The Red Bull RedBud National, Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, took place this past Saturday in Buchanan, MI. It was an exciting day for Honda, with Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Brayton grabbing his first podium finish of the season with a second overall and GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac rounding out the 250 podium with 2-3 finishes.
The Race
Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Brayton had an exceptional day in logging two solid races for a second overall. After qualifying sixth quickest in practice, Brayton grabbed a good start in the first race, working his way from fifth to third before the halfway point. He spent the remainder of the race making a valiant charge for second but came up short and settled for third. In moto two, Brayton kept his momentum going, launching another good start and riding to a fourth-place finish.
"Finally being up on the podium where I feel I belong is awesome," stated Brayton. "I got good starts in both motos and just focused on staying consistent and riding strong. The heat was a big factor too; I have been practicing in the same weather at home so it didn't bother me too much. I knew mentally that I was strong in these conditions, which I think really helped."
In the 250 class, Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda riders Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac delivered another impressive performance, finishing the day 2-3 on the podium. In moto one, Barcia seized a good start and took the early lead over the rest of the pack, but eventually surrendered the front spot and finished in second. Tomac unfortunately had a small crash that would leave him with a fifth-place finish. In the second race, Barcia nailed another good start and took the lead for a majority of the race until being passed to finish second for a second overall. Tomac got another less-than-desirable start but wasted no time slicing through the pack, making his way up to third and allowing him to round out the podium with third overall. Teammate Wil Hahn put together a respectable ride, going 6-5 for a sixth-overall finish.
"I am always looking to win, so this isn't exactly what we wanted but overall it was a good day," said Barcia. "Like I have said, consistency is key so being on the podium another week is awesome and is keeping us in the hunt for the championship. I had some good starts, lead a lot of laps and finally was able to put together a solid second moto. I'm excited to head to Millville since that is one of my favorite tracks."
"I am happy to be on the podium today, especially after falling over in the first moto and considering the start I got in the second moto," said Tomac. "After I fell over in the first race, I lost the front runners and wasn't able to get back up to them. In the second race I didn't get the best start but rode good and was able to get by Musquin towards the end of the race to grab third."
In the WMX class, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Ashley Fiolek returned for her first race back since her crash at round three at Thunder Valley. After qualifying in the top spot during practice, Fiolek put together two solid races, going 1-1 for first overall.
The Focus: Muscle Milk's Recovery Grant Program
Muscle Milk's new Recovery Grant Program provides up to $250,000 in grants to help rebuild and revitalize high school athletic programs around the country. As a company highly involved in the sports field, they view athletic programs within schools as highly important to help students maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Recovery Grant Program will award up to $25,000 per submission to programs that show a financial hardship outlined in the application process. In addition, Muscle Milk debuted limited edition bottle packaging that includes the red, white and blue theme of the program. A portion of sales from the patriotic packaging will go towards the funding of the Recovery Grand Program. In order to submit an entry and view the requirements applicants must visit the Muscle Milk Facebook page (www.facebook.com/musclemilk).
450 Class Overall Results
1. Ryan Dungey 1-1
2. Justin Brayton (Honda) 3-4
3. James Stewart 6-3
4. Tyla Rattray 4-5
5. Mike Alessi 11-2
6. Broc Tickle 5-9
7. Cole Thompson 7-8
8. Josh Grant 19-7
9. Andrew Short (Honda) 12-6
10. Jake Weimer 2-20
450 Class Championship Points (after 6 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey 286
2. Mike Alessi 214
3. Jake Weimer 202
4. Andrew Short 178
5. Broc Tickle 162
6. James Stewart 151
7. Brett Metcalfe 142
8. Josh Grant 137
9. Justin Brayton 131
10. Kyle Chisholm 100
250 Class Overall Results
1. Blake Baggett 1-1
2. Justin Barcia (Honda) 2-2
3. Eli Tomac (Honda) 5-3
4. Marvin Musquin 4-4
5. Ken Roczen 3-6
6. Wil Hahn (Honda) 6-5
7. Gareth Swanepoel 9-7
8. Blake Wharton 7-12
9. Jessy Nelson (Honda) 12-9
10. Travis Baker (Honda) 12-10
250 Class Championship Points (after 6 of 12 rounds)
1. Blake Baggett 272
2. Justin Barcia 253
3. Eli Tomac 236
4. Ken Roczen 235
5. Marvin Musquin 189
6. Wil Hahn 161
7. Blake Wharton 125
8. Jason Anderson 121
9. Jessy Nelson 109
10. Jake Canada 105
WMX Overall Results
1. Ashley Fiolek (Honda) 1-1
2. Sara Pettersson 3-4
3. Tarah Gieger (Honda) 2-6
4. Kasie Creson 5-3
5. Jacqueline Strong 4-5
6. Mariana Balbi 14-2
7. Alexah Pearson 6-7
8. Sarah Whitmore 7-8
9. Sade Allender 8-9
10. Brianna DeGray 9-10
WMX Class Championship Points (after 5 of 8 rounds)
1. Jessica Patterson 201
2. Tarah Gieger 192
3. Ashley Fiolek 175
4. Mariana Balbi 155
5. Jacqueline Strong 148
6. Kasie Creson 146
7. Sara Pettersson 139
8. Sayaka Kaneshiro 137
9. Alexah Pearson 100
10. Sade Allender 99
About Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and MUVs in the U.S. American Honda's Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to powersports.honda.com.
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