2019 Spring Creek Motocross | Race Preview

2019 SPRING CREEK MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

MIDSEASON REVIEW | 250 CLASS
MIDSEASON REVIEW | 450 CLASS

2019 SPRING CREEK MOTOCROSS | TELEVISION BROADCAST DETAILS

Of the 12 rounds to the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, the next two could be the most important to riders in the hunt for the two eligible titles. The first seven rounds of the series established the order and a handful of contenders emerged early on, but only a few were able to make it through three consecutive and challenging weekends without fault. The heat of Florida, the sands of Southwick, and the all-over rigors of RedBud have cut the field down to five riders in the 450 class and three riders in the 250 class with a mathematical shot at the championship. Getting through the next two rounds, Spring Creek and Washougal, with a sizeable amount of points scored will put a rider in a good place for the final three races. A rider cannot leave Washougal down a huge margin to the competition and think they’ll pull it together in limited time left.

All of that leads us to this weekend’s race, the 2019 Spring Creek Motocross. A sandy circuit situated between two hillsides and a steady flowing stream, the venue is one of the best on the schedule. The track favors riders that can blend all-out speed and energy-saving technique on the long rollers, big jumps, and steep hill that has gotten even bigger in recent years. No rider in title chase really has an advantage here, because it takes both sets of skills. So it’ll be on them to see which one can put it the whole thing together.

As we always have to point out, the weather could be a factor. The entire Midwest has endured a hot streak this week, but all of that is supposed to change in the early hours of Saturday morning. Instead of the triple-digit temperatures that Millville has felt lately, the high for Saturday is in the mid to high 70s with a 50-50 shot at rain throughout the day. With the heat now out of the equation, it should be all about a rider’s skills this weekend.

Sure Things
Eli Tomac & Marvin Musquin
Adam Cianciarulo & Dylan Ferrandis

For the third year in a row, it’s really between Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin in the 450 class. Tomac made his moves early, won motos, and built a sizable advantage over the field by the middle of the season. Musquin was saddled by opening lap crashes and mistakes in the first part of the summer, found his flow midway through, and clicked off a list of wins in an attempt to close the gap. It’s what we’ve come to expect from the two. Who in 2010 would have predicted it’d be between these two for the premier US MX title year after year?

Both riders are prone to mistakes and off-days, but also exceptional riding on sandy terrain. Tomac’s strength is his ability to blow other riders away with speed lap after lap, while Musquin is a master at finding creative and fast lines that seem to take little effort. We have no idea what either will do come Saturday afternoon. It really is an equal fight.

Adam Cianciarulo and Dylan Ferrandis are quickly becoming rivals. Sure, the two are cordial and complimentary of each other, but they know the other is the biggest obstacle in their way for the 250 title. Like the Tomac-Musquin lines above, Cianciarulo struck first and put himself in control of the class early but hasn’t been flawless at recent races while Ferrandis struggled at the early races but found his groove and has won moto after moto in the last three races. Cianciarulo tends to ride the bike at its limit, while Ferrandis methodically moves around the track and over obstacles. Unlike Tomac-Musquin, Cianciarulo is admittedly not been the best sand rider while Ferrandis seems to excel in the setting, so the advantage could be to Ferrandis this time. What Cianciarulo does have over Ferrandis, though, is a burning desire to win this title so there’s some sort of positive record for his time in the 250 class and a number one plate on the Pro Circuit truck door.

Long Shots
Ken Roczen & Justin Cooper

Both Ken Roczen and Justin Cooper started the year incredibly strong, maybe better than most had anticipated. Moto wins at the early rounds put them in the mix for the top spot and when wins weren’t possible, they stayed consistent with podium finishes. But their low points occurred seven days apart from each other, when Cooper was saddled by a number of issues at High Point and Roczen felt the full effects of the heat and a crash in Florida. They’ve rebounded okay since, with good finishes in the time since (Cooper won Florida with 2-2 scores), but they haven’t shown the same flare and wins as earlier. The time off should have allowed Roczen a chance to rest and recover from his health issues, while Cooper told us that he has a better handle on the setup for his YZ250F. Either rider could come out swinging at Spring Creek, get between the aforementioned riders in the results, and keep their hopes alive for another week.

