Factory Husqvarna rider Zach Osborne earned a career-first 450MX overall victory at the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season-opener at Loretta Lynn Ranch.
Teammate to Zach Osborne, Jason Anderson scored a moto-win and second overall for the day.
Following a lengthy delay in the 2020 race schedule, the nine-race championship finally got underway on Saturday at the legendary Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, home to the largest AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in the U.S. and a familiar place for many of the team’s riders and crew. Heavy rainfall on Friday made for sloppy track conditions in the morning but the sun came out and dried things up to create a rough battleground for the season opener.
Osborne, the third-place qualifier, got off to a top-10 start in Moto 1 and he worked his way into the top-five early on. He continued to put on a charge through the first half of the race, where he eventually made the move for second on lap 12. With six laps to go, Osborne chased after his teammate, Anderson, where he finished 4.9 seconds back for second-place. In Moto 2, Osborne shot off the line to capture the holeshot and settled into second for the first two laps before powering his way into the lead on lap three. After flawlessly leading 16 of the 18 laps in Moto 2, Osborne went on to take the moto win and put a stamp on the overall victory with 2-1 finishes.
“I’ve worked really hard to come back from my injury and to be here on this podium I’m blessed and so grateful to the people that have put this together to let us go racing in a very uncertain time,” Osborne said. “I knew we had a racehorse when we came here today because it’s the bike I finished with at Indiana last year and when a team brings you a bike like that, it’s hard to not do it justice.”
Anderson came out swinging in Moto 1 as he quickly turned a third-place start into the race lead on the opening lap. He pushed hard to create a comfortable gap over the rest of the field as he went on to lead all 18 laps for a clean sweep in the first moto. In Moto 2, he once again put himself in a favorable position off the start as he battled inside the top-four early on. He charged into second by lap three and battled inside podium contention for the better part of the race. With about five laps to go, Anderson got caught up in lapped traffic and lost a few positions to ultimately finish sixth in the moto. With 1-6 moto scores, he was able to secure an overall podium with second-place on the day.
“I feel like my pace was good in the second moto but my arms pumped up and I was headed back with four to go,” Anderson said. “All-in-all, I’m out here and I’m on the podium so I can’t be too bummed. I’m excited to get out here next weekend and try to redeem myself.”
In Moto 1, Wilson started around 15th and he battled his way up to finish 12th. In Moto 2, he got off to a better start but he collided with another rider on the opening lap and he was forced to come from behind to ultimately finish ninth. With 12-9 finishes, Wilson secured a top-10 overall at the season opener.
“I’m obviously not very happy with the overall result but that was a good little wake-up call to keep pushing,” Wilson said. “The conditions were very tough and rutty today and the class
is stacked right now so I’m just going to have to keep pushing and it will all happen.”
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (2-1)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (1-6)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (7-2)
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (4-5)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (3-7)
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (8-4)
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (5-8)
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (13-3)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Suzuki (9-11)
- Dean Wilson, Scotland, Husqvarna (12-9)
450 Class Championship Standings
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 47
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 40
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 36
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 34
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 34
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 31
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM – 29
- Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 28
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Suzuki – 22
- Dean Wilson, Scotland, Husqvarna – 21
- Max Anstie, England, Suzuki – 21
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
- Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-1)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (3-2)
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (2-3)
- Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha (4-4)
- Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki (5-5)
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-7)
- Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki (9-6)
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (10-8)
- Mason Gonzales, Fort Walten Beach, Fla., Yamaha (8-12)
- Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., KTM (16-10)
250 Class Championship Standings
- Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 50
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 42
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 42
- Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha – 36
- Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki – 32
- Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 29
- Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki – 27
- Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 24
- Mason Gonzales, Fort Walten Beach, Fla., Yamaha – 22
- Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., KTM – 16
- Nick Gaines, Ringold, Ga., Yamaha – 16
- Derek Drake, San Luis Obispo, Calif., KTM – 16