Joey Savatgy's teammate Chris Alldredge started the day off well with a
podium finish in the first moto taking third, but a crash would take him
out of Moto 2 and Arnaud Tonus decided to not race after riding during
practice as he recovers from injury. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh
Grant rode well all day, going 9-11 for 9th overall earning his third
straight top-10 finish.
Victory
Savatgy started the day off with strong qualifying times, which resulted
in a 6th place gate pick. He chose his gate wisely as he rocketed off
the start to lead the pack through the first turn and grab his second
holeshot of the year. Savatgy would set a blistering pace and lead for
more than 20minutes. With four laps remaining, he slid back to second
place but he didn’t make it easy, as he fought to stay right on the
leader’s heals until the checkered flag. Moto 2 saw the Monster
Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki #37 machine come flying around the first
turn in the lead again. Although, a small mistake would allow second
place to get by. Savatgy would rebound and take over the lead by the end
of lap one. In similar fashion as the first moto, Savatgy held second
and third at bay for approximately 20 minutes until eventually dropping
back to third. On the last lap, Savatgy was able to grab second and earn
the win.
"In the first moto, we got off to a great start grabbing the holeshot
and leading for just over 20minutes," said Savatgy. "I almost did it
again in the second moto as well, but I made a small mistake in turn
one. Luckily I was able to get into the lead quite quick and once again
lead laps. It felt nice to lead laps, but my arms tightened up a bit and
I slid back to third. Although, I caught some luck on the last lap, I
put myself in the right place to capitalize and get my first win."
Mr. Consistent
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Josh Grant has been making strides towards
setting up his KX450F to work in conjunction with his riding style.
After a week of testing with the team, Grant came into round 10 with
confidence and it showed. In Moto 1, Grant came around lap one in 11th
place and battled his way up inside the top ten, but it wouldn't come
easy as he would have company to deal with for 35 minutes as he finished
ninth. A similar start in Moto 2 would see Grant battling all moto to
finish eleventh, for ninth overall.
"Today was good, we made a lot of progress throughout the week on the
bike and we came into this round with a lot of confidence,” said Grant.
"The track was the roughest of all the races so far and we struggled a
bit on finding the right settings. But overall, I can't complain, I'm
happy with the progress the team and I have made. I left it all on the
track today."
Nature of the Sport
Alldredge kicked off Moto 1 like a man on a mission. He came around turn
one in 5th position but quickly made his way into 3rd by the end of lap
one. He would then set his sights on second and applied heavy pressure,
pushing the second place rider into a mistake and taking over the
position. He stayed right with the leaders for 35 minutes and ended up
crossing the checkered flag in third place to round out the podium. In
the second Moto, Alldredge had a top ten start and began moving forward
early. Unfortunately, five laps into the race he would have a race
ending crash. Luckily, Alldredge was not seriously injured, and is
looking forward to competing next weekend.
"First Moto I got my best start of the year, which felt nice coming
around the corner in 5th," said Alldredge. "I then worked my way up into
second place and latched onto my teammates pace. I worked really hard
to stay in a podium spot and I'm happy I was able to do it. In the
second moto I got a poor start and began making my way up through the
pack, until I made a crucial mistake in the rhythm section and ended up
tweaking my knee and ankle again. Although, I'm very happy I got one
solid moto in where I rode like myself again and I’m looking forward to
riding at that speed in the next two rounds.”
Fighting the Virus
After such an impressive performance at Washougal last weekend, everyone
expected Tonus to improve upon it and contend for a win. Unfortunately,
Tonus is still suffering from a virus he contracted in the spring and
began feeling symptoms in first practice. Therefore, the team made the
decision to pull Tonus out of competition for the rest of the day.
"I tried to go out and ride but I got so tired I could hardly hang on to
the handlebars after a few laps," said Tonus. "After almost crashing, I
decided to pull off the track and return to the truck, where we as a
team, made the smart decision to not race."
Rough and Tough
Unadilla is known for its rocky conditions and deep ruts, but this
weekend seemed to be worse than years past. Many of the riders felt it
was the roughest and toughest track of the year and it certainly made
for some great racing all day.
The State of Sport
Round 11 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series heads to the State of Sport in Tooele, Utah.
