Osborne earns second consecutive victory at Glen Helen National!
By TMX Archives on 28th May 17
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team battled the tough track and had a winning day at the Glen Helen National, for the second round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Zach Osborne claimed the overall victory in the 250 class and maintains the points lead in the class, while teammate Jason Anderson earned a career first moto win in the 450 class.
Zach Osborne was mid-pack at the start of the first 250 moto and put on a charge. He was 13th at the end of the first lap and started moving through the field. He made it up to ninth by the third lap and continued to push. He battled Alex Martin for the sixth-place spot in the fifth lap and made a successful inside pass to overtake the position before setting his sights on the front of the pack.
He inherited fifth shortly after the halfway mark and stayed strong while he put on an amazing ride and put the pressure on the field ahead.
He dug deep to close the gap to fourth and made a successful pass to claim the position with under a minute plus two laps to go. He closed in on the third-place spot with two laps remaining before a slight mistake put him off the track. He recovered quickly and stayed focused without losing his position to finish fourth. He was second at the start of the second 250 moto and stayed consistent to finish second. The 4-2 finish gave him the overall victory for the second consecutive week and maintains his lead in 250 rider point standings.
"Today I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat,” said Osborne, "so I was a little concerned with how the day was going to go. I didn't get the most ideal start in the first moto, but I came from 15th up to fourth. I really focused on my start in the second moto and tried to put it up front. I just rode a smart race in second and took the overall.”
Jason Anderson got a mid-pack start in the first 450 moto and settled into 10th by the end of the first lap. He was bogged down in the sand a bit and fell back to 11th before pushing his Husqvarna up to seventh in the fourth lap.
He made it around teammate Dean Wilson at the halfway mark for sixth before putting in a late race charge to finish fifth. He pulled a top-10 start in the second 450 moto and was fourth by the end of the first lap. He made another pass in lap three to take the third-place spot and continued to charge.
He pushed hard to catch up to the top-two riders and made the pass for second in the fourth lap before setting his sights on the lead. He closed the gap before the end of the next lap and made the pass for the lead in one of the best outdoor rides of his life. He extended his lead to over four seconds with five minutes and two laps to go. He stayed strong to hold on to the lead and earn his first outdoor moto victory on a 450. The 5-1 finish gave him second overall on the day, and he is currently sixth in 450 rider point standings.
"I was top-five in practice,” said Anderson, "and my weekend turned out pretty well. I had a couple tip overs in the first moto, but still worked my way up to fifth. I started toward the front in the second moto then worked my way through all the guys in front of me and was able to get my first 450 moto win.”
