Alex Martin Charges to Podium Finish with SCORPION™ MX Tires in Front of Home Crowd at Spring Creek

Privateer John Short Captures Career-Best Finish in the 450 Class

MILLVILLE, Min. (July 23, 2019) – The eighth round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship kicked off under heavy thunderstorms at Spring Creek Motocross Park for the annual Spring Creek National. Following the morning rain, Pirelli riders opted to run the SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Soft front and SCORPION™ MX Soft rear tires in both the 250 Class and 450 Class. JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Alex Martin raced to his best finish of the season in front of his home crowd, while TPJ Racing’s John Short earned a career-best result.

Alex Martin collected his first podium overall of the season for the JGRMX team at Spring Creek. | Photo – Browndogwilson

As the gate dropped on the opening 250 Class moto, Martin completed the opening lap in third aboard his Suzuki RM-Z250 and set his sights on the riders in front of him. With the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto winding down, Martin closed in on second, eventually making the pass and holding the position until the checkered flag for his third podium of the season.

At the onset of the 250 Moto 2, Martin launched out of the gate with his SCORPION™ MX tires and narrowly missed out on the holeshot, but was forced off of the track exiting the first turn and rejoined the race just outside of the top five. Martin continued his march towards the front, picking off riders one-by-one until he got into second. At the conclusion of the moto, race officials made the decision to dock Martin a single position for his excursion off of the track in turn one, giving him third in the moto. The 2-3 scores helped Martin capture a season-best second place overall.

Pirelli riders got off to strong starts with the SCORPION™ MX Soft rear scoop tire. | Photo – Browndogwilson

“It felt awesome to earn a second place overall finish at my home national here at Spring Creek Motocross Park,” said Martin. “Having the Pirelli SCORPION™ MX Soft rear tire was a big advantage in the sandy, muddy conditions that we faced this weekend. The motos went very well, with two second place finishes. It was unfortunate to get docked a position in the second moto. I’m excited with how things have been progressing.”

In the 450 Class, JGRMX support rider Isaac Teasdale launched out of the gate to take a commanding holeshot in 450 Moto 1.  As the 40-rider field completed the opening lap, Short moved in to third, followed by Teasdale in fourth and JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Freddie Noren in seventh. When the checkered flag waved, Short held on to take sixth, resulting in the best moto finish of his career. Noren was just behind in seventh.

TPJ Racing’s John Short had a career day in the 450 Class, finishing seventh overall (6-8). | Photo – Browndogwilson

The final 450 moto of the afternoon once again saw Short get off to another strong start in third and Noren in seventh. Short continued his impressive efforts by finishing eighth. Misfortune struck Noren in the middle of the moto as he struck a downed rider on the landing of a jump and crashed. Fortunately, he was able to quickly remount and put in a charge to take a hard-fought 11^th. Short finished a career-best seventh overall (6-8), awarding him top finishing privateer honors on the day. Noren ended the day eighth overall (7-11).

“This weekend was a great confidence builder for me,” said Short. “The two good starts were huge! I’ve never had a top five start at an outdoor national, so I was thrilled to get that experience racing up front in the top three for a little bit. It definitely fires me up and makes me want to keep working hard and improving so that I can continue to move forward!”

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington next Saturday, July 27 for round nine.

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (1-1)
2. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-3)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (2-5)
4. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-7)
5. Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (14-2)
6. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (11-4)
7. John Short, Dallas, Texas, Honda (6-8)
8. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Suzuki (7-11)
9. Henry Miller, Rochester, Minn., KTM (5-14)
10. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, MO., KTM (16-6)

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 342
2. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 304
3. Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 293
4. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 288
5. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 272
6. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 265
7. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 198
8.  Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 175
9. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., KTM – 166
10. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Suzuki – 156

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (3-1)
2. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki (2-3)
3. Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (1-6)
4. Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (5-4)
5. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (4-5)
6. Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (14-2)
7. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (7-10)
8. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (6-11)
9. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (10-9)
10. Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Yamaha (11-13)

250 Class Championship Standings

1. Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 352
2. Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 316
3. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 306
4. Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 233
5. Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 233
6. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda – 225
7. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki – 207
8. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Husqvarna – 186
9. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 181
10. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 163

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