Roczen and Webb Seek Title Clinches as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Returns to Budds Creek for Penultimate Round

Courtesy of MX Sports

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (August 16, 2016) - With just two rounds remaining for the 2016 season, both the 450 Class and 250 Class titles have the opportunity to be clinched this Saturday, August 20, as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, makes its annual visit to Budds Creek Motocross Park. The legendary Southern Maryland facility, located in Mechanicsville, sits in the shadow of the nation's capital of Washington, D.C., adding another layer of excitement to the GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National, where RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John's/Suzuki Factory Racing's Ken Roczen and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb will each look to secure their respective championships.

Broadcast Coverage of the GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National:First Motos (250 & 450 Class) - LIVE on MAVTV at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ETTape Delayed Second Motos - August 21 at 8 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. ET on NBC Sports NetworkLIVE Coverage can also be streamed via ProMotocross.com and NBC Sports App.Budds Creek Highlight Show - August 26 at 11 p.m. PT / 2 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network 

Race Highlights from the Unadilla NationalLast weekend at Unadilla in Central New York, Roczen returned to his dominant ways, putting his Suzuki at the front of the field early in both 450 Class motos before pulling away from the field. Roczen's innate ability to get to the front on the opening lap and sprint out to a healthy lead shortly thereafter has been the trademark of his 2016 campaign and was emphasized even more at Unadilla when factoring arguably the most challenging track conditions of the entire season. Roczen made it look easy, taking the checkered flag by more than 13 seconds in the first moto and the largest winning margin of the season in Moto 2 at more than 52 seconds. The dominant outing gave Roczen his seventh overall win of the season, in which he's swept the motos every time.

Now, with just two rounds and four motos remaining, the German rider has the chance to not only clinch his second 450 Class title in three seasons and once again hoist the Edison Dye Cup, but become the just the third rider over the past decade to lead the championship from start to finish, joining James Stewart (2008) and Ryan Villopoto (2013). Roczen has undoubtedly been the most consistent rider in the championship this summer and while Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac has been a thorn in Roczen's side throughout the second half of the season, the 2014 titleholder has never faltered, even as an alarmingly large contingent of elite riders continued to bow out of action due to injury. It's been one of the most incredibly dominant championship performances in history at a time when the level of competition is higher than it's ever been before in 45 years of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

Roczen carries a 63-point lead into Budds Creek, a track he has never won at before, with Tomac as the lone rider remaining with a mathematical shot at the title. In order to clinch the championship Roczen will need to complete Saturday's motos with a minimum lead of 50 points. As a result, should Tomac sweep the motos at Budds Creek, Roczen will need to accumulate a total of 37 points across both motos in order to secure the number one plate. In 20 motos this season, Roczen has failed to finish on the podium just once, following an issue with his front suspension in the opening moto of the second round this season from Glen Helen. If he continues that podium trend on Saturday, Roczen will walk away with another championship.
A pair of podium finishes for Roczen at Budds Creek will
clinch his second career 450 Class title.
Photo: Simon Cudby
For Tomac his mission at Budds Creek is simple - go out and win. We've seen splashes of dominance from the Kawasaki rider this season, but he'll need one of his best outings of the season and a season-worst effort from Roczen to take the title fight to the final round. Nevertheless, Tomac is guaranteed to give it his all on Saturday, the same way he has all season. He'll control what he can and allow the points to unfold as they will. Like Roczen, Tomac has never won at Budds Creek, which sets the stage for an exciting showdown this weekend.

With 49 points sitting between he and Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha's Justin Barcia, Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin will look to clinch the third and final spot on the championship podium this weekend. Simply finishing ahead of Barcia in both motos will secure a third-place finish for the Frenchman in his rookie season, but Barcia enters Budds Creek as the defending race winner and would like nothing more than to defend that victory and keep his hopes of back-to-back third-place finishes in the championship alive.
Only Tomac can mathematically prevent Roczen clinching the championship this weekend.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Over in the 250 Class, Webb enters Budds Creek in a more comfortable position than his fellow points leader Roczen, giving him an even better shot at lifting the Gary Jones Cup on Saturday afternoon. At Unadilla, Webb's impressive 1-1 win came on an afternoon where each of his closest championship rivals endured through their own misfortune. As has been the case in several of his triumphant outings this season, Webb stalked the early leader before making a strong push over the second half of the moto, taking over the lead and carrying on to the win. In the final moto at Unadilla Webb took the lead away from Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rookie Austin Forkner just one lap prior to a red flag condition that ultimately ended the race just past the 24-minute mark of the 30-minute plus two-lap moto. It was Webb's fourth win of the season and his second sweep of the motos, which proved to be a major windfall in the championship standings.

