OSBORNE RETURNS TO THE PODIUM WITH THIRD OVERALL AT UNADILLA NATIONAL.
ANDERSON GIVES ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING ANOTHER TOP-FIVE FINISH IN 450MX CLASS.
It was another solid day for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team, who came away with two top-five finishes in the premier 450MX class at Round 10 of the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York. Team rider Zach Osborne continues to impress in his rookie 450 season as he captured his fifth podium finish of the season with third overall on the day. His teammate, Jason Anderson, rounded out the top-five overall with a solid pair of fifth-place finishes.
Osborne powered his FC 450 to a decent start in Moto 1, settling into fourth early on. About halfway through, he charged his way to the podium battle where he pressured Eli Tomac for third. However, he made a mistake and got passed on lap 9, dropping him back to fifth. Osborne re-inserted himself into the battle as he pulled the trigger on the next lap to reclaim fourth all the way to the checkers. In Moto 2, he got off to a second-place start and settled into third early on. Dicing back-and-forth from third to fourth all race long, Osborne ultimately secured fourth-place after 15 laps of hard battle.
“Overall, it was a decent day,”Osborne said.“Typically, a 4-4 isn’t going to get you on the podium but it did today. I’m happy with my riding, I just really didn’t have the speed today. I felt good in both motos and I’m happy to be back on the podium.”
Anderson, who qualified third earlier in the day, got shuffled off the start in Moto 1, where he began in 11th. He quickly climbed his way through the pack, reaching eighth by the halfway point. He continued to charge in the final laps to secure a fifth-place finish. In Moto 2, he got pushed wide off the start and after a short off-track excursion, he was able to settle into seventh on lap one. He battled his way into the top-five, where he claimed another solid fifth in Moto 2.
“My weekend went pretty good,”Anderson said. “I was happy to qualify third and then be consistent with top-fives in the motos but I definitely want more – I want to be on the podium and fighting for wins.”
Dean Wilson secured a top-10 overall with 8-11 moto finishes on the day. In Moto 1, he started off in 12th and he worked his way into the top-10 early on. He battled around there for a while before putting on a charge late in the race to secure eighth. In Moto 2, Wilson didn’t get the best jump off the start as he rounded the opening lap in 14th. By lap four, he worked his way to just outside the top-10 and from there he engaged in a race-long battle with Justin Barcia, finishing only two seconds back for 11th place in the second moto.
“Today was a step in the right direction,”Wilson said.“In the second moto, I had a crazy good battle with Barcia all race long. I didn’t end up beating him, but I was happy with my effort. I’m just coming back and still healing, so I’m not being too hard on myself with the results.”
250MX
Coming off a
podium finish at the previous round, Michael Mosiman was looking forward
to keeping the momentum alive on Saturday. In Moto 1, he got off to a
top-10 start and quickly climbed his way into a top-five position by lap
four. He battled all race long to maintain his spot and with three laps
to go, he tipped over and got passed to ultimately finish sixth. In
Moto 2, bad luck struck for Mosiman as he experienced two big crashes
that would ultimately take him out of the race. With 6-38 moto scores,
Mosiman was able to salvage 12th overall and score valuable points
toward the championship.
“It was a pretty rough end to the day,”Mosiman said.“In the second moto, I had two big crashes and unfortunately wasn’t able to finish. I’m feeling pretty sore and I’m just going to go home and recuperate and go from here.”
Jordan Bailey got shuffled back at the start in Moto 1, where he began just outside the top-20. He was able to work his way into 15th by the halfway point and he maintained that position through the checkers. In Moto 2, he got a much better jump off the line as he established himself inside the top-10 on lap one. He ran in the ninth position for a majority of the race until three laps to go when he slid out and lost two positions to ultimately finish 11th in the moto. With 15-11 finishes, Bailey secured 11th overall for the day.
“All-in-all, I think today was a really good step in the right direction,”Bailey said.“It was a bummer to slide out at the end of the second moto but I’m happy with how I rode. I’m looking forward to Budds Creek and just keeping this momentum going.”
Just one week after earning the AMA Horizon Award for an impressive performance at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s, team rider Jalek Swoll made his professional debut with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team on Saturday. Swoll eased his way in with moto scores of 22-19 for 23rd overall. With one round under his belt, the young rider is optimistic for the final two rounds of the season.
“I came in with the mentality that whatever we get here is a good starting point and we will only progress from there,” Swoll said. “The field is stacked and those long ruts – it’s just completely different than any other race as an amateur. This is definitely way gnarlier than Loretta’s! I got a little bit of experience under my belt and we’re looking forward to dropping that overall number at Budds Creek.”
Next Event: August 17 – Budds Creek National – Budds Creek Motocross Park – Mechanicsville, Maryland
Unadilla National Results
450MX Results
1. Ken Roczen (1-1)
2. Marvin Musquin (2-2)
3. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (4-4)
…
5. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (5-5)
10. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (8-11)
250MX Results
1. Dylan Ferrandis (2-1)
2. Adam Cianciarulo (1-2)
3. Chase Sexton (3-3)
…
11. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (15-11)
12. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (6-38)
23. Jalek Swoll – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (22-19)
450MX Rider Point Standings
1. Eli Tomac – 426 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 386 points
3. Ken Roczen – 385 points
4. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 336 points
5. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 331 points
250MX Rider Point Standings
1. Adam Cianciarulo – 441 points
2. Dylan Ferrandis – 413 points
3. Justin Cooper – 382 points
…
8. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 235 points
15. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 89 points
Text/Bild: Husqvarna