E3 Spark Plugs News

With track-section names like The Gravity Cavity, The Wall and Screw-U, everyone knew the racing at the famed Unadilla motocross track outside New Berlin, NY, was going to be spectacular, and the 250cc Lights riders did not disappoint. E3 Spark Plugs Racing fans watched as Trey Canard captured his fourth consecutive win in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship series aboard his Geico Powersports Honda. Oklahoma’s Canard has moved from 57 points behind championship point’s leader Christophe Pourcel (after Round 5) to only 16 points behind the Frenchman with three races to go.

Ochlocknee, Georgia, rider Justin Barcia provided a lot of the excitement in the 250cc Lights class of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship race at Unadilla Valley Sports Park over the weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Geico Powersports Honda Racing Team.)

Scottish motocrosser Dean Wilson put his Monster Engery Kawasaki in the lead at the start of the opening moto at Unadilla while Pro Circuit teammate Pourcel was trying to recover from a horrendous start. Pourcel was on the charge and would catch Geico Powersports rider Justin Barcia but crashed hard as he battled with Barcia for the third spot. The Frenchman would remount but was too shaken from his crash to continue and pulled off the track leaving Wilson and Barcia to fight it out for the lead.

The battle up front continued until Barcia made a very aggressive inside move on Wilson that forced the Kawasaki rider off track. After Wilson’s crash, Barcia’s teammate and eventual race winner Trey Canard moved to second ahead of fellow Honda rider Blake Wharton. This time, it was Barcia that would go down after battling with Canard for the lead. Wharton would also slip by Barcia to finish a very respectable second place. Canard cruised home for the win but the story of the day at Unadilla Valley Sports Park was Pourcel’s 38th place finish in Moto One.

In Moto Two, Pourcel was riding for damage control as he positioned his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki into fifth place behind Hangtown 250cc race winner Eli Tomac. Dean Wilson had recovered from his opening moto crash with Barcia and was running in second behind Canard when Pourcel began a mid-race charge to the front. With two laps to go, Pourcel had passed Wilson and was battling with Canard for the race win. Pourcel got the better of Canard on the last lap but Canard’s 1-2 finishes gave the Geico Powersports rider his fourth overall national MX win in a row.

The AMA 250cc Pro Lights riders have two weeks off before teams travel to Southwick, Massachusetts, for Round 10 of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at the famed Moto-X 338 motocross track. Don’t forget to visit the E3 Spark Plugs Blog for the latest motocross results from Southwick and remember to ask for E3 Car Spark Plugs the next time you change the plugs in your car, truck, motorcycle or SUV. E3′s patented DiamondFire technology delivers Energy, Efficiency and Ecology for any engine.

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The AMA Lucas Oil Pro MX Championship traveled to the leatherneck country of central New York State over the weekend for the 450cc MX pro national championship. Perfect weather. . HOT and perfect track conditions . . ROUGH awaited a world-class field of challengers for Round 9 of the 2010 season at the famed Unadilla motocross track. For the last 40 years, the same classic layout, has played host to the greatest outdoor motocross racers to ever race a dirt bike. This weekend was no exception and many had predicted this would be the best outdoor motocross race of the series.

Belgian Clement Desalle (riding for Rockstar Teka Suzuki) finished 2-2 for second overall at Unadilla in his only appearance at the Lucas Oil AMA MX Pro series. Desalle is currently second in points for the World Championship chase. (Photo Courtesy of Suzuki Racing.)

E3 Car Spark Plugs racing fans know that a rookie 450cc motocross racer is never supposed to win both the AMA MX Pro Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in their maiden season. In fact, it has never happened in the history of professional motocross. Plus, the decked was stacked against Rockstar Makita’s Ryan Dungey. After all, San Manuel Yamaha rider James “Bubba” Stewart was making his return to outdoor motocross after a two-year hiatus. Plus, Belgium’s Clement Desalle, currently second in the World Grand Prix MX Championship, was scheduled to race in his only 450cc AMA motocross event of the season.

