AMA ready for Hangtown opener
By Sean Lawless on 17th May 18
After a weekend off to recover from the stresses and strains of the Monster Energy Supercross series, the superstars of the AMA get their outdoor campaigns under way on Saturday at the opening round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown in California.
With the worlds fastest motocross rider thats Jeffrey Herlings otherwise engaged, the smart money in the 450 class should be spread between defending champion Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) who both excel inside and out.
Lucky
Contested over 12 rounds and 24 races, last season Tomac won nine motos and four overalls on his way to a 17-point win from Musquin but he was lucky as the Frenchman struggled with an early injury that cost him valuable points.
A 1-1-1-2-2 run in the final five rounds helped Musquin to close dramatically but the two-time world MX2 champion ultimately came up just short. Tomacs problem last season and in this years SX championship was careless crashes and occasionally erratic performances but if can eradicate these he could just have the edge over Musquin but it should be a close-run thing.
Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) heads outdoors on the back of his supercross title but, amazingly, hes never won the overall at an AMA National in either the 250 or 450 class.
He came close last season and was on the podium in five consecutive rounds before his championship came to a premature end at the halfway point following a practice crash. Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain KTM) is another rider who cant be ruled out.
He actually led the championship after five rounds before Tomac took control at RedBud and struggled with a thumb injury but he still took third just two points adrift of Musquin.
With Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), who finished fourth last year, out with an ACL injury and last years fifth-placed rider Cole Seely (Team Honda HRC) still sidelined the main rival to the Big Four is 2016 champion Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC).
The German missed the entire 2017 outdoor season with an horrific wrist injury and badly broke his right hand early in this years SX series so theres a question mark hanging over him.
Having said that, he surprised a lot of people when he came back so strongly at the start of the year and if he can post solid results in the early rounds he could be a contender come the end of the year at Ironman.
Theres also a question mark hanging over Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who was due to make his 450 debut at Hangtown but recent rumours have suggested he may stay down in the 250 class to defend his title.
If Osborne doesnt switch up to a 450 then he has to be considered favourite.Hes just won his second East Coast 250 SX title and dominated outdoors last year with 10 moto wins giving him an 81-point winning margin over two-time champion Jeremy Martin (Geico Honda).
But theres real in-depth talent in the class and while Osborne and Martin are the only riders whove won a 250 National title theres no shortage of contenders. Martins brother Alex (Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM) and Joey Savatgy (Monster Energy Kawasaki) ended last season on the sidelines.
Both know what it takes to win motos at this level but if youre looking for a genuine title contender rather than just a podium man then West Coast 250 SX champion Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Yamaha) ticks all the right boxes.
With Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki), who was third in 2017, sitting out the season with a torn ACL its Plessinger whos next in line and after taking the SX title in Vegas his confidence levels will be running high.
Drop in other names including Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Kawasaki), former MX2 GP front runner Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Chase Sexton (Geico Honda) and its a stacked class.
Hangtown will also kick off its 50th birthday celebrations by hosting the first round of the 125 All-Star series. Contested over nine rounds, the series opener will feature five-time outdoor champion Ryan Villopoto competing on a factory-tuned Yamaha.
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