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E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs fans lined the track for the final 250cc round of the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro National Championship this weekend at Pala Raceway Park just west of San Diego, CA. With back-to-back moto wins at Steel City MX the week before, Oklahoma’s Trey Canard had pulled within seven points of series point’s leader Christophe Pourcel. The Frenchman had high hopes for this year’s AMA finale having lost the 2009 Lites title to Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey after an unexpected mechanical failure sidelined his Pro Circuit Kawasaki in the penultimate race of the season.

Geico Powersports Honda's Trey Canard dominated the second half of the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro National Championship to claim his first outdoor title in the 250cc Lites class with a third place overall finish at Pala Raceway Park. Photo courtesy of www.treycanard.com.

At the starting gate for Moto One, both Pourcel and Canard both knew they needed to beat each other to ensure their shot at winning the Lucas Oil AMA MX Lites National Championship. Pro Circuit rookie Dean Wilson grabbed the holeshot ahead of Troy Lee Designs Honda rider Cole Seely and teammate Tyla Rattray. Pourcel and Canard would pass Seely. Canard would out brake Pourcel through a corner but crashed on the exit virtually assuring Pourcel would win the championship. But, with a twist of fate, a few laps later Pourcel was picking himself off the ground with a dislocated shoulder that would end his day and all hope for a championship.

The Lucas Oil race fans and most of the talented AMA 250cc riders were still dazed by the events of the first moto when the gate dropped on the final race of the day. Canadian Dean Wilson would again take the lead and would again lead from start to finish claiming his second overall win of the 2010 national season. A cautious Canard would settle in behind South African rider Tyla Rattray safely following the Kawasaki home for third overall and third on the day. Wilson’s overall was the rookie’s second victory of the year matching his teammates Pourcel and Rattray who also won twice this season.

After the race, an exuberant Canard climbed the podium to receive the coveted #1 number plate for winning the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro Championship in the 250cc Lites class. Unfortunately, for 250cc fans, Canard will not defend his Lites’ title as the Honda rider has already announced plans to move up and challenge for the 450cc crown in 2011. E3 race fans are eager to see if Canard can compete with Suzuki’s Dungey in the premier MX class. If you are looking for championship performance from your street or dirt bike, insist upon E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs. E3 delivers the Energy, Efficiency and Ecology needed for today’s high performance 4-stroke engines.

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Cooler weather and a well-groomed track awaited the Lucas Oil AMA 250cc MX Pro riders at Steel City Raceway outside Delmont, Pennsylvania, over the Labor Day Weekend. E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs fans lined the fence early to watch another great battle for the AMA Lites national championship. The day was overcast early, sunny late and long sleeve weather all day. Oklahoma’s Trey Canard trailed former 250cc World Champion Christophe Pourcel by 13 points coming into the eleventh round of the 2010 AMA Pro MX Lites season. But, the Frenchman came to Delmont with a spectacular win in the final moto of last week’s national at Unadilla, NY, where Pourcel put on a late charge and blasted past Canard with two laps to go.

Geico Powersports Honda rider Trey Canard celebrates his 1-1 finishes with the fans at Steel City Raceway outside Delmont, Pennsylvania, over Labor Day Weekend in the Lucas Oil 250cc Lites National Championship. He now trails Pourcel by 7 points for the 2010 outdoor national title. Photo courtesy of http://motocross.transworld.net/

Grand Marshal for this year’s Steel City National was fan favorite and former Lites national champion Timmy Ferry.  Ferry had the crowd cheering as he and his son Evan took a farewell lap aboard the #15 factory Kawasaki before the start. When the gate dropped on Moto One, Monster Engery/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s  Tyla Rattray took the lead with teammate Pourcel close behind. Honda’s Canard was riding just inside the top ten early on but would mount a charge through the pack to catch and pass Pourcel for the win. Pourcel would finish in second place in Moto One ahead of Rattray and Geico Powersports Honda rider Eli Tomac.

In Moto Two, a couple of rookie 250 Lites riders, Pro Circuit’s Dean Wilson and Honda’s Eli Tomac, blasted to the lead off the starting line. Wilson would get the better of Tomac before the end of lap one and looked to be in control of the race. Geico Powersports Honda rider Canard was running in fifth behind Yamaha’s Nico Izzi and Suzuki’s Wil Hahn. Kawasaki rider Rattray was holding off Honda’s Justin Barcia who was holding off the Kawasaki of points leader Christophe Pourcel. By mid race, Canard and Pourcel had passed Wilson and the race was on. Canard (who never bobbled) and Pourcel (who never let up) put on a show for the E3 Sparks Plugs Racing fans.