In Friday’s practice, Stewart let everyone know that he hasn’t lost any of his speed by clocking the fastest lap times of the day. But, in Saturday’s opening moto, Bubba’s timing was a tick off. After working his way around Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short for second place, Stewart went down and had to work his way back through a talented field of the world’s best riders. Desalle had a solid ride and would finish in second. Late in the race, Stewart had passed the Belgian but crashed a second time and had to settle for third. Once again, somebody forgot to tell Ryan Dungey he was not supposed to win. So, he did.

The stage was set for Moto Two and neither Desalle nor Dungey would disappoint the Unadilla fans. At the start, It was yellow bikes out front and Stewart’s Yamaha was buried somewhere in the middle of the 40-rider field. A few laps later, Bubba would pull off the track and call it a day. Meanwhile, Desalle and Dungey put on a show. Desalle was in the lead and had been running the fastest lap times of the day, when Dungey picked up the pace and passed his Suzuki teammate. At the checkered flag, it would be Dungey’s win with Desalle in second. Geico Powersports’s Brett Metcalfe and Red Bull’s Kevin Windham would work past Andrew Short for third and fourth place finishes. Short would cross the line in fifth.

The win was Dungey’s eighth in a row and allowed “the rookie” to extend his point’s lead in the Lucas Oil AMA 450cc MX national championship series to triple digits. The teams will have two weeks off and a little time to regroup before heading to Massachusetts for Round 10 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at the famed Southwick Moto-X 338 track. Don’t forget to follow your favorite rider on the E3 Spark Plugs Racing blog and, for peak performance from your bike, always ask for E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs. Our patented DiamondFire technology is designed to deliver Energy, Efficiency and Ecology for all of your engines.
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After waiting three years to win his first AMA 250cc MX national event, Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard only had to wait one week to win his second championship series race. E3 Spark Plugs Racing fans watched while rain fell on Canard during the second moto as he dominated Round 7 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship. For the rest of the MX Lights field, it was survival of the elements, as Scottish rookie Dean Wilson and his Pro Circuit teammate Tyla Rattray finished the day second and third overall aboard their Monster Energy 250cc Kawasakis.

After injuring his knee in a crash during the first moto, Kawasaki rider Dean Wilson rebounded with a solid performance as rain fell on Round 7 of the AMA Lucas Oil 250cc MX National Championship. Photo courtesy of Pro Circuit Racing.

Although Moto One has belonged to Frenchman Christophe Pourcel during the first six rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Championship, there have been five different overall winners with four of those being first-time AMA national wins. Saturday’s opening moto was no surprise as Pourcel and Canard traded the lead several times before Pourcel would double an uphill jump to claim the win ahead of Canard, Kawasaki teammates Jake Weimer and Tyla Rattray, Honda rider Blake Wharton and Pro Circuit’s Dean Wilson. Wilson was running third for most of the race before crashing his Kawasaki and injuring his knee.

Nico Izzi pulled the holeshot in Moto Two ahead of Canard and Wilson, both wasted little time in getting around the Yamaha rider. Pourcel, the 250cc AMA MX national point’s leader, had his typical bad start leaving the former world champion to struggle outside the top ten for most of the second race. With the rain falling harder and harder, former World 250cc Champion Tyla Rattray and Geico Powersports Honda rider Justin Barcia would race past a tiring Eli Tomac in third. As of late, Tomac hasn’t shown the strength that landed the rookie Honda rider a national win at Hang Town in the AMA MX season opener. Barcia would eventually gap Rattray and Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Jake Weimer who would finish in fourth.

Both Canard and Wilson made up ground in their battle with Pourcel for the 2010 national outdoor championship points lead. Next week, the teams head west to Washougal, Washington, for Round 8 of the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro Championship on Saturday, July 24th. Don’t forget to check the E3 Spark Plugs news blog for race results, and pick our patented DiamondFire technology when you change plugs in your car, truck, motorcycle or lawn equipment. E3 car spark plugs provide the Energy, Efficiency and Ecology needed for today’s fast-paced world.

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