2010 AMA Motocross Budds Creek Preview

This weekend Motocross throttles into Budds Creek, Maryland for Round 4 of the 12-round AMA series. One of the favorite venues of riders and fans alike, the Maryland track will play host to Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey and the rest of the 450 class as the number five bike attempts to further his lead in the championship series. Meanwhile in the 250 class Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel will be trying to fend off his teammate, Tyla Rattray, who beat the Frenchman last round at High point. With quite a few names putting up impressive rides so far in the ’10 season, racing at Budds Creek should be quite intense and unpredictable.
 
Dungey has managed impressive back-to-back double moto wins at Freestone and High Point, and we have seen his lead in the championship soar to 25 points. With a target on his back Dungey will face stiff competition from the field as he tries to gain some more distance ahead of the pack.
 
Geico Honda’s Brett Metcalfe has also put together a string of solid performances, taking a 6-3 score at High Point that catapulted the Aussie into second-place in the championship. On a similar note Andrew Short put together a great ride at High Point Raceway to finish second overall behind Dungey and is a rider to be on the lookout for at Budds Creek.
 
Meanwhile, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chad Reed suffered a seriously disappointing weekend at High Point where goggle troubles in the first moto and brake troubles in the second pushed the Australian back to fourth with 95 points. After finishing the season opener at Hangtown on a high note by taking the first-place overall finish, Reed’s performance since then has dropped significantly. It wouldn’t be surprising though to see Reed going all out at Budds Creek to put himself back in the series.
 
Behind a bit but still hanging on is Jagermeister/KTM rider Mike Alessi who finished fifth overall at High Point. So far the young rider has managed four top-five finishes which included a moto win at the season opener. Despite having the smaller 350 bike, Alessi has been squeezing every last cc out of it and is currently third in the series.
 
In the 250 class Pourcel currently leads the series with 129 points ahead of teammates Rattray and Dean Wilson. Last week the number 28 bike of Rattray took the overall win over Pourcel, though the Frenchman took the last moto victory. With these two teammates beginning to turn up the heat there should be some great racing in store at Budds Creek.
 
Although he was able to take the win in Moto 1, GEICO Powersports Honda rider Justin Barcia was unable to duplicate it in the second where he struggled and finished in 21st. Nevertheless, Barcia’s first moto ride demonstrates the speed that he’s capable of, so don’t discount him just yet.
 
Eli Tomac may only be three races into his professional career but the GEICO Powersports Honda rider has been doing well in his rookie campaign where he is currently fifth. At High Point he suffered poor starts and took 16th overall. In an effort to increase his energy for Budds Creek and better his starts, Tomac has actually decreased his training regimen.