Motocross: Eli Tomac Fastest In Qualifying At Utah MX

Shan Moore | August 23, 2014
Eli Tomac

Tooele, Utah (August 23, 2014) – A muddy racecourse greeted racers and fans this morning after overnight rain fell on Miller Motorsports Park, the venue for the final round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series near Tooele, Utah.

Organizers pushed practice back 30 minutes in an effort to give the track more time to dry, however, the first practice session was still sloppy, despite the extra time. The track started to dry during the second practice session, and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac emerged with the fastest time in the 450 class, turning a 1:57.313 on lap seventh lap of the second session, marking the third time this year that the Colorado rider has topped qualifying.

Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen was second-fastest, turning a 1:58.715, with Team Muscle Milk Honda’s Trey Canard rounding out the top three with a 1:58.996.

Another Team Muscle Milk Honda rider, Fredrik Noren, edged out Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey as the fourth-fastest qualifier, turning a 2:01.636, compared to Dungey’s 2:01.753.

TwoTwo Motosports’ Kawasaki’s Chad Reed, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe, and Honda rider Mitchell Oldenburg were sixth through eighth, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, and BTO Sport’s KTM’s Matt Georke rounded out the top 10.

Roczen comes into today’s race holding a 20-point lead over Dungey in the championship hunt, which means that Dungey would need something big to happen to wrestle the title away from his teammate.

With the track considerably dryer and faster, Christophe Pourcel claimed his ninth Oakley Bomb Award of the year during qualifying in the 250 class. Pourcel turned a 1:53.861 in the second session to put his Valli Motorsports Yamaha at the top of the 250 qualifying list ahead of Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, who was second overall with a time of 1:56.184.

Rookie Pro Christopher Alldredge was third fastest with a 1:57.354, while GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne (1:58.463) and Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson (1:58.897) rounded out the top five.

The bottom half of the top 10 looked like Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Dean Wilson and Blake Baggett in sixth and seventh, with TLD Honda’s Cole Seely, GEICO Honda’s Zach Bell and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin going eighth through 10th.

Martin wrapped up the 250 title at last week’s round in Indiana, however, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett and Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb are separated by just three points in the race for second overall in the standings. Meanwhile, Marvin Musquin is another five points behind Webb.

 

Shan Moore | Contributing Editor

Moore covers all facets of off-road racing for Cycle News – from AMA Supercross and Motocross to GNCC and National Hare Scrambles events.