2018 HIGH POINT NATIONAL | THE AFTERMATH

On Jun 18, 2018 Last updated Jun 18, 2018

Photos by Brian Converse.Aaron Plessinger indulging in the fruits of his labor.

On this day in moto, the 2018 outdoor National championship moved East to Pennsylvania for round four of the season. Coming into this round, the 250 class was shaken up due to defending champion Zach Osborne injuring himself in Thunder Valley. With points leader Jeremy Martin being the favorite to win, his confidence was at an all-time high. 450 points leader and defending champion Eli Tomac was also the fan favorite to win in the premier class, but little did either of these riders know what the hot Pennsylvania track had in store.

Jeremy Martin clocked in the fastest 250 time of the day in qualifying.

And it was all about Blake Baggett on the 450 clock.

East coast fans are in it for the long haul.

Eli Tomac’s 2018 Factory Kawasaki KX450F.

Benny Bloss has been on fire lately.

The 250 squads always have a packed tent, like TLD KTM.

Will Hahn has been putting in seat time in every 125 All-Star two-stroke event. He finished second at Mt. Morris behind Darryn Durham.

This was the first time everyone got to see Phil Nicoletti in his Husqvarana colors.

After an hour break between qualifying and racing, it was time to drop the gate. Carrie Bowling lifted the iconic 30-second board. The 450’s were up first this week.

The first moto of the 2018 High Point round.

Blake Baggett was caught up in the first turn pileup right out of the gate. He went all the way from 35th to 5th.

$https://motocrossactionmag.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=109760&action=edi\\\\\\\\\\$ Justin Hill made his 450 outdoor debut aboard the Autotrader Factory Suzuki RM-Z450 and scored a 4th in moto one. Not bad!

Justin Barcia managed to put together an impressive 3rd place performance in moto one.

Eli Tomac had a rough go at it. His win streak was broken, as Marvin Musquin powered by Tomac in moto one. Eli finished second.

It was Marvin Musquin’s moto to win. He crossed the line 1st.

OFFICIAL 450 MOTO ONE RESULTS (TOP 22)

Marvin Musquin (KTM)
Eli Tomac (Kaw)
Justin Barcia (Yam)
Justin Hill (Suz)
Blake Baggett (KTM)
Benny Bloss (KTM)
Ken Roczen (Hon)
Cody Cooper (Hon)
Weston Peick (Suz)
Kyle Cunningham (Suz)
Alex Ray (Yam)
Nick Gaines (Yam)
Cade Autenrieth (KTM)
Brandan Leith (Kaw)
Dare DeMartile (Hon)
Phillip Nicoletti (Hus)
Lorenzo Laccurcio (Hon)
Robert Piazza (Hon)
Brandon Scharer (Yam)
Henry Miller (Suz)
Ben Lamay (Hon)
Heath Harrison (Hon)

Next up on the day’s program was 250 moto one. Brandon Hartranft was all smiles.

And their off! Chase Sexton got stuck in a Pro Circuit sandwich.

Jordon Smith crossed the line in 5th in the first 250 moto of the day.

Austin Forkner was not far behind in 4th in moto one.

Justin Cooper fought hard for the lead, but ended up crossing the line in 3rd in moto one.

Jeremy Martin just couldn’t catch the leader resulting in a second in moto one.

It’s safe to say that 250 moto one belonged to Aaron Plessinger. He clinched the win.

OFFICIAL 250 MOTO ONE RESULTS (TOP 22)

Aaron Plessinger (Yam)
Jeremy Martin (Hon)
Justin Cooper (Yam)
Austin Forkner (Kaw)
Jordan Smith (KTM)
Joey Savatgy (Kaw)
RJ Hampshire (Hon)
Dylan Ferrandis (Yam)
Shane McElrath (KTM)
Chase Sexton (Hon)
Brandon Hartranft (Yam)
Alex Martin (KTM)
Michael Mosiman (Hus)
Mitchell Harrison (Hus)
Sean Cantrell (KTM)
Jordan Bailey (Hus)
Luke Renzland (Yam)
Austin Root (Hus)
Ramyller Alves (Yam)
Enzo Lopes (Suz)
Challen Tennant (Yam)
Yusuke Watanabe (Yam)

As the 250 moto came to a close, the final 450 moto was lined up at the gate. Weston Peick was ready to go.

Justin Hill was a mad man in Pennsylvania. He went 4-6 for a 5th overall on the day.

Ken Roczen has his starts dialed these days. He went on to finish 7-3 due to getting caught up the first turn pileup in the first moto. A 4th overall was not bad for K-Roc.

Justin Barcia has been showing us his true potential these days. He went 3-5 for a 3rd overall and a spot on the podium.

This race was a tough pill to swallow for Marvin Musquin. He won the first moto, but just couldn’t get around Tomac in moto two. The failure to pull the trigger in moto two (and he had Eli in his sights several times) resulted in Tomac keeping his win streak alive.

Eli Tomac got pressure from Marvin Musquin in the closing laps, but in the end he emerged victorious for the fourth weekend in a row

OFFICIAL 450 OVERALL RESULTS (TOP 22)

Eli Tomac (Kaw) 2–1
Marvin Musquin (KTM) 1–2
Justin Barcia (Yam) 3–5
Ken Roczen (Hon) 7–3
Justin Hill (Suz) 4–6
Weston Peick (Suz) 9–4
Blake Baggett (KTM) 5–7
Benny Bloss (KTM) 6–8
Cody Cooper (Hon) 8–10
Kyle Cunningham (Suz) 10–12
Phillip Nicoletti (Hus) 16–9
Alex Ray (Yam) 11–15
Nick Gaines (Yam) 12–19
Toshiki Tomita (Hon) 29–11
Brandon Scharer (Yam) 19–14
Lorenzo Laccurcio (Hon) 17–16
Dare DeMartile (Hon) 15–19
Ben Lamay (Hon) 21–13
Brandan Leith (Kaw) 14–20
Cade Autenrieth (KTM) 13–24
Henry Miller (Suz) 20–17
Robert Piazza (Hon) 18–30

The last moto of the day belonged to the 250 class. Unfortunately, the Geico Honda team suffered bike problems all day, which cost them the points lead. Both Chase Sexton and Jeremy Martin DNF’ed the second motos.

RJ Hampshire made the most of a tough day for the Geico Honda Team. He finished 7-7 for a 5th overall.

Dylan Ferandis came back from an injury at High Point. In the second moto he got on the podium going 8-3 for 4th overall. What a way to make a comeback from injuries sustained in the Supercross series!

His teammate, Justin Cooper on the other hand, had a great run and kept himself in the spotlight all day. He went 3-4 for a 3rd overall on the day.