Kawasaki closed out the 2009
Motocross season strong, with riders Christophe Pourcel and Tommy Hahn scoring the overall victories in the respective 250 and 450 classes. But the real winner at Steel City was Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, who was able to stay close enough to Pourcel in the 250 motos to retain his points lead and claim the 2009 250 MX crown.
250
Suzuki's Ryan Dungey took care of business on Saturday, closing out the 2009 Motocross season as the 250 champ.
Pourcel may have come up short on Saturday for the championship, but it was no fault of his own, as the French rider completed a dominating 1-1 overall victory.
In Moto 1
Honda’s Justin Barcia grabbed the early lead, turning Lap 1 of the 14-lap moto in up front. Following the CRF250R rider was KTM’s Ryan Sipes and the title contenders – Pourcel in third and Dungey in fourth. By the end of Lap 3 Pourcel worked his way into the lead, which the Frenchman refused to yield – taking the Moto 1 checkers.
With a 17-point advantage coming into the Steel City round, Dungey could bleed some points as long as he kept his opponent within reasonable site. The
Suzuki rider maneuvered into second and did exactly that, motoring to a second-place finish. Barcia held onto the final rostrum position in Moto 1, with Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer taking fourth and fellow KX250F rider Austin Stroupe rounding out the top 5.
Moto 2 saw Pourcel storm to the front and never look back for a flag-to-flag victory. KTM’s Tommy Searle, Honda’s Blake Wharton and KTM’s Ryan Sipes ran strong in the opening laps, as Dungey worked into the front 5. By mid-race Dungey was running second, however, the position in which he would finish. Wharton scored third, with Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett in fourth and Sipes taking fifth aboard the KTM.
Dungey's 2-2 result sewed up the title, with the eventual margin 11 points on Pourcel.
Steel City 250 MX Results:
1 Christophe Pourcel (
Kawasaki) 1-1
2 Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 2-2
3 Blake Wharton (Honda) 8-3
4 Ryan Sipes (
KTM) 6-5
5 Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 4-8
6 Justin Barcia (Honda) 3-13
7 Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki) 5-10
8 Brett Metcalfe (Honda) 9-7
9 Tommy Searle (KTM) 13-6
10 Blake Baggett (Kawasaki) 17-4
11 Broc Tickle (
Yamaha) 11-9
12 Steven Clarke (Suzuki) 10-14
13 Matthew Lemoine (Yamaha) 16-11
14 Taylor Futrell (Honda) 12-15
15 Ryan Morais (Kawasaki) 7-22
Final 250 Motocross Points:
1 Ryan Dungey 503
2 Christophe Pourcel 492
3 Brett Metcalfe 378
4 Jake Weimer 353
5 Justin Barcia 340
6 Tommy Searle 332
7 Broc Tickle 285
8 Blake Wharton 273
450
Kawasaki's Tommy Hahn claimed the overall victory in the 450 Motocross finale at Steel City.
The 2009 Motocross season has been a strange one in many ways and more so now in the final rounds. Matt Goerke surprised everyone with the overall in Southwick and this week it was Tommy Hahn. Kawasaki's Hahn scored the overall via a 1-4 byline. Second overall was Honda’s Ivan Tedesco with a 4-3. KTM’s Justin Brayton snaked the final podium position on the overall with an 11-1 moto result.
Hahn scored his first moto win of the season in Moto 1 at Steel City. Having scored three second-place results behind ’09 champ Chad Reed, the KX450F rider ran a strong race, tussling up front with factory Honda riders Ivan Tedesco and Andrew Short. On Lap 7, however, Hahn grabbed the lead and rumbled on to the finish.
As for Reed, the Suzuki-mounted Aussie was running the number-1 plate at Steel City and motored up to second in the final laps of Moto 1. Speedy Reedy's teammate, Michael Byrne, secured the final podium spot. Meanwhile, teammates Tedesco and Short shored up the top 5.
In Moto 2 KTM’s Justin Brayton led the first lap and never relinquished the spot, riding to his only moto victory of 2009. Trailing Brayton by 12 seconds at the finish was Australian Jake Moss for Kawasaki. Again, Tedesco and Short scored top-five finishes, with Tedesco earning the rostrum and Short in fifth. The fourth-place finish was tallied by Hahn, ensuring the overall by five points more than Tedesco. As for Reed, the champ ran into problems, ending the second moto with a 34th-place result.
Steel City 450 MX Results:
1 Thomas Hahn (Kawasaki) 1-4
2 Ivan Tedesco (Honda) 4-3
3 Justin Brayton (KTM) 11-1
4 Jake Moss (Kawasaki) 10-2
5 Andrew Short (Honda) 5-5
6 Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 3-9
7 David Millsaps (Honda) 6-10
8 Timothy Ferry (Kawasaki) 12-7
9 Matthew Goerke (Suzuki) 7-12
10 Chad Reed (Suzuki) 2-34
11 James Albertson (Yamaha) 15-6
12 Robert Kiniry (Kawasaki) 9-13
13 Nicholas Wey (Yamaha) 13-11
14 Antonio Balbi (Honda) 31-8
15 Christian Craig (Yamaha) 8-21
Final 450 Motocross Points:
1 Chad Reed 481
2 Andrew Short 388
3 Ivan Tedesco 376
4 Michael Byrne 348
5 Thomas Hahn 302
6 Josh Grant 280
7 Justin Brayton 249
8 Nicholas Wey 200
9 Cody Cooper 191
10 James Albertson 185
