All attention was focused on the battle for the 250 points lead entering round seven at Red Bud. With it being the July 4th weekend and the start of the second half of the series, the adrenaline and excitement surrounding the event was outstanding. Here is how the racing went down.
250 Moto 1
The first race of the day got underway with a holeshot from Pro Circuit rider Joey Savatgy. Savatgy was fast in practice, and was looking confident after his podium finish last weekend at Budds Creek. However, Savatgy’s lead was short-lived due to a crash entering the first off-camber, which allowed Jeremy Martin to sneak by and into the lead. Cooper Webb, Marvin Musquin, and Zach Osborne quickly began pressuring Martin, and a battle for the lead would ensue for the following 10 minutes. The pass for the lead came down to Red Bud’s famous jump, LaRocco’s Leap. Jeremy Martin failed to jump it on Lap 6, which allowed Cooper Webb to soar past him and into the lead. Martin’s pace seemed to decrease following this pass, and within the next couple of laps he also got passed by both Musquin and Osborne. However, Osborne’s pass seemed to revitalize Martin, and he was quickly able to repass for third and catch back up to Musquin. Martin’s charge didn’t stop there however, as he was able to make a move around Musquin on Lap 10, and put his focus onto catching back up to the leader. At this point, Webb was riding great up front, despite it only being his second race back since his ankle injury at Hangtown. The race for the lead came down to the final lap, when a slight mistake from Webb allowed J. Martin to pass into the lead and take the checkered flag for moto 1. A devastated Webb finished right behind in second, and Osborne rounded out the podium in third. A small crash from Musquin in the latter portion of the race caused him to finish back in fourth.
| Position | Rider |
|---|---|
| 1. | Jeremy Martin |
| 2. | Cooper Webb |
| 3. | Zach Osborne |
| 4. | Marvin Musquin |
| 5. | Alex Martin |
| 6. | Christian Craig |
| 7. | Jessy Nelson |
| 8. | Christopher Alldredge |
| 9. | Aaron Plessinger |
| 10. | Jordon Smith |
250 Moto 2
The second and last 250 race at Red Bud saw Geico Honda rider Christian Craig get off to the early lead. Marvin Musquin quickly followed Craig, but Craig was able to put down some fast lap times and pull away from Musquin behind him. Cooper Webb started his second moto off strong, passing Jeremy Martin on the opening lap to get into third behind Musquin. Craig held onto the lead for the entire first half of the race, but Webb eventually made the pass for the lead on Lap 9. Craig rode strongly in second though following this pass, and was able to hold off previous moto winner Jeremy Martin up until Lap 14 when a crash from the leader Webb held up Craig. This dramatic turn of events allowed J. Martin to move up into the lead, and caused Webb to fall all the way back to fourth behind Zach Osborne. Jeremy Martin held onto the lead for the remainder of the race, and took the checkered flag to claim the overall victory by getting 1-1 moto finishes. Zach Osborne had a great come from behind ride to get around Craig and finish in second place, while Craig held off Alex Martin to finish third. After getting off to a great start, Marvin Musquin didn’t look like his normal self, and poor lap times caused him to lose some positions and end up in sixth place behind Webb.
| Position | Rider |
|---|---|
| 1. | Jeremy Martin |
| 2. | Zach Osborne |
| 3. | Christian Craig |
| 4. | Alex Martin |
| 5. | Cooper Webb |
| 6. | Marvin Musquin |
| 7. | Matthew Bisceglia |
| 8. | RJ Hampshire |
| 9. | Aaron Plessinger |
| 10. | Christopher Alldredge |
Here are the top-10 overall finishers in the 250 class at Red Bud:
| Position | Rider | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jeremy Martin | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 2. | Zach Osborne | 3 | 2 | 42 |
| 3. | Cooper Webb | 2 | 5 | 38 |
| 4. | Christian Craig | 3 | 6 | 35 |
| 5. | Alex Martin | 5 | 4 | 34 |
| 6. | Marvin Musquin | 4 | 6 | 33 |
| 7. | Aaron Plessinger | 9 | 9 | 24 |
| 8. | Christopher Alldredge | 8 | 10 | 24 |
| 9. | Jessy Nelson | 7 | 11 | 24 |
| 10. | RJ Hampshire | 14 | 8 | 20 |
And here are the updated championship point standings after five rounds of racing:
| Position | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jeremy Martin | 298 |
| 2. | Marvin Musquin | 291 |
| 3. | Zach Osborne | 207 |
| 4. | Joey Savatgy | 191 |
| 5. | Alex Martin | 188 |
| 6. | Jessy Nelson | 188 |
| 7. | Adam Cianciarulo | 178 |
| 8. | Matthew Bisceglia | 142 |
| 9. | Aaron Plessinger | 142 |
| 10. | Christopher Alldredge | 137 |
With Jeremy Martin's sweep of both motos at Red Bud, he retook the championship points lead, and now has a seven point lead over Marvin Musquin. The defending champion definitely looked strong entering the second half of the series; Musquin will have to really dig deep in order to beat him. Zach Osborne also moved up to third in the points, taking advantage of a shoulder injury from Adam Cianciarulo which caused Cianciarulo to not race at Red Bud. With only five rounds of racing left, the series is only going to get more exciting.
Round eight takes place in two weeks' time to the Martin brother's home race at Spring Creek in Millville, Minnesota. Be sure to follow @VAVELMotocross on Twitter for coverage leading up to and during the race.
Scott Yargeau is the lead motocross writer for the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @ScottYargeau.