South African motocross rider Gareth Swanepoel was top Yamaha in the AMA Pro MX Championship with a sixth overall in Round 4 at Budds Creek, MD. Photo courtesy of Yamaha Star Racing.
Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson claimed the holeshot in Moto 1 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX National Championship at Budds Creek MX over the weekend. Always close to the action E3 motorcycle racing fans lined the hilly Maryland track as Wilson’s teammates Tyla Rattray and Broc Tickle settled into second and third, respectively. At the halfway mark, Darryn Durham moved his privateer Honda into fourth ahead of Star Yamaha’s Kyle Cunningham. Wilson would lead from start to finish with the top three positions going to the “Green Team”.
The 2008 MX2 World Motocross Champion, Tyla Rattray, pulled the holeshot in the second Moto but his Kawasaki teammates were running outside the top five. Since GEICO Honda Lites rider Justin Barcia had just been diagnosed with mononucleosis last week, many race fans had doubts that this year’s supercross champion would even race the demanding Budds Creek track. But, the youngster surprised everyone with a second place start and finish in Moto 2. Wilson would eventually work his way into third for a second place overall on the day. Star Yamaha’s Gareth Swanepoel would finish a season-high fourth in the second race ahead of Barcia’s teammate Eli Tomac.
Once the dust settled, Rattray had claimed his second win of the season to take a four-point lead in the 250cc class over teammate Dean Wilson. Pro Circuit’s Blake Baggett, the only other double race winner this season, had a disappointing day finishing seventh at Budds Creek and dropped to third in the standings 30 points behind Rattray. The GEICO Honda tandem of Tomac and Barcia moved to fourth and fifth in the chase. The AMA Lites riders have zero time off as teams immediately head west to Thunder Valley MX in Lakewood, CO, for Round 5 of the 2011 Championship next weekend.