Pourcel would set the fastest lap of the race late in Moto Two but Canard was almost flawless and never gave the Kawasaki rider a chance to pass. For the last five minutes of the moto, the two championship contenders battled as though it was the last lap of the race. Each showed great respect for the other by keeping the racing very clean. As the championship contenders caught race leader Dean Wilson, Wilson showed his respect for the senior Lites riders and let both Canard and Pourcel past. You could sense the tension in the Honda camp as everyone knew Canard would need to win points over Pourcel at Steel City to have a realistic shot at the national championship in Pala, CA next weekend.

Canard’s lane choices and his ability to jump the triple later in the race allowed him to hold off Pourcel for the moto win and first overall at Delmont. Pourcel would finish in second for the moto and second for the day which helped to minimiz the damage to his point’s lead. Canard now trails Pourcel by seven points for the AMA Lucas Oil Outdoor MX championship as teams travel west this week to race the newest venue on the schedule, Pala Raceway outside San Deigo, CA. If you are looking for Pro Performance from your bike, insist upon E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs for street bike, dirt bike or chopper. E3 delivers the Energy, Efficiency and Ecology needed for today’s high performance engines.
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As the 250cc AMA Pro MX teams pulled through the gates at the legendary Moto-X 338 track in Southwick, Massachusetts, you could feel a spark in the air and the 250cc riders didn’t disappoint. With Geico Powersports Honda ace Trey Canard closing the points gap on Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel, E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs fans lined the fence as the gate dropped on Moto One for the Lites riders. Wil Hahn took an early lead after the short uphill start at Southwick with Canard in hot pursuit. Pourcel was running top ten early in Moto One but dropped his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki in a deep, sandy berm.

Veteran motocrosser John Dowd raced his 22nd AMA Pro MX National race at Southwick's Moto-X 338 this weekend. Photo courtesy of www.johndowd.com.

Once Canard worked his way past Hahn for the lead, the Oklahoma rider put a 4-second lead on the rest of the talented field. Late in the race, former World 250cc Grand Prix Champion Tyla Rattray began to close on Canard and would eventually pull alongside. But, Canard picked up his pace and claimed the win in the opening moto. Rattray would hold on for second, followed home by a pair of Honda riders with Wil Hahn in third and Georgia rider Justin Barcia in fourth. Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Dean Wilson would finish Moto One in fifth with Honda’s Eli Tomac finishing sixth just ahead of Pourcel. Pourcel’s seventh place finish in the opening moto allowed Canard to pull within 5 points of the national championship leader.

Wil Hahn would get his second holeshot of the day but Barcia, would take lead before the end of lap one with Pro Circuit riders Pourcel and Rattray in pursuit. Canard had worked his way into the top ten before going crashing his Geico Powersport Honda in the deep ruts at Moto-X 338. Barcia would hold off a late charge from Rattray. Pourcel would finish in third ahead of teammate Dean Wilson. Canard would mount a charge but was passed by his teammate, Eli Tomac, and later faded to ninth in Moto Two. Barcia would hold on for the win and finished second overall for the day. Rattray’s (2-2) finishes were good enough for the South African to earn his second win of the 2010 season and third place went to a frustrated Canard.

With only two rounds to go, the 250cc Lite teams head to Delmont, Pennsylvania, for the penultimate round of the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX National Championship on Labor Day weekend. Pourcel leaves Southwick with a manageable 13-points lead over Canard. The Steel City motocross track is located just to the east of Pittsburgh, and E3 Spark Plugs Racing fans are expected to show in record numbers for the Labor Day Weekend event. If you want peak performance from your motorcycle, car or truck, insist upon E3 replacement spark plugs. Our patented DiamondFire Technology lets the fuel burn faster and cleaner in your favorite ride.

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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Moto One was no surprise as Frenchman Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) had already won all but one opening moto during the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA 250cc Pro MX Championship series. Teammate, and last weekend’s rookie winner, Dean Wilson (Kawasaki) kept pace for a second overall followed by Honda’s Trey Canard who tasted the Denver soil earlier on. South Africa’s Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) continued to show his world championship form with a strong ride to fourth ahead of three American motocross riders Broc Tickle (Yamaha), Blake Wharton (Honda) and Eli Tomac (Honda).