Wild Cards
Jason Anderson/Zach Osborne/Cooper Webb/Fredrik Noren/Justin Barcia/Justin Bogle
Alex Martin/Colt Nichols/RJ Hampshire/Chase Sexton

All of the riders listed above have proven their worth in one way or another this summer. Maybe it was a moto win, a few podium finishes, an uptick in results, or burst of eye-opening speed. But at the same time, an inability to do all of that for a long time or the right time has shrunk or eliminated any shot they have of a title. Through the next few weeks, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on all of them, because they can single-handily shake up the results and steal away a crucial amount of points from the rest.

Privateer Power
Lorenzo Locurcio, Henry Miller, Jerry Robin

It’s no coincidence that these three riders have raised their game at recent sandy races. All of them are known for skills in the soft soil and each mixed it up with a factory-backed rider for a spot somewhere in the running order at Florida, Southwick, and RedBud. We expect that to continue again this weekend, especially since Miller and Robin will be in their home state at a circuit they know well.

2019 SPRING CREEK MOTOCROSS | 250 CLASS ENTRY LIST

12. Shane McElrath
23. Chase Sexton | The GEICO Honda rider returns after missing multiple rounds from a heat-related illness that started after the Florida race.
26. Alex Martin
31. RJ Hampshire
32. Justin Cooper | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider is currently third in the point standings.
34. Dylan Ferrandis | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider is currently second in the point standings.
36. Michael Mosiman
39. Colt Nichols
40. Sean Cantrell | The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider is on the entry list after he missed multiple rounds of the season with wrist injuries.
44. Cameron McAdoo
45. Brandon Hartranft
52. Jordan Bailey
55. Kyle Peters
59. Nick Gaines
61. Garrett Marchbanks | The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider is on the entry list for the first time since his High Point crash.
66. Mitchell Oldenburg
89. Joey Crown
91. Zack Williams
92. Adam Cianciarulo | With overall wins at Hangtown/Fox Raceway/Thunder Valley/High Point, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider leads the championship standings.
110. Yusuke Watanabe
123. Mitchell Falk | The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider is on the entry list after he missed multiple rounds of the season with a broken collarbone.
127. Jacob Bork
136. Joshua Philbrick
139. Nathen LaPorte
151. Carter Gordon
154. Chase Felong
156. Jacob Hayes
161. Justin Thompson
168. Cale Kuchnicki
186. Tyler Monks
194. Jerry Robin
196. Hunter Lawrence
212. Tyler McCoy
232. Dylan Bolinger
233. Derek Drake
249. Bailey Kroone
252. Collin Reinhart
269. Dalton Dyer
276. Alex Ingalls
288. Parker Smith
291. Zane Merrett
321. Bradley Lionnet
340. Blake Taylor
346. Kevin Moranz
356. Daniel Lippman
379. Conner Burger
407. Benjamin Nelko
441. Scott Meshey
509. Alex Nagy
510. Travis Prier
516. Yeissen Rubalcava
520. Dennis Ponton
529. Taylor Strauss
546. Tylor Skodras
561. Caleb Hall
586. Nick Reekers
597. Mason Kerr
613. Nicholas Schnagl
622. Zac Maley
631. Brandon Dickson
646. Harris Huizenga
657. Justin Wolf
671. Mason Marty
681. Jeff Crutcher
702. Josiah Hempen
841. Jeff Walker
858. Ryan McPherson
911. David Wilson
916. Jorge Rubalcava
936. Ty Masterpool
974. Brian Marty
979. Phillip Maus
981. Curren Thurman
993. Austin Wagner

