Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne had his best 250MX outdoor finish of the season on Saturday at the third round of the 2015 motocross series, held at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, CO.
Team-mate Christophe Pourcel earned another top-10 finish in the 450 class, while Jason Anderson finished in the top 15.
The tough track and high altitude proved to be a challenging obstacle for some riders, but the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team took it all in stride and stayed focused on earning valuable championship points.
250MX
Zach Osborne put in an awesome ride at Thunder Valley aboard his Husqvarna FC 250. After a fourth place start in the first moto, he stayed consistent and inherited third after another rider went down with 15 minutes to go.
He put in a late charge and made the pass for second in the last lap, finishing second. In the second moto, Osborne pulled an impressive start before settling into the third-place spot where he finished. The 2-3 finish gave him second overall on the day. He is currently seventh overall in 250 rider point standings.
“Today was good,” said Osborne, “I had good speed from the beginning. I was fifth in the first practice session and third in the second. I got off to a top-five start in the first moto and put myself in the position to end up second in the moto, which is really good.
“I had a nice bit of confidence going into the second moto and I almost pulled the holeshot. I was a little slow to get going in the first couple laps, but I got myself in gear and went forward to third and held it there. I’ve had a little bit of a struggle so far this season so to get on the podium today feels really good.”
450MX
Jason Anderson and his Husqvarna FC 450 nearly pulled the holeshot in the first 450 moto before eventually finishing sixth. Team-mate Christophe Pourcel started 14th, but charged ahead and moved through the pack to finish 11th.
Both riders earned top-10 starts in the second moto, with Pourcel settling nicely into the seventh-place spot where he finished. The 11-7 finish gave him eighth overall. He is currently ninth overall in rider point standings. Anderson finished the moto in 14th, giving him 11th overall on the day. He is currently eighth overall in rider point standings.
“I was top five in speed this morning,” said Pourcel, “but the track got really rutty and sketchy. Everyone around me in the first moto was pretty much just following each other. The track was so rough. The second moto was a lot better for me. I found my groove.
“Overall it was an okay weekend. I wish I was in the top 10 in the first moto, but I’m going to regroup and focus on next weekend.”
“I got a good start and was running up front in the first moto,” said Anderson. “but I got passed on the last lap and ended up sixth. I was trying so hard in the second moto, but it wasn’t my greatest. The track was hard for me this weekend. I feel like I was only 20 per cent of my speed. I’m going to go back this week and focus on riding better at the next race.”
