JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing Riders Turn in Solid Rides at First Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Event of 2020
JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing kicked off the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series with an exciting day at the inaugural Loretta Lynn's National. Joey Savatgy and Fredrik Noren put both their JGR-tuned Suzuki RM-Z450 machines up front, starting by crossing the moto one holeshot line in first and second place. Alex Martin had his Suzuki RM-Z250 up front throughout the day to start the season with a top five overall finish.
Alex Martin showed he's ready for great things this summer with consistent finishes inside the top five in both motos, resulting in a top five overall finish. In the first moto, A-Mart's speed allowed him race past three riders in under one minute – two in the same corner – just past the midpoint of moto one racing. In the second moto, while running inside the top five Martin had a tip over that thwarted his charge forward; he had just gained to within striking distance of the rider ahead of him.
"It was exciting to be back at the races. I was happy with the speed we had, we just need to minimize the mistakes," A-Mart said after the dust had settled. "Three crashes throughout the two motos kept me from a podium. But I'm happy I could still manage a top five result for myself and the team."
Joey Savatgy had an impressive return to racing with the lap times to run up front in both motos and take home a top ten overall finish. Versace is healed up but not satisfied with his round one results; though it was a solid return performance it was a notch below what Savatgy, his team, and his fans know he's capable of delivering.
"Yesterday was subpar for me. It was my first race back in almost a year and it got the best of me," Savatgy reflected. "There are some things I need to work on but my starts were good and that’s a big piece of the puzzle. So it's now back to work this week and try it again next weekend."
Fredrik Noren christened the 450 class's season by pulling an impressive holeshot on Loretta's deep, horsepower-robbing start straight. Fast Freddie led the field across the holeshot stripe to kick off 450cc motocross racing in 2020 right. Before an unfortunate bobble on lap seven, Fast Freddie was charging inside the top ten and looking ready to repeat his many top ten finishes from last year.
"I'm super pumped to be back racing!" Noren added, "I had great starts and I holeshot my first ever pro motocross start, so that was great. Unfortunately I had pretty hard crashes in both motos which made the overall result for the weekend not very good. Now we'll regroup and recharge for next weekend!"
"The team is happy to be back racing again with these guys," Jeremy Albrecht, Team Manager said. "All the components for putting together a great race were there for each rider. Alex rode the best I’ve seen in a while, and Freddie's and Joey’s starts were super impressive. It was great to see Joey back on the bike. We’re really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do when they put all the pieces together."
A mid-week venue change keeps the series stationed at Loretta Lynn's Ranch for a second weekend, creating the first AMA Motocross double-header in a schedule that expected to reach that milestone with rounds four and five. The JGR racers, support crew, and machinery are accustomed to hunkering down after their seven-race supercross stretch in May and June earlier this year. The team is excited to put their Suzuki RM-Zs to good use and pull in more strong performances over the remaining eight rounds of 2020 Outdoor racing.
About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
About JGRMX: Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross (JGRMX), based in Huntersville, NC, was founded in 2007 by Coy Gibbs, son of NFL Hall of Fame head coach and multi-time NASCAR Championship winning team owner Joe Gibbs. JGRMX competes in both the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series as well as the Monster Energy Supercross series with support from Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. aboard Suzuki RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 race machines.
About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for 65 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket. Yoshimura exhaust systems are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit, and quality that has been their trademark for six decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.