Muddy Creek Raceway near Bristol, Tennessee, played host to round five of the 2017 Pro Motocross Championship. Heavy rain in the days leading up to the event had many wondering if the facility was literally going to live up to its name. However, the precipitation stayed away and the conditions were ideal for the day of racing.
In the 250 class, it was Aaron Plessinger finally putting together a pair of consistent motos via a 1-2 tally to earn his first victory of the 2017 season. Coming in 2nd overall was current point leader Zach Osborne with a 5-1 moto score. Hailing from nearby Abingdon, Virginia, Osborne was riding with a little extra and wanted the overall badly, but suffered a poor start in the first moto. Be that as it may, Zach was able to extend his 250 point lead to 9 and now has 4 moto wins to his credit in what has been a very strong summer for him. Filling out the podium was Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner, who was solid all day long and raced near the leaders. His consistent 3-3 moto score was good enough to place him on the podium for the first time this summer.
In the premier 450 division, the action was once again fast and furious with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson trading moto victories. Moto 1 saw Anderson get into the lead and set an absolutely blistering pace. The New Mexico native opened up a big lead and carried it all the way to the checkered flag. Tomac had a mediocre start and was unable to put a dent into Anderson’s lead, but served notice that, with a better start, he would be a force to be reckoned with. That is exactly what happened in 450 moto 2. Tomac got into the lead and was able to put up a gap that Anderson simply couldn’t erase. After a couple of inconsistent weekends, Tomac had a very solid day and closed the gap on 450 series leader Blake Baggett to four.
That said, the story of the day just might very well have been the 2nd moto charge by Baggett. Blake went down in the first corner and would remount in dead last, then proceeded to throw on a charge that carried him all the way into 3rd at the checkered flag. The effort was good enough for the podium, and good enough to retain the red plate. Tomac, Anderson and Baggett are set for an intense battle in the rounds to come as each attempt to establish as the Alpha Male.
Early series point leader Marvin Musquin continued to struggle with his injured knee and could only muster 14th overall. He is now 34 points out of the lead.
Round 6 of Pro Motocross continues this Saturday, July 1.