BUCHANAN, Mich. — The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, kicked off its first doubleheader from Michigan’s legendary RedBud MX for the fourth round of the season.
A dominant performance by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne propelled him to his third overall 450 class victory of the season, extending his championship point lead. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin earned his third consecutive win to take over the championship point lead.
The opening 450 Class moto saw Osborne launch out of the gate to take the Motosport.com Holeshot just ahead of Twisted Tea Suzuki’s Max Anstie and JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Freddie Noren. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo wasted no time moving towards the front as he passed both Noren and Anstie to take over second, however, a mistake would force him to lose several positions and remount outside of the top-10. At the completion of the opening lap it was Osborne followed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin and GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig.
The top three asserted themselves at the front of the pack, while Team Honda HRC rookie Chase Sexton gave pursuit. Sexton closed in on his teammate Craig near the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto and eventually made the move into third. Osborne continued a strong pace up front with Musquin trailing by just a couple of seconds.
Osborne withstood Musquin’s late race charge to capture his third moto win of the season by 1.9 seconds over the Frenchman who finished runner-up. Sexton finished third, earning his second podium since moving up to the 450 class.
When the gate dropped on the final 450 class moto it was once again Osborne who prevailed to take the Motosport.com holeshot ahead of Cianciarulo, while Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia, Musquin and Sexton gave chase right behind them. Barcia quickly went to work, making contact with Cianciarulo and taking second.
Osborne continued his opening moto form by using the clear track to open a comfortable lead, while Barcia and Cianciarulo engaged in an intense battle over second, trading positions several times. The top three riders maintained their positions throughout the remainder of the moto as Osborne took his fourth moto win of the season by 2.6 seconds. Barcia finished second, narrowly edging out Cianciarulo in third.
Osborne’s 1-1 moto results helped him secure his third overall victory of the season and marked the first time that he has done so by winning both motos in the premier class. Sexton’s 3-4 scores were good enough to secure his first-career overall podium in the 450 Class. Barcia’s strong second moto gave him third (6-2) on the day.
“It’s a pretty special day for me at what is an iconic track,” explained Osborne. “This is one of the best tracks in the world and it’s cool to grab my first ever 1-1 here. You never know what’s going to happen and my goal is to go out and get maximum points every time I’m on the track. The weather was cooler today, which helped, but it’s going to be important to get recovered to line back up again on Monday.”
The perfect day for Osborne helped him extend his championship point lead to 26-points over Musquin.
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