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It may be “Sunny in Philadelphia” but it always rains in Mt. Morris on race day. This year’s third round of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship had a lot of both. In Moto One of the 250cc Lights and the 450cc pro MX classes, riders scrambled for position as rains turned the hilly western Pennsylvania track into a giant slip-n-slide. Honda’s sophomore ace, Justin Barcia, who grew up racing in the Georgia mud, dominated the opening moto in the Lights class with South African Tyla Rattray and rookie pro Blake Baggett in second and third place respectively. In the big bike class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey passed the factory Yamaha of Toyota rider Josh Grant at the halfway mark of Moto One and pulled away for an impressive victory.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey rides with a Target on his back (or helmet) as he took command of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship posting 1-1 finishes in Round Three at High Point MX outside Mt. Morris, PA.

Before the start of the final moto, the sun popped out and baked the clay track leaving deep ruts cut into the uphills, downhills and sidehills of the challenging High Point MX track. Then, Mother Nature decided that it should be hot – very hot. That was just fine for a pair of well-conditioned former MX2 World Champion title holders with teammates Christophe Pourcel and Tyla Rattray leading Geico Powersports Honda rider Blake Wharton to checkers. The overall win went to Rattray, his first win on U.S. soil, and moved the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider into second place in the championship hunt just 27 points behind Pourcel. Wharton’s (8-3) finishes landed the young Texan on the podium for the first time this season.

Jagermeister KTM rider Mike Alessi grabbed the holeshot for Moto Two in the 450cc pro class before being passed by Team Honda’s Andrew Short. At the midway point, Dungey again relied on his stellar physical fitness in the Pennsylvania heat and pulled away from Short to claim the win and the top tier of the podium for the day’s overall. Geico Powersports Brett Metcalfe followed Short to the line for second and third overall finishes on the day. Australian ace Metcalfe trails Dungey by 25 points in the AMA Pro MX standings. After a miserable day in the Mt. Morris heat, defending National Champion Chad Reed abandoned his broken bike in Moto Two and dropped to fourth overall in the AMA points standings just three notches behind KTM’s Alessi.

Continue to follow the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship on the E3 Spark Plugs Blog as round four of the 250cc Lights class and 450cc pro MX class is scheduled for next weekend at Budds Creek MX Park on June 19th in Mechanicsville, MD. The lady motocrossers were off last weekend but the women’s class of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship series continues on June 26th when the WMX riders catch up with the men at Lakewood’s Thunder Valley MX in Denver, Colorado.

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After winning the number one plate during his rookie supercross season aboard a 450cc factory Suzuki, Ryan Dungey disappointed some fans with his 8th place overall finish at Hangtown MX in the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship two weeks ago. In round two at Firestone MX, Dungey silenced the skeptics with impressive 1-1 moto finishes to move within eleven points of series leader Chad Reed who finished second overall on the day. Native Texan Kyle Regal was third overall after he claimed the first pro podium of his young career with a solid ride in Moto Two that saw the native Texan pass KTM’s Mike Alessi, Honda’s Brett Metcalfe and the defending MX champion Chad Reed.

AMA Women's National Champion, Ashley Fiolek hasn't let being deaf slow her progress in the sport that she loves. The Red Bull Honda rider from St. Augustine, FL, also won a Gold Medal at the 2009 X-Games. Go, girl!

The Texas heat and humidity took its toll on Honda’s rookie sensation Eli Tomac. Tomac took the lead in the both motos and it looked as though he might repeat his AMA record setting performance of round one. But, in the first moto, Tomac lost the lead to Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Christophe Pourcel on the last lap. In Moto Two, Canadian rookie Dean Wilson would pass Tomac early and appeared to have a commanding lead that might earn him his first pro MX win. But, World Champion MX rider Tyla Rattray and Yamaha’s Broc Tickle passed Wilson on the white flag lap. Pourcel captured the overall for the day with 1-5 finishes and leaves Texas with a nine-point lead in the Lights Division of Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series.

No surprises in the women’s division as the trio from Florida claimed the podium for the second time in two races. Yamaha pro Jessica Patterson won both WMX motos, St. Augustine native Ashley Fiolek had a pair of second place finishes with Tarah Gieger bringing her Honda home in third. The 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend at the RockStar Energy High Point National when riders travel to Mt. Morris, PA, for round three. Don’t forget to bookmark the E3 Spark Plug website and try our patented DiamondFire motocycle spark plug in your favorite ride.

Read on for race results and championship standings.

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Racing history was made this weekend at the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship when rookie Eli Tomac became the first rider to ever win a debut event. The 16-year-old son of multi-time mountain biking champion John Tomac dominated an impressive field that included the reigning world champion and a couple of recently crowned U.S. supercross champions. The Geico Honda rider led most of the opening moto before dropping his bike with only a couple of laps to go. He would remount to finish third.

Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Champion Eli Tomac

After a red flag on the opening lap of the second moto sent the 250cc Lites class back to the starting gate, Tomac charged off the line, took the lead and never looked back. Honda’s sophomore sensation Trey Canard picked up the chase but could only watch as the rookie sensation pulled away for the second moto win. A 3-1 finish left Tomac tied in points for the National Championship chase with veteran French-rider Christophe Pourcel but a second moto tie breaker put Eli on the top tier of the podium for round one of twelve in the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

Defending outdoor national motocross champion Chad Reed swapped moto wins with KTM’s Mike Alessi in the 450cc class with Reed eventually claiming the overall victory by a slim two point margin. After a long awaited debut for KTM’s 350cc rocket ship, Alessi pulled the holeshot and dominated the second moto in the big bike class. Factory Honda rider Davi Millsaps finished third and trails Alessi by a single point in the national championship hunt. Yamaha’s Josh Grant returned to racing with a fifth place overall finish after being sidelined by injury for the entire supercross season.

Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson of Tallahassee, Florida, won both motos of the Women’s AMA Pro Championship class and holds an eight point lead over second place finisher Ashley Fiolek of St. Augustine. The ladies from Florida dominated the opening round in Sacramento with Tarah Gieger of Winter Park bringing her Honda home third overall with a 2-6 finish.

If you are looking for E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs check our Power Sports Catalog for crossover part numbers to select the right plug for your street bike, chopper or dirt bike. E3 DiamondFire spark plugs are available at Advance Auto Parts, Baxter Auto Parts, Home Hardware, JC Motors, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Checker Auto Parts, Schuck’s Auto Supply, Kragen Auto Parts, LORDCO Auto Parts, Summit Racing Equipment or online at Amazon.Com or SparkPlugs.Com. Don’t forget to catch round two of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship in two weeks at Freestone Raceway in Wortham, Texas.