Celebrating America’s Independence Day weekend in Buchanan, Michigan, the vibes were festive and fun at Saturday’s RedBud National for Round 4 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing’s Pierce Brown had perhaps the breakthrough ride he needed in 2021, highlighting the team’s effort with a season-best seventh overall in the 250MX class.
Pierce Brown collects a season-best finish of seventh overall in the 250MX class
Justin Barcia earned a steady eighth overall in the 450MX division
Michael Mosiman ecstatic to return to racing at RedBud despite a tough day
Brown experienced a slower start to the outdoor season than he’d hoped for but the young rider continues to deliver steady improvements early in championship. He got off to a 12th place start in Moto 1 and quickly engaged his MC 250F into ninth on the second lap. Picking up two more positions halfway through, Brown held his ground to the checkers, claiming seventh in the first moto. In Moto 2, Brown wrote a similar script as he charged from a 10th-place start up to seventh mid-way through and once again he finished strong in seventh to come away with seventh overall for the day.
Pierce Brown: “It was a good day at RedBud, I’m stoked on everything today! It was a quiet day with two sevenths but all-in-all I feel like my riding was really good, I just need to be further up there off the start and hang with that top-five group for the first five laps. We’ve been building since the off-weekend and I finally feel like I’ve got my body at 100% and it showed today. Hopefully we can keep building for Southwick next weekend and keep the momentum going for that.”
Michael Mosiman returned to the 250MX lineup after missing the previous round due to injury. He made a smooth transition back to racing as he powered his MC 250F to a top-10 start in Moto 1. Unfortunately, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a rider crashed in front of him and took him down, ultimately bringing his race to a halt six laps early. Looking forward to bouncing back in Moto 2, Mosiman was unfortunately disappointed right off the bat when he got tangled up in a first-turn crash. Re-mounting in almost last, Mosiman spent every lap chipping away at the pack, ultimately securing an impressive 15th in Moto 2.
Michael Mosiman: “RedBud was a rough day. We had a lot of good things going – my fitness was good and my speed was good – but I had a guy crash in front of me in the first moto, I crashed on the start in the second moto and just some stuff I wish we could have gotten away from. But, it’s onto the next one and we will make progress. I’m happy with my speed, fitness and looking forward to getting back into a groove.”
450MX
In a stacked field of premier riders, Justin Barcia continues to hold his own when it comes to speed and fitness but if outdoor motocross has revealed anything, it’s unpredictability and ever-changing conditions. For Barcia, qualifying went well and he dialed his MC 450F into a seventh-place position heading into the day’s racing. He grabbed a ninth-place start in Moto 1 and settled into a groove early on but a pair of crashes halted his momentum quite a bit. After 30+ minutes of racing, he was able to salvage ninth in the first moto. In Moto 2, he had a good jump off the start but he got pinched in the second corner and dropped back to 11th on the opening lap. He rallied back to secure eighth in the second moto, which was good enough to give him eighth overall on the day.
Justin Barcia: “I had my best qualifying of the year, so that was good. I didn’t get the best start in the first moto and I had two crashes, so it wasn’t the ideal moto I was looking for. In the second moto, I had a pretty good start and then got pinched in the second corner and got stuck a bit, and then battled with Cooper for way too long. I tried my hardest and definitely looking to regroup this week and put the bike up front.”
Results – 2021 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Round 4
450MX – Overall
- Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha); 2. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki); 3. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha) …8. Justin Barcia (GASGAS); 25. Jacob Runkles (GASGAS); 33. Curren Thurman (GASGAS)
450MX – Moto 1 - Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) 16 laps; 2. Ken Roczen (Honda) +02.955; 3. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha) +13.060 …9. Justin Barcia (GASGAS); 24. Jacob Runkles (GASGAS); 33. Curren Thurman (GASGAS)
450MX – Moto 2 - Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) 16 laps; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) +01.503; 3. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha) +20.548 …8. Justin Barcia (GASGAS); 25. Jacob Runkles (GASGAS); 31. Curren Thurman (GASGAS)
250MX – Overall - RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna); 2. Justin Cooper (Yamaha); 3. Jett Lawrence (Honda) …7. Pierce Brown (GASGAS); 15. Ty Masterpool (GASGAS); 21. Michael Mosiman (GASGAS); 31. Jerry Robin (GASGAS); 37. Derek Kelley (GASGAS)
250MX – Moto 1 - Jett Lawrence (Honda) 16 laps; 2. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) +02.278; 3. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) +08.769 …7. Pierce Brown (GASGAS) +35.881; 15. Ty Masterpool (GASGAS); 22. Jerry Robin (GASGAS); 35. Michael Mosiman (GASGAS); 40. Derek Kelley (GASGAS)
250MX – Moto 2 - Justin Cooper (Yamaha) 16 laps; 2. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) +12.922; 3. Jeremy Martin (Yamaha) +22.523 …7. Pierce Brown (GASGAS) +41.368; 15. Michael Mosiman (GASGAS); 16. Ty Masterpool (GASGAS); 37. Derek Kelley (GASGAS); 38. Jerry Robin (GASGAS)
Championship Standings – After Round 4
450MX - Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) 179pts; 2. Ken Roczen (Honda) 165; 3. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha) 143; 6. Justin Barcia (GASGAS) 121
250MX - Jett Lawrence (Honda) 172pts; 2. Justin Cooper (Yamaha) 164; 3. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 128 …11. Pierce Brown (GASGAS) 68; 15. Michael Mosiman (GASGAS) 52; 18. Ty Masterpool (GASGAS) 44