Round 2 of the AMA Motocross Championship got underway last weekend at Freestone, Texas and the action didn't disappoint as championship favourites James Stewart and Raptor Titanium's Ryan Dungey of KTM Red Bull USA went toe-to-toe in close fought races, and in the Lites class Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Eli Tomac got well into his stride in the championship after a disappointing opening round at Hangtown for him winning both motos and the overall win ahead of Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Blake Baggett and Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Ken Roczen, also of KTM Red Bull USA.
250 Lites Class
The beginning of the first race was fast and furious as passes were made almost every corner between Phil Nicoletti and Jessy Nelson, with Raptor Titanium's Marvin Musquin in a close third but who was soon overtaken by his team-mate and fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Ken Roczen. Eli Tomac got a relatively good start, but that soon proved irrelevant as he had already grabbed the lead by the third lap with Ken Roczen charging close behind. Blake Baggett had also got a decent start and was pressuring Roczen, eventually managed to pass the KTM man but Tomac was well ahead by then and won the race convincingly. Raptor Titanium's Justin Barcia was 4th, with fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored riders Marvin Musquin and Blake Wharton in 5th and 6th respectively.
The second 250 moto saw another holeshot for Jessy Nelson, who proved to be a formidable prospect off the starting gate on the day but was quickly passed by crowd favourite, Raptor Titanium's Blake Wharton on his Rockstar Energy Suzuki who quickly imposed a good lead. Raptor Titanium's Wil Hahn of Geico Honda was in third behind Nelson, with Wharton's team-mate and fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Jason Anderson in fourth and moto 1 winner Eli Tomac in fifth. Tomac wasted little time in scything through the field and by the fourth lap was pressuring Wharton for the lead, eventually making a pass stick and storming off to a perfect 1-1 on the day for maximum points. Baggett had a great race as well, making a charge through the pack of his own from 13th to get past Wharton on the final lap to clinch 2nd, leaving Wharton to settle for 3rd. Barcia also cut his way through the pack from starting in 20th place to grab 4th.
Another fantastic result for our sponsored riders, with our first win of the 2012 AMA Outdoor Motocross Championship, and now Raptor Titanium riders occupy eight of the top ten overall places, and now account for sixteen of the top twenty in the points standings!
250 Lites Results
1. Eli Tomac HON 1/1
2. B Baggett KAW 2/2
3. Ken Roczen KTM 3/4
4. B Wharton SUZ 6/3
5. Justin Barcia HON 4/5
6. M Musquin KTM 5/8
7. Jessy Nelson 7/9
8. Wil Hahn 12/6
9. Jake Canada 8/14
10. Kyle Cunningham 13/12
11. M Davalos SUZ 14/13
12. J Anderson SUZ 22/7
13. Travis Baker 18/10
14. Kyle Peters 9/23
15. Alex Martin 16/15
16. Zack Freeberg 15/16
17. Gareth Swanepoel 10/38
18. M Stewart KTM 39/11
19. Ivan Tedesco KAW 11/22
20. Hunter Hewitt 17/20
250 Lites Points
Blake Baggett 94
Ken Roczen 80
Eli Tomac 79
Justin Barcia 76
Blake Wharton 55
Marvin Musquin 52
Wil Hahn 46
Kyle Cunningham 42
Ivan Tedesco 41
Jake Canada 41
Martin Davalos 40
Jason Anderson 39
Jessy Nelson 38
Travis Baker 29
Gareth Swanepoel 26
Kyle Peters 22
Justin Bogle 14
Hunter Hewitt 14
Alex Martin 12
Zack Freeberg 11
450 Class
Stewart and Dungey (somewhat predictably) sprinted out into the lead after dispatching Kyle Peters who got the holeshot with ease and opened up a huge lead early on. Dungey kept the pressure on the Suzuki man, but couldn't find a pass anywhere as Stewart always seemed to have a little extra up his sleeve when it counted and held off the KTM rider for a narrow victory.
The second race saw Raptor Titanium's Ryan Dungey and Mike Alessi get the top two positions, but Stewart showed why he's a great champion as he swept past both riders in one go to take the lead, and a repeat performance of the first race was underway with Stewart and Dungey providing some quality racing entertainment as Dungey pushed to get into the lead once again, but the wily Stewart maintained the lead, even despite a near-crash through the whoops section that could have seen his race ended, but his prowess on the bike saw him carry on and keep the lead until the chequered flag.
Raptor Titanium's Josh Grant of Jeff Ward Racing Kawasaki had a great day clinching 5th overall, with our sponsored riders Nico Izzi and Ryan Sipes rounding out the top ten.
450 Results
1. J Stewart SUZ 1/1
2. Ryan Dungey KTM 2/2
3. Mike Alessi SUZ 5/3
4. Jake Weimer KAW 3/6
5. Josh Grant KAW 6/4
6. Andrew Short HON 10/5
7. Tommy Hahn 9/7
8. Brett Metcalfe SUZ 13/10
9. Nico Izzi 4/25
10. Ryan Sipes 8/17
11. Michael Byrne 12/15
12. Robert Kiniry 17/11
13. J Brayton HON 14/14
14. Broc Tickle KAW 7/40
15. Kyle Regal YAM 25/8
16. Derek Anderson 22/9
17. Cole Thompson 19/13
18. Matt Lemoine 11/27
19. Kyle Chisholm 30/12
20. Kevin Rookstool 16/19
450 Points
James Stewart 100
Ryan Dungey 86
Mike Alessi 70
Jake Weimer 61
Andrew Short 61
Josh Grant 58
Brett Metcalfe 53
Broc Tickle 43
Nico Izzi 39
Tommy Hahn 39
Robert Kiniry 31
Davi Millsaps 29
Kyle Chisholm 23
Ryan Sipes 22
Matt Lemoine 19
Jimmy Albertson 19
Justin Brayton 18
Michael Byrne 17
Kyle Regal 14
Derek Anderson 10
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