matt Bisceglia in ninth with a 13-8 tally.
2014 Hangtown Classic
450 AMA Pro Motocross
Overall Results
1. Jeremy Martin (Yamaha) 1-1
2. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 2-2
3. Christophe Pourcel (Yamaha) 8-3
4. Justin Hill (Kawasaki) 4-6
5. Jessy Nelson (Honda) 7-5
6. Jason Anderson (KTM) 10-4
7. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 9-7
8. Zach Bell (Honda) 5-12
9. Matt Bisceglia (Honda) 13-8
10. Justin Bogle (Honda) 3-35
