The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team headed to the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, MD for the penultimate round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday. Mitchell Harrison had a great showing with two top-10 finishes for fourth overall. Teammates Michael Mosiman and Phil Nicoletti finished 10th and sixth in their respective classes, while Jordan Bailey had some bad luck in the 250 class. Budds Creek saw the return of 2018 AMA Supercross Champion Jason Anderson after weeks of recovery due to an injury sustained earlier in the season. Anderson had an impressive fourth-place finish in the first 450 moto.
Mitchell Harrison got a great start in the first 250 moto and was going strong in the top three before going back a spot to fourth after making a slight mistake going uphill. He fended off teammate Michael Mosiman and took solid control of the fourth-place position. He stayed consistent the remainder of the moto and finished fourth. He was fifth at the start of the second moto and rode strong. He made the pass for fourth midway through the race and held his ground. He was going after third but made a slight mistake and jumped off the track. He quickly pulled himself together and went back on the charge. He caught back up to third and made an impressive pass to overtake the position but went back to fifth shortly after. He held strong the remainder of the race to finish fifth. The 4-5 finish gave him fourth overall on the day.
“Overall it was a good day,” said Harrison. “I rode great in the motos and went 4-5. I proved to myself that I can stay up front in dry conditions. I can’t thank everyone at Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing enough and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
Phil Nicoletti got a top-10 start in the first 450 moto and made his way into the fifth by the end of the first lap. He made a slight mistake and was shuffled back to seventh, but rode strong in the position the remainder of the race to finish seventh. He pulled the holeshot in the second moto but went back to fourth. He continued to fight in the top-10 the remainder of the moto and eventually finished sixth. The 7-6 finish gave him sixth overall on the day.
“Today was good,” said Nicoletti. “I qualified good, and the first moto was good. I put in some decent laps. I ripped a nice holeshot in the second moto then ran fifth for awhile. I had a little mishap in the last lap and ended up sixth. I’ll get ‘em in Indy.”
Michael Mosiman got a good start in the first 250 moto and sat solidly in the top-10. He was sixth by the second lap but quickly moved into the fifth-place spot, right behind teammate Mitchell Harrison. He went back to sixth the following lap after making a mistake but fought back and did everything he could to regain his position. He made the pass stick in the fourth lap to take over the fifth-place spot, then went back to seventh after battling with a group of riders. He was shuffled back to ninth later in the race, but made another pass and held strong the remainder of the moto to finish eighth. He was fourth at the start of the second moto but was went back to seventh before the second lap. He went down and was 14th in the fourth lap but charged up to ninth by lap 10. He held his ground to finish ninth. He went 8-9 for 10th overall on the day.
“Budds Creek started off weird,” said Mosiman. “This is a really technical track, but I ended up getting my flow. I got a good start in the first moto. I was up there and in the mix so it was good. I had a good battle with Harrison – he was riding really well today. I made one big mistake that put me back, but then Savatgy passed me and I was able to pass him back which was great. I got a great start in the second moto and came out about fourth. I was riding really well but then I lost the front. I was able to come back to ninth, which is good. All-in-all I had two great starts and am happy with how today went. I’m happy to be heading to the last round.”
Jason Anderson came back to the scene with a vengeance. He got a great start in the first 450 moto and sat firmly in the top-five. He made the pass for fourth shortly after the start and took control of the position the majority of the moto before going back to fifth after getting passed by Eli Tomac. He made a late race charge to get back into the fourth place spot then held strong to complete his impressive comeback ride and finish fourth. He sat the second moto out, but will return for the final round next Saturday.
“I had a decent weekend,” said Anderson. “I was able to qualify third and get fourth in the first moto. I didn’t want to get super winded or take too many chances for the second moto, and just wanted to ease myself into it. I’ll get back out there next weekend and will see if I can do two solid motos.”
Jordan Bailey was mid-pack at the start of the first 250 moto and sat in the 16th place spot by the fourth lap. He made the pass for 15th the following lap and focused on working his way through the pack, but an issue around the halfway mark put him to the very back of the pack. He finished 38th. He was mid-pack at the start of the second moto and worked his way up to 12th by the fourth lap. He was working his way through the pack, but more issues left him unable to finish the moto.
“I had to work my way through the pack in the first moto,” said Bailey. “I started moving up but had an issue which hindered my finish. I got a decent start from way outside in the second moto and made my way up to 11th, but had more issues with about four laps to go. It wasn’t a great weekend, but it wasn’t an awful weekend, so I’m happy. I’m looking forward to next week.”
Ryan Sipes was mid-pack at the start of the first 250 moto and stayed consistent the first half of of the moto around the 15th place spot, then went back to 16th around lap five. He rode as hard as he could the remainder of the moto and finished 20th. He decided to sit the second moto out due to medical concerns.
“I qualified normal today,” said Sipes, “but I never felt great all day. I was a little dizzy. I wanted to race the second moto but I felt dizzy on the hot lap again so I didn’t want to push it.”
Next Event: Ironman National – August 25 – Crawfordsville, IN
Budds Creek National Results
250 Class
1. RJ Hampshire (2,1)
2. Chase Sexton (7,2)
3. Aaron Plessinger (1,11)
4. Mitchell Harrison – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (4,5)
5. Austin Forkner (3,7)
6. Alex Martin (10,4)
7. Justin Cooper (14,3)
8. Shane McElrath (9,6)
9. Dylan Ferrandis (5,10)
10. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (8,9)
…
23. Ryan Sipes – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (20,40)
…
39. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (38,34)
450 Class
1. Eli Tomac (3,1)
2. Ken Roczen (1,3)
3. Marvin Musquin (2,4)
4. Blake Baggett (5,2)
5. Justin Barcia (6,5)
6. Phil Nicoletti – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (7,6)
7. Cooper Webb (8,7)
8. Benny Bloss (9,8)
9. Dylan Merriam (12,10)
10. Weston Peick (14,9)
…
12. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (4,-)
250 Class Rider Point Standings
1. Aaron Plessinger – 450 points
2. Alex Martin – 366 points
3. Justin Cooper – 318 points
4. Shan McElrath – 305 points
5. RJ Hampshire – 299 points
6. Chase Sexton – 287 points
7. Austin Forkner – 284 points
8. Dylan Ferrandis – 281 points
9. Joey Savatgy – 262 points
10. Jordon Smith – 259 points
11. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 208 points
12. Mitchell Harrison – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 185 points
…
16. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 115 points
450 Class Rider Point Standings
1. Eli Tomac – 493 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 473 points
3. Ken Roczen – 403 points
4. Justin Barcia – 394 points
5. Blake Baggett – 370 points
6. Weston Peick – 291 points
7. Phil Nicoletti – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 282 points
8. Benny Bloss – 278 points
9. Kyle Cunningham – 159 points
10. Cooper Webb – 156 points
