The Ironman National of Crawfordsville, IN played host to the final round of the 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson returned from injury to make an impressive showing in the 450 class. After sitting several races out, he put on an excellent comeback ride to finish 5th and end the season strong.

Jason Anderson was excited to return to the racing scene after being forced to watch from the bench for multiple races due to injury. Recently added to the Motocross of Nations roster for Team USA, he knew he needed to put in some seat time to prepare. He started the day strong by posting the 4th fastest qualifying time aboard his Husqvarna FC 450. He worked his way up to eighth in the first lap of the first moto after a mid-pack start and started pacing himself in order to conserve energy. He started picking off riders and put in a strong ride to finish fifth. The second moto saw a much better start for him in the top-10. He made a run in the top five early in the race and made the pass for fourth up the hill in the first lap. He continued to battle for his position for the remainder of the race and eventually finished fifth. The 5-5 finish gave him fifth overall on the day.
“I want to be up with those front guys,” said Anderson. “This was a tough race to come back on. This 
was probably the roughest track I’ve ever ridden. I could have been better if I would have raced all season, but I still feel like I did pretty well considering I was on the couch for the majority of the summer. I’m going back to California and will focus on getting ready for Des Nations."

Zach Osborne was coming off a high from winning his first career national at Budds Creek last week, and was hoping to follow it up with another strong ride this week at Ironman. He started mid-pack in the first 250 moto and battled a slick, muddy track before coming out of the first lap in eighth. He took a slight dip down the ranks before making a comeback to finish 11th. His second moto commenced on a frustrating note as an incident forced him to start the moto one complete lap behind. He put in work and made an excellent comeback as he found himself 18th with two laps to go before finishing the race in 15th. The 11-15 finish gave him 13th overall.

“I’m happy I finished the season healthy,” said Osborne. “I’m excited for a little break, and I’m looking forward to 2017."

Martin Davalos had a decent start in the first 250 moto, but found himself in 31st at the end of the first lap due to a crash. He remounted and worked his way back up to 22nd by the end of the race. A top-10 start in the second moto put him at eighth by the end of the first lap. He held strong to finish the race in eighth. The 22-8 finish put him at 15th overall on the day.

“The track was gnarly,” said Davalos. “I crashed five times in the first moto and ran out of tear offs. The second moto was better and I had a better start. My shoulder was just bothering me. I’m finished healthy, and I finished the entire outdoor season which makes me happy.”

Ironman MX Results:
250 Class:1. Austin Forkner
2. Aaron Plessinger
3. Cooper Webb

13. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
15. Martin Davalos - Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

250 Class Rider Point Standings:1. Cooper Webb – 495 points
2. Alex Martin – 422 points
3. Joey Savatgy – 383 points
4. Austin Forkner – 376 points
5. Aaron Plessinger - 351 points
6. Jeremy Martin – 321 points
7. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 312 points8. Adam Cianciarulo – 266 points
9. Arnaud Tonus – 243 points
10. Mitchell Oldenburg – 237 points

12. Martin Davalos – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 193 points

450 Class:1. Ken Roczen
2. Justin Barcia
3. Eli Tomac

5. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

450 Class Rider Point Standings:1. Ken Roczen – 584 points
2. Eli Tomac – 498 points
3. Marvin Musquin – 401 points
4. Justin Barcia – 360 points
5. Phil Nicoletti – 229 points
6. Benny Bloss –228 points
7. Christophe Pourcel – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 217 points8. Weston Peick – 197 points
9. Andrew Short – 197 points
10. Fredrik Noren – 192 points

14. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 145 points