Barcia And Plessinger Sweep The Day With 1-1 Performances At The 2018 Pro Motocross Championship Finale
It was an incredible day for
the soon-to-be Monster Energy/Yamaha
Factory Racing teammates of Justin Barcia and Aaron Plessinger, who
rode to impressive 1-1 sweeps in their respective divisions on
Saturday for the final round of the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross
Championship in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Despite being faced with the most adverse weather and track
conditions of the season, Barcia out-performed the competition to
break through for his first 450MX moto win and overall victory of
2018. For Plessinger, Round 12 marked the fifth 1-1 sweep of his
championship-winning season as he concluded a successful 250MX
career with the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Racing Team on
Saturday. Next, Plessinger is slated to race the Motocross of
Nations on his
YZ250F, before joining Barcia and the team in the 450 ranks for
2019 and beyond.
450MX
With heavy rainfall plaguing the area on Saturday morning, the
decision was made to cancel the second set of timed qualifying due
to deteriorating track conditions. Barcia used that as a positive
platform to claim the second fastest time in the first session and
head into the first moto with a favorable gate pick. As 450MX Moto
1 got underway, the track conditions were less than ideal but
Barcia prevailed with a clean start aboard his
YZ450F. He quickly made his way into the lead on the opening
lap and set the pace early on. Barcia got stuck in the mud on lap
three and dropped back to second for a few laps before reclaiming
the lead just before the halfway mark. From there, the New York
native called upon his seasoned-skills and expert race craft to
finish off strong and claim his first moto-win of the season.
Meanwhile, Cooper Webb was involved in a muddy first corner pileup
and he was forced to play catch-up from the 30th position on lap
one. Despite the sloppy track conditions, Webb clawed his way
through the field to ultimately finish with an impressive
ninth-place in the first moto.
In Moto 2, both riders got off to a great
start but it was Barcia who assumed the early lead and Webb sat
close by in third. Barcia settled into a groove that allowed him to
lead all 14 laps of the race with a smooth performance in the slick
and unfavorable conditions. Webb battled his way to a fourth-place
finish, setting himself up for a season-best fifth overall with a
combined score of 9-4 on the day.
After 12 rounds of racing - Barcia sealed up
the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross season with two moto-wins, one overall
victory, 11 moto-podium appearances and 20 top-five moto finishes
in the highly competitive 450MX division. Webb, who missed the
first five rounds of the series due to injury, garnered 13 top-ten
finishes and two top-fives in the last seven rounds.
Following the final motos from Crawfordsville, Indiana, MX Sports
Pro Racing awarded teams, riders and industry personnel with top
honors from the 2018 season. At the top of the list was Yamaha
Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS) taking home the prestigious
"Manufacturer of the Year" award for its success in both the 450MX
and 250MX classes. Additionally, the Monster
Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Racing Team was awarded "Team of the
Year" for its incredible accomplishments in the 250MX class,
including a championship-winning season from Aaron Plessinger with
11 moto wins and six overall victories, five of which were 1-1
sweeps; as well as four moto wins and two overall victories from
Dylan Ferrandis; and an amazing "Rookie of the Year" earned
performance by Justin Cooper with one moto-win and six podium
finishes, where he claimed third overall in his first-full
professional season.
Jim Perry, Team Manager
"What an awesome day to end the season here
at Ironman. Justin Barcia rode outstanding to take both moto-wins
and the overall, a season-first in many occasions. Cooper Webb rode
solid all day after coming from behind in the first moto, by far
his best ride of the year also. It was a rough day, no question
about that. Heavy rains all morning cancelled practice and there
were multiple changes being made to the bikes with tire selection -
which was critical, suspension changes to compensate for the mud,
and gearing changes. I was glad to see the team come together in
the final race to put all the pieces together and get a moto win
and the overall. It was a great day for the Monster
Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Racing also, with Aaron Plessinger
winning both motos. That was great to see him end his career in the
250 class with a championship and another moto sweep. It was a
great way to end the season and we're looking forward to the
Motocross of Nations, the next big event in October."
Justin Barcia, 450MX #51
(Moto 1 = 1st / Moto 2 = 1st / Overall = 1st)
"It was a wild day! Going into the motos, I was feeling really good
and my bike was working good. I led the first moto for a bit and
then I went down and ended up having to pull my goggles off. I was
in second, trying to dodge the mud because I didn't want to pull in
for goggles, so I finally got back into first and just took it home
to the finish line, which was awesome. I've been searching for that
win all year and I've been saying that's what I wanted and I ended
up getting it, so that was great. In the second moto, I got another
solid start in second, I made the pass to first pretty quick and I
took it home to the finish line. We just wanted a moto win and to
get a 1-1 at the final round was awesome, it was more than I could
ask for. I felt like if I got a moto win I could get the overall
and we did it, so it's an incredible feeling. I'm really proud of
everyone on the team, we did a great job and now we get a little
break before starting back up for Des Nations and then Monster
Energy Cup. I'm looking forward to those two races coming up and
I'm just very grateful and excited for everything that's happened
this year and I can't wait for the future."
Cooper Webb, 450MX #2 (Moto 1 = 9th / Moto
2 = 4th / Overall = 5th)
"Ironman was a really good race for me. First moto, I had a first
turn crash and was down for a really long time and someone hit my
rear wheel and I got a flat tire but I was able to come back to
ninth. In Moto 2, I rode really well and was in third for about 20
minutes or so, and ended up falling back to fourth. It was my best
race yet with fifth overall, so I'm very happy heading into next
year!"
450MX Results - Ironman
- Justin Barcia - Yamaha, (1-1)
- Ken Roczen, Honda, (3-2)
- Marvin Musquin, KTM, (4-3)
- Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, (2-9)
- Cooper Webb - Yamaha, (9-4)
250MX Results - Ironman
- Aaron Plessinger - Yamaha, (1-1)
- RJ Hampshire - Honda, (4-3)
- Chase Sexton - Honda, (2-6)
- Colt Nichols - Yamaha, (8-2)
- Justin Cooper - Yamaha, (3-7)
7.Dylan Ferrandis - Yamaha, (10-4)
450MX Standings - After Round 12 of 12
- Eli Tomac, 527 points
- Marvin Musquin, 511
- Ken Roczen, 445
- Justin Barcia, 444
- Cooper Webb, 186 (raced 7 rounds due to
injury)
250MX Standings - After Round 12 of 12
- Aaron Plessinger, 500 points
- Alex Martin, 390
- Justin Cooper, 352
