Anderson Takes Second Overall Win At Budds Creek

MECHANICSVILLE, Md. — The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its annual visit to Budds Creek Motocross Park for round 10 of the season, where a consistent effort allowed Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson to prevail for a second career 450 class victory.

Roczen Leads The Way In Moto 1

The first moto in the 450 class began with Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen leading the way for the holeshot with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ryan Dungey in tow. They were followed by the two championship leaders, Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing’s Eli Tomac and Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton.

Sexton then crashed and dropped deep in the field.

His hard luck provided an opening for Tomac, who made the pass on Dungey for second and pressured Roczen for the lead. Tomac bided his time and made the pass happen seven minutes into the moto as Sexton looked to fight his way back into the top 20.

Tomac grew his lead through the middle portion of the moto and created a gap of over five seconds between he and Roczen in second. Dungey maintained third for most of the moto, but was forced to do battle with Anderson as the moto reached its final 10 minutes.

Anderson went on the attack at his first opportunity and made the pass for the position.

Anderson continued to close in on Roczen a few laps later and made an easy pass for second with five minutes to go.

Tomac charged to his 11th moto win of the season by 12.1 seconds over Anderson, while Roczen held off Dungey for third. Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing’s Christian Craig rounded out the top five.

Sexton Comes Back For Moto 2

The final moto of the day saw Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy charge to the holeshot, only to be quickly passed by Dungey and Roczen. Sexton started in sixth while Tomac found himself outside the top 10 in 13th place.

Back up front, Dungey and Roczen duked it out for control of the moto.

A persistent Roczen didn’t relent and was able to make the pass five minutes into the moto, which left Dungey to fend off Anderson, who make a smooth pass for second. Sexton lurked in fourth, while Tomac fought his way up to seventh.

Back up front, Anderson closed onto the rear fender of Roczen and made quick work to take control of the lead nine minutes into the moto, while Sexton passed Dungey for third.

Anderson continued to build on his lead as Roczen came under fire from Sexton and lost his hold of second. The No. 23 Honda rider continued to chip away at Anderson’s lead, surging around the Kawasaki and into the lead.

Unfortunately, Sexton crashed and gave up control of the moto, remounting in third with just over 10 minutes to go.

After some more positioning swapping due to a stall from Anderson and a pass between Roczen and Sexton, it was Sexton in the lead with Anderson and Roczen following. Further back, Tomac was slowly moving forward and methodically worked his way into fifth in the waning minutes.

Sexton overcame his earlier misfortune to grab his seventh moto win by 4.2 seconds over Anderson, with Roczen third, Dungey fourth and Tomac fifth.

As the most consistent rider of the afternoon, Anderson emerged with his second overall win of the season (2-2).

“Today, two plus two equals one. I’ll take it [the win] any way I can get it. I said we’re making progress and this proves it. I’ve always liked Budds Creek and it feels really good to get the job done today. Let’s keep it going and see if we can finish the season strong,” Anderson said. 

Tomac finished in second (1-5) for his ninth consecutive podium result. Roczen completed the overall podium in third (3-3) — his first since taking the win at the third round.

“We’re trying. I’m super excited to be back on the podium. We tend to take these things for granted. We were battling all day long today and really had to earn our spot up here, which feels good,” Roczen said.

Tomac reclaimed possession of the point lead one week after losing it to his rival, while Sexton missed out on the overall podium for the first time in fourth (7-1). A total of two points changed hands between the two riders, with a single point now separating them with two rounds and four motos to go.

In the 250 class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire emerged to become the division’s third different winner of the season. Jo Shimoda finished in second, while point leader Jett Lawrence came in third overall.