Red Plate to Jeremy Martin
USA MX 2014
http://www.promotocross.com/mx/news
Jeremy Martin Coasts to 250 Moto 2, Overall Win at Glen Helen
Jeremy Martin put on a clinic all day at Glen Helen, with a second moto win that was even more dominant than his first one of the day - finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
A first turn crash that left Anthony Rodriguez - Martin's Star Yamaha teammate - shaken up brought out a red flag, and the race had to be restarted. It wiped out the Motosport Holeshot for Martin, but it wouldn't matter. On the restart, Justin Bogle took the Motosport Holeshot honors but he was quickly passed by Martin. The two went back and forth a bit until Martin got out front and pulled away once again to secure his first career overall win.
Bogle would crash, putting him outside the top-20, but he fought his way back up to ninth.
Not only was it a dominant effort for Jeremy Martin, it was a great day all-around for the whole Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha team. Cooper Webb finished second once again, giving the two rising stars a 1-2 sweep across both motos.
Some of the asumed contenders fared better in this moto, with Blake Baggett in particular riding in second for much of the race before eventually getting passed by Webb and having to settle for third. His teammate Dean Wilson also moved inside the top-five after making a pass on Christophe Pourcel with under seven minutes to go. Pourcel then lost another position to Cole Seely in the final laps.
The result wouldn't hold up for Wilson though. He crashed hard with two laps to go and looked to be in pain on the ground.
Misfortune would also befall Jason Anderson, who looked to be cruising to a fourth-place finish but went down on one of Glen Helen's steep hills. He was then struggling to get back on the bike and lost a ton of positions.
With Wilson and Anderson both taking a spill, Seely and Pourcel both moved into the top-five by default. A 4-4 result on the day was enough for Seely to claim the final spot on the day's overall podium.
Is Jeremy Martin's domination a sign of things, or will the rest of the field catch up to the new holder of the red plate next week?
Glen Helen 250 Moto 2 Results
1. Jeremy Martin
2. Cooper Webb
3. Blake Baggett
4. Cole Seely
5. Christophe Pourcel
6. Jessy Nelson
7. Matt Bisceglia
8. Marvin Musquin
9. Justin Bogle
10. Alex Martin
Jeremy Martin Dominates, Contenders Falter in 250 Moto 1 at Glen Helen
Jeremy Martin is picking up right where he left off in 2013, when he was one of the strongest riders in the field at the end of the year. With Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac now out of the 250 Class, a championship title is up for grabs, and Martin has asserted himself with a dominant victory in the season's first 250MX moto at Glen Helen - the first win of his young career.
"We still have one more moto, so we can't celebrate just yet," a subdued and determined Martin said on the podium following his win.
After overtaking Zach Bell - the Motosport Holeshot winner - Martin checked out and put a gap of more than 20 seconds between him and the rest of the field by the end of the race.
As for Bell, he shuffled back through the pack due to a crash after his impressive start. Bell has been limited by injuries and crashes over the last few years since he turned pro, but his race starts are always on point.
Many riders that were expected to run up front today were nowhere to be seen. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammates Dean Wilson and Blake Baggett didn't crack the top five during this race, and neither did Christophe Pourcel - this morning's top qualifier.
Instead it was Martin's Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate batting his way up to second place and Jason Anderson claiming the final podium spot after passing several riders, including his chief rival from the Supercross season - Cole Seely.
One rookie who impressed by GEICO Honda's Matt Bisceglia. After a strong start, he ran much of the race inside the top-five before ultimately dropping outside the top-ten.
Glen Helen 250 Moto 1 Results
1. Jeremy Martin
2. Cooper Webb
3. Jason Anderson
4. Cole Seely
5. Justin Bogle
6. Dean Wilson
7. Christophe Pourcel
8. Blake Baggett
9. Zach Osborne
10. Marvin Musquin
Practice Report from www.racerxonline.com
At Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California, the air is cool and crisp, the track is absolutely stunning and the smell of race gas, mixed with the scent of blooming desert flowers, is in the air. In short, it’s a perfect day for racing, and everything this venue is known for—a spectacular, ultra-fast banked first turn, huge hills and massive elevation drops—are all on point today. The big hills are quite steep too. How steep? Fire hoses have been fastened to hillsides in the steepest places just so spectators can get up them (expect more than a few drunken spectators to crash out and DNF today) and some of the track Mules are unable to get to the top of the hills. The dirt is fantastic too, and right now is holding the perfect amount of moisture. Big ruts have also developed, and the track is going to get downright nasty and punishing when the world’s fastest riders pound out their motos this afternoon.
Speaking of the world’s fastest riders, it was none other than Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Christophe Pourcel who set the fastest lap time in the first qualifying session. There’s been a lot of speculation about how the Frenchman will do in his return to the American racing scene after being absent for several years, but if this is any indication, it doesn’t appear as though his recent time off has hurt him at all. He didn’t look like he was pushing too hard, either. On the other side there was Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb, who was aggressively charging and looked very fast. When the times came back though, his fastest lap was sixth. Dean Wilson was second fastest in this session, with his fastest lap about a second slower than Pourcel’s.
Pourcel was fastest in the second session too, besting his first hot lap by more than a second. Jason Anderson shaved two-and-a-half seconds off his time to qualify second overall, followed by Jeremy Martin, Webb and Dean Wilson.