MISSING FROM THE LIST

6. Jeremy Martin | GEICO Honda rider is still recovering from the vertebra burst fractures he suffered in the 2018 season; he is expected to return to competition in 2020.
24. Austin Forkner | Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider will miss the entire summer with torn ligaments in his knee.
28. Jordon Smith | The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider could no longer deal with the lingering tendonitis in his wrist from a crash in the Supercross season and will soon undergo surgery to correct the injury; Smith will miss the rest of the summer.
38. Christian Craig | Despite a notification from WADA of an adverse finding for a prohibited substance in an anti-doping test, the GEICO Honda rider is cleared to ride until a final decision by the FIM. The ongoing issue has impacted his 2019 season and it sounds as though Craig will not line up until the matter is clear.
64. Jimmy Decotis | Due to a recent restructure at the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team, Decotis will not be a part of the two-rider 250 team this summer.
67. Enzo Lopes | Due to a recent restructure at the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team, Lopes will not be a part of the two-rider 250 team this summer.
73. Martin Davalos | The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider has decided to sit out multiple races due to ongoing issues with nerve damage in his neck and arms.
112. Thomas Covington | The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider is out for RedBud in order to recover from an ongoing case of Epstein Barr that is draining his energy levels.

2019 SPRING CREEK MOTOCROSS | 450 CLASS ENTRY LIST

1. Eli Tomac | With six wins in the fourteen motos run so far, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider leads the championship standings.
2. Cooper Webb
4. Blake Baggett
7. Aaron Plessinger
15. Dean Wilson
16. Zach Osborne | The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider returns to action after missing RedBud with a shoulder injury.
17. Joey Savatgy
19. Justin Bogle
21. Jason Anderson
25. Marvin Musquin | The Red Bull KTM rider moved to second in the series standings with his Moto One Win and overall victory at the Florida Motocross, and a Moto wins at Southwick and RedBud.
29. Benny Bloss
41. Ben LaMay
43. Tyler Bowers
49. Henry Miller
51. Justin Barcia
54. Dylan Merriam | Privateer returns to action after a crash at Thunder Valley left him with a broken collarbone, fractured T1 vertebrae, fractured rib, bruised lung and pulled groin.
56. Lorenzo Locurcio
63. John Short
69. Jake Masterpool
90. Jeremy Hand
94. Ken Roczen | The Team Honda HRC rider is currently third in the championship standings.
101. Fredrik Noren
119. Issac Teasdale
122. Chris Howell
152. Ryder Hanninen
166. Gavin Wilkins
173. Grant Wall
182. Mason Olson
214. Vann Martin
223. Jamison DuClos
227. Derek Kelley
229. Francisco Martini
243. Hunter Braun
254. Cody Briner
270. Jacob Runkles
308. Nicholas Jackson
319. Coty Schock
322. Trey Moore
324. James Cooper
332. Dustin Winter
354. Matthew Toth
378. Samuel Wise
400. Nick Peterson
415. Brendan Grgurich
447. Deven Raper
499. Dawson Chestnut
528. Ryan Peters
553. Brent Rouse
554. Wade Brommel
577. Felix Lopez
591. Tanner Myers
595. Michael Kitzmiller
624. Garrett Smith
637. Bobby Piazza
647. Matthew Hubert
652. Luke Peters
694. Nicholas Inman
700. Justin Weeks
738. Kyle Hameister
748. Jacob Wilke
754. Tyler Allen
765. Zack Archer
777. Tristan Titus
809. Travis Thompson
811. Christopher Williams
813. Aaron Lampi
837. Bryson Gardner
847. DJ Christie
881. Jerry Lorenz
891. Kyle Koosmann
893. Matthew Carpenter
929. Taiki Koga
959. Josef DeBower
967. Mateo Johnson

MISSING FROM THE LIST

14. Cole Seely | Team Honda HRC rider is sidelined for the remainder of the summer due to a torn labrum and broken shoulder socket, injuries that required surgery and a three-month recovery.
46. Justin Hill | JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing rider is out for the rest of the summer after suffering a recent shoulder injury and necessary surgery.
103. Dean Ferris | The Australian racer and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing team have parted ways, effective immediately.
718. Toshiki Tomita