2020 Ironman Motocross | Race Report

2020 IRONMAN MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

New track, same routine. After two weeks in Tennessee to start the season, the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship has moved up the road to Indiana for round three, the 2020 Ironman Motocross. Early forecasts had chances of rain, but the poor weather has stayed south and we got in a clear, sunny day at the races. 

250 Moto One

The first moto at Ironman was off and Dylan Ferrandis was off to the early lead after a great jump from the far inside, while Jeremy Martin and Mitchell Harrison trailed early-on. Jett Lawrence sat in fourth but Brandon Hartranft challenged for the position early on and took away the spot. As the field completed their first lap, Ferrandis already sat two seconds ahead of the rest of the class. RJ Hampshire began picking off positions after a rough start and moved into seventh place at the end of lap two. Back up front, Brandon Hartranft continued to make moves, as he passed Harrison for third. While his teammate Derek Drake pressured Hampshire for seventh and worked to keep Alex Martin behind him, but ultimately A-Mart was able to make the pass on the youngster. Fastest qualifier Shane McElrath had an unusual bad start but reeled in Drake and the rest of the top-10. Meanwhile, Jett Lawrence was finally able to make a pass on Harrison and secure fourth place. As battles continued inside of the top-10, Dylan Ferrandis remained upfront with over a 10-second lead. While challenging for fifth, RJ Hampshire went down after a simple tip-over, ultimately costing him six positions. Shane McElrath continued to charge through the pack as he began working on Harrison for fifth place. It took many attempts, as the two battled for four laps, but McElrath was finally able to make the pass and secure fifth place. Meanwhile, RJ Hampshire made the pass one Alex Martin and tried to regain those positions he lost in his tip-over. Derek Drake and Justin Cooper caught onto the rear wheel of Harrison, but then Drake made a mistake allowing three guys to get by. Both RJ Hampshire and Alex Martin then made the pass on Justin Cooper and immediately began challenging Harrison. It only took a few more sections for Hampshire to make the move on Harrison for sixth place, and Alex Martin followed just moments later. Just a lap later, RJ Hampshire made the pass on McElrath in the same corner he passed Harrison in. As the checkered flag waved, Dylan Ferrandis took the win in moto one with over a 20-second lead. 

250 Moto Two

The second moto of the day for the 250 class was off and Jeremy Martin was off to the early lead with Justin Cooper trailing in second. Meanwhile, Dylan Ferrandis and Shane McElrath tangled in the first turn and Ferrandis remounted in dead last. Cameron McAdoo was also involved in the first turn pile-up. Back up front, Brandon Hartranft sat in third place again after another solid start. McAdoo and Ferrandis battled while coming up through the pack, but Cameron then made a mistake and went off track. At the end of the first lap, Ferrandis had picked off nearly half of the field. RJ Hampshire went down while running in the top-10 and dropped back to 18th place. Back up front, the top-5 remained in the same order, as Jeremy Martin led with a two-second lead on Cooper. Jo Shimoda reeled in his teammate Jett Lawrence, who ran in fifth place and began pressuring for the position. This challenge from Jo forced Jett to begin pressuring Harrison for fourth place. Meanwhile, Dylan Ferrandis passed into the top-10 with 15 minutes to go in the moto. Back to that battle inside the top-5, Jett had the pass made on Harrison but then Mitchell fired right back and regained the position. However, just a few sections later, Harrison made a mistake and lost the position to Jett. Just a lap later, both Jo Shimoda and Dylan Ferrandis made the pass on Harrison, dropping him back to seventh place. Ferrandis continued to charge, as he passed Jo for fifth place and set his sights on Jett. As the moto neared the end, Jett Lawrence reeled in Brandon Hartranft and challenged for the podium position, and just moments later Dylan Ferrandis joined the battle. Jett Lawrence made a mistake and allowed Ferrandis to capitalize and take over the position. Just a few sections later, Ferrandis made the pass on Hartranft as well and secured a third-place position. On the final lap, Pierce Brown was forced to walk his bike back to the pits after suffering a mechanical. As the checkered flag waved, Jeremy Martin took the quiet moto win and overall victory at Ironman. 

450 Moto One

As 450 moto one left the gate, Marvin Musquin was off to the early lead as carnage inside behind him. Justin Bogle tucked the front end going into the first corner, sending him over the bars and collecting a few other riders. Meanwhile, Musquin, Tomac, and Osborne sat in the top three. Behind those three, Max Anstie picked up another great start and after a slight mistake out of Osborne, Anstie nearly took over third place early on. Out of nowhere came the number-nine of Adam Cianciarulo, as he passed nearly 6 guys on just the first lap. Adam Cianciarulo charged past Anstie and Chase Sexton followed. Joey Savatgy hit the deck hard on lap two, ending his day. Blake Baggett began charging through the pack, as he moved up to sixth after passing Anstie. While Marvin Musquin stretched out his lead on Tomac, Cianciarulo and Sexton reeled in Osborne and the third-place position. However, just a lap later, Tomac and the three riders behind him began to close in on Marvin in the lead. Osborne worked to keep Cianciarulo and Sexton behind him, ultimately causing him to reel in the leaders. As the moto neared the halfway mark, the top-five were within five seconds of each other and the battles were brewing. However, just as the group got close, Marvin and Tomac upped the pace and broke a-bit away from Osborne in third. Adam Cianciarulo also opened up a lead on Sexton, as it went from within a second to over a four-second lead. Back up front, Eli Tomac closed in on Musquin again after a blistering fast lap. Meanwhile, Adam Cianciarulo closed in on Osborne and began challenging for third place. A lapped rider cut right in front of Osborne and hung him up, causing Zach to lose two positions to Cianciarulo and Sexton. Marvin upped the pace again and opened up a three-second lead on Tomac after seeing that he closed in. With three laps to go, Osborne made another mistake that let Baggett by. Max Anstie sat in eighth place in the last lap but a mechanical ended his moto just shy of the finish line. As the checkered flag waved, Marvin Musquin took the moto one win after an impressive moto. 

450 Moto Two

As the last race of the day left the gates, Adam Cianciarulo and Zach Osborne were off to the early jump, but Osborne took the lead as they crossed the holeshot line. Eli Tomac sat in third and Musquin in fourth off of the start. Adam Cianciarulo showed Osborne a wheel as they entered their third lap, while Tomac lurked behind the battle for the lead. Cianciarulo charged to the lead as he swept around an outside past Osborne. Meanwhile, Justin Barcia made the pass for fourth on Marvin Musquin. Back up front, Tomac began challenging Osborne for second place but Zach responded by upping the pace and building a little more of a cushion between him and Eli. Chase Sexton moved into sixth place after passing Baggett. And back to the lead, Zach Osborne laid down a blistering fast lap and reeled back in Adam Cianciarulo, just as Barcia began to work on Tomac for third. Tomac responded to Barcia’s pressure by upping the pace and just a lap later the top four were within four seconds. The bad luck continued for Max Anstie, as he was down hard and seemed to be hurt. Back to the battle, a lapped rider slows Osborne again, allowing both Tomac and Barcia by. And just like that, Eli Tomac sat in second place, just a few seconds behind his teammate and the lead. However, Justin Barcia wasn’t giving up, as he trailed just behind Eli in third. Tomac had a great run up the hill and dove to the inside and the lead, as both he and Barcia get by Adam. Meanwhile, Zach Osborne put together a late charge and made the pass on Adam as well. As Eli neared the end of the race, his bike began to smoke slightly and Barcia continued to lurk. However, the bike made it to the checkered flag and Justin Barcia just couldn’t make the pass, as Tomac took the win in moto two.