5 Things We Learned, Thunder Valley: Roczen Mountain High, Kenny goes 1-1 in Colorado

Kenny Stays Hot

My goodness, that first 450 moto was an instant classic with Adam Cianciarulo, Ken Roczen and Dylan Ferrandis trading blow after blow after blow. I seriously don’t remember a 450 moto that close between THREE riders in a long time. Sure, it’s happened, but man, that was EPIC. Please just have this kind of action every moto. Signed, EVERY FAN in the world.

I really didn’t think Kenny was going to get that first moto win, but damn he dug deep and got Ferrandis late (after Ferrandis made a mistake) and took the win. The second moto, he was just unbelievable. He was aggressive early and led all 16 laps and now has three moto wins through four. We have a week off between the next round at High Point, and Kenny will take a slim one-point lead over Ferrandis into the break.

“I wasn’t really full of confidence and I definitely have some work to do, but luckily the muscle memory starts kicking in and I’m starting to feel better,” Roczen said. “We did some work to the bike as well, that I wasn’t 100 percent sold on when I left the track during the week. But you have to go racing to prove it’s better. I really enjoyed it today and knew what the bike was doing. I also like Thunder Valley in general. The ruts and the clay kind of dirt suit me very well. I enjoyed both motos, and I really enjoyed the first one. Adam and Dylan and I were battling and it was super fun. Just being there the entire moto battling and passing each other was a lot of fun.”

Watch the post-race press conference from round 2.

250 Class Takes a Hit

Man, I was really looking forward to this championship bout between Jeremy Martin, Justin “Not Webb” Cooper and Jett Lawrence. Well, now Jeremy Martin appears to be out for the rest of the season and the Jett will take a 10-point lead into round 3 at High Point over Cooper. Jett won the second moto, but Cooper took the overall behind 2-2 moto finishes.

“It sucks. Going 2-2 doesn’t feel like a win,” Cooper said after the race. “I got beat both motos, but we’ll take it. We won and we got good points, but it’s not the way you want to do it. You at least want to win a moto. It doesn’t feel good to go 2-2 for the overall. It doesn’t feel bad to win, but that’s not the way you want to do it. I definitely had my work cut out for me in both motos and had a tough time with guys coming up on me. We gave it our all and made huge steps in the right direction—I don’t think we were even close last weekend. We’re going to keep digging to try to get those moto wins.”

Webb, Tomac Continue to Struggle

I really, really thought we’d see a different Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac after a rough opening round last weekend. Whelp, I was dead wrong! I mean, dead, dead, dead wrong.

Both riders continued to struggle at round 2 with Webb going 8-8 for eighth overall and Tomac going 11-10 for 10th overall. I don’t remember the last time Tomac just went 11-10 at HIS HOME RACE. Look, they can certainly turn this ship around, but man, it’s not good right now.

Ferrandis Is the Real Deal, Holyfield

I’ll be honest. After his win at Fox Raceway, in his FIRST career 450 race, I wasn’t a true believer in Ferrandis’ title chance. We’ve seen guys do well at the opening round and then fall off the map. Well, after his amazing performance at Thunder Valley, I’m on board. He coulda, shoulda, maybe won the first moto and then came back from a terrible start in the second moto to grab second and second overall. I’M ALL IN, DOGGIES. He’s legit.

“It’s the second race in a row that I’m on the podium, which is great,” he said in a post-race press release. “We rode great in the first moto, probably one of the best motos of my career, but unfortunately had a small issue that cost me the win. I had a bad start in Moto 2 and was mid-pack, but I gave everything I had and came back through the field and finished second again for second overall. We made some changes on the bike for the second moto, and it was really awesome. It was a good weekend. I’m just happy to be on the box again, and we’ll see if I can get the red plate back at the next race.”

Watch highlights from round 2.

BamBam Thank You Mam

I’m loving Barcia this year. I’m telling you, he’s going to be really, really good all year. Can he contend for the title? I don’t know, but what I do know is that he will be challenging for race and moto wins all year. Believe that!

“My start wasn’t great in the first moto but I worked my way up to seventh and unfortunately that’s where I stayed,” he said in a post-race press release. “I had a couple guys in front of me but I just couldn’t make it happen, which is a little bit frustrating but I re-grouped and got off to a better start in Moto 2. All-in-all, I’m really happy with where we’re at with the bike and we just need to work on a few little things to put myself in a good position to capitalize on some podiums and wins.”

Main image: Pro Motocross

Written by Slaw Dog

Just a dog trying to find my special bun.

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