While Webb was celebrating arguably his most successful outing of the season, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Alex Martin were left wondering what could have been. Both Savatgy and Alex Martin were dealt some adversity at Unadilla, with Martin experiencing trouble on the opening lap of Moto 1 that dropped him to the tail end of the field. He would make a spirited run to 13^th, but after posting the fastest lap of practice his hopes of victory were dashed. For Savatgy, a strong runner-up finish in Moto 1 was complemented by a DNF in Moto 2 after he began feeling ill. When the overall results were tallied, Martin was seventh (13-5) while Savatgy was 10^th (2-32), with both riders giving up more than a moto's worth of points to Webb. Their hard luck, combined with the announcement mere days before the race from defending back-to-back champion Jeremy Martin in which he stated he'd miss the remainder of the season with injury, meant Webb's victory was more impactful than any previous result.
Just a pair of top-10 finishes at Budds Creek is all Webb needs to clinch his first career national title.Photo: Simon Cudby
Heading into Budds Creek, Webb carries an 81-point lead over both Savatgy and Alex Martin, who currently sit tied for second. Webb will need to finish Saturday's race with a minimum advantage of 50 points in the standings in order to clinch his first career national championship, meaning he'll need to score just 19 total points should either Savatgy or Martin sweep the motos. A pair of top 10 finishes by Webb would ensure that, and he's finished no worse than eighth in a moto all season. All three of these riders will chase their first career win at Budds Creek, where Martin just missed out on his first career victory last season via a tiebreaker.

Regardless of what happens on Saturday, both Savatgy and Martin are locks to complete the championship podium, resulting in career-best season for Martin no matter how things shake out. After finishing third in the championship last season, Savatgy would like nothing more than to improve one position.
Savatgy and Martin sit tied for second in the championship as both fight to keep their title hopes alive.
Photo: Simon Cudby

Event Schedule
GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek NationalRound 11: Lucas Oil Pro Motocross ChampionshipAugust 20, 2016 - Mechanicsville, Maryland
Race Day Schedule: 
5:30 a.m. PT / 8:30 a.m. ET - Practice & Qualifying
9:30 p.m. PT / 12:30 p.m. ET - Opening Ceremonies
10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET - First Motos (250 Class & 450 Class)
12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET - Second Motos (250 Class & 450 Class)
Broadcast Schedule:
August 20 - 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET (LIVE) - MAVTV - First Motos (250 & 450 Class)August 21 - 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET - NBCSN - Second Motos (250 & 450 Class)
August 26 - 11:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 a.m. ET - NBC Sports Network - Highlight Show
**BOLD indicates live broadcast.***All times subject to change.
Previous Round Results
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Unadilla National
Unadilla MX - New Berlin, New York
August 13, 2016
Round 10 of 12
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
2. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-2)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-3)
4. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (7-4)
5. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (4-7)
6. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Honda (6-6)
7. Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (5-9)
8. Dean Wilson, Scotland, KTM (11-5)
9. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (8-8)
10. Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Suzuki (9-10) 

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki - 484
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki - 421
3. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM - 325
4. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha - 276
5. Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna - 217
6. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM - 183
7. Justin Brayton Fort Dodge, Iowa, KTM - 173
8. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki - 171
9. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha - 168
10. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM - 163 

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (1-1)
2. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (3-3)
3. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (7-2)
4. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM (5-4)
5. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (9-6)
6. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM (8-9)
7. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (13-5)
8. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Husqvarna (11-8)
9. Tristan Charboneau, Tenino, Wash., Honda (10-10)
10. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (2-32) 

250 Class Championship Standings

1. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha - 422
2. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki - 341
3. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha - 341
4. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha - 321
5. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki - 293
6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha - 285
7. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna - 253
8. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki - 197
9. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Kawasaki - 195
10. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM - 190 

For information about the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, please visit ProMotocross.com and LIKE the Pro Motocross Facebook page and follow @ProMotocross on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content and additional information on the latest Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship news. 
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, features the world's fastest outdoor motocross racers, racing aboard the best bikes each factory offers, on the roughest, toughest tracks in the world. The 12-rounds series begins at Hangtown in May and ends at Indiana's Ironman Raceway in August. It includes stops at the premier motocross racing facilities in America, with events in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, New York and Indiana. The pro riders race on Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is managed by MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road power sports event production. The series is televised on NBC, NBCSN and MAVTV and streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra.  Series partners include Lucas Oil (series title sponsor), Red Bull, GoPro, WPS, Fly Racing, GEICO Motorcycle, Kawasaki, Motorcycle Superstore, FRAM, KTM, Oakley, FMF, Deltran Battery Tender, Pirelli, Suzuki, Husqvarna, Pivot Works, Vertex, ProGrip, EBC Brakes, KMC Wheels, MotionPro, VP Racing Fuels, Acerbis and Racer X.  More information can be found at www.ProMotocross.com.



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