Geico Powersports Honda rider Trey Canard finished second overall at the Thunder Valley National to take over the fourth spot in the 2010 Luca Oil AMA MX Pro Championship for the 250cc Lights class. Photo courtesy of www.treycanard.com.

After several years of racing under the lights in Lakewood, Colorado, promoters moved the Thunder Valley National race to daytime for 2010. Oklahoma rider Trey Canard must have liked the change as he took the lead in Moto Two ahead of his Honda teammate Blake Wharton. Early on, Scottish rider (via Canada) Dean Wilson and his Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Pourcel and Rattray followed in close pursuit. Pourcel would chase down the Geico Powersports Honda rider Canard in Moto Two giving Pourcel his first double moto win of the season. Canard crossed the line in second place followed by Wilson and Rattray.

The ladies returned to action this weekend at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado. Red Bull Honda rider Ashley Fiolek put her number one plate out front early but lost the top spot to Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson when she bobbled in the deep Thunder Valley ruts. Fiolek and Tarah Gieger (Honda) would tangle in a fight for the second spot allowing Patterson to coast to the overall win. Patterson leads the womens division of the AMA National Championship series ahead of fellow Florida WMX riders Fiolek and Gieger.

Don’t forget to check the E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs website next weekend as teams head east to Buchanan, Michigan, for round six of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at the Red Bud Motocross National. If you want Energy, Efficiency and Ecology from your car spark plug, insist on E3 Spark Plugs and trust our patented DiamondFire technology to deliver more power and better mileage from a cleaner burn.

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Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Dean Wilson overcame the recent mistakes he made at Wortham to claim his first overall victory at Round Four of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at Budds Creek, Maryland. Photo by Pro Circuit Kawasaki.

After a disappointing last lap mistake cost Canadian rookie Dean Wilson the overall win a couple of weeks ago, the Pro Circuit Kawasaki Lights rider dominated the second moto in the 250cc class at Budds Creek Motocross Park to claim his first national win. French teammate Christophe Pourcel led former South African World Champion motocrosser Tyla Rattray to the checkers in moto one just ahead of GEICO Powersports Honda’s Justin Barcia in third. Wilson managed a fourth in moto one ahead of Honda’s Wil Hahn.

In the second moto of round four of the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Championship, the Southern Maryland MX fans cheered  Barcia, a native of Ochlocknee, Georgia, to a second place overall on the day as the talented field of international stars looked to dominate the Americans. Rattray made a valiant charge late in the race but had to settle for a third place overall. Texas rider Wil Hahn and Yamaha’s Broc Tickle finished third and fourth respectively. Wilson’s win continued the streak of four different winners in the first four races of the 2010 pro MX season.

Mitch Peyton’s Pro Circuit circus leads the National Championship points chase with Christophe Pourcel twenty-five points in front of Rattray in second and Wilson one point back in third. The solid second place finish at the popular Budds Creek track moved Justin Barcia into fourth overall for the championship a single point in front of Michigan’s Broc Tickle and Oklahoma’s Trey Canard. Don’t forget to check the E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs website next weekend as the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship continues with round five at Thunder Valley Motocross Park as teams head west to Lakewood, Colorado, for a daytime event.

2010 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Pro Championship

AMA 250cc MX – Budds Creek National (Round 4)
1)    Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki        (4-1)
2)    Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, GA, Honda     (3-2)
3)    Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki         (2-3)
4)    Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki     (1-6)
5)    Wil Hahn, Decatur, TX, Honda         (5-4)
6)    Broc Tickle, Holly, MI, Yamaha         (6-5)
7)    Trey Canard, Shawnee, OK., Honda         (7-8)
8)    Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Yamaha        (9-10)
9)    Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, TX, Honda    (11-9)
10)    Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO, Honda            (10-12)

AMA 250CC MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1)    Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki    169
2)     Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki        -25
3)    Dean Wilson, Canada, Kawasaki        -26
4)    Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, GA, Honda    -48
5)    Broc Tickle, Holly, MI Yamaha            -49
6)    Trey Canard, Shawnee, OK, Honda        -49
7)    Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO, Honda            -59
8)    Wil Hahn, Decatur, TX, Honda        -63
9)    Jake Weimer, Rupert, ID, Kawasaki        -75
10)    Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Yamaha        -87