JDR/J-Star/KTM riders PJ Larsen and Tye Simmonds had an off day at the ninth round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series after both suffered from poor starts and mid-race crashes that set them back in both motos.
Simmonds was up first in the 450 class. He got an average start around 20th place. He quickly moved up to around 18th where he was sitting behind fellow Aussie Josh Strang. “I moved in behind Josh and, unfortunately, tucked the front end in a corner and had a crash,” remarked Simmonds. “I got the bike back up and tried to ride back to where I had been. I struggled after the crash as I lost track of my breathing and began to ride tight which led to arm pump.” Simmonds eventually finished the first moto in 19th.
In the second moto, Simmonds again started mid-pack. He worked his way up into 15th throughout the moto and looked to have the position secured. Unfortunately, as the leaders came around, Simmonds didn’t realize that as he moved over for the leader he had allowed another rider to catch and pass him. He dropped to 16th for moto two. “I was bummed to lose the position at the end of the moto, but at the same time, glad that I rode strong through the whole moto. I plan to go home and continue to work on my overall intensity for the next rounds,” remarked Simmonds.
In the 250 class, Larsen had similar starts to Simmonds beginning both motos outside the top twenty and having to work through the pack. Larsen crashed early on the first lap of moto one and dropped outside the top thirty. He spent the entire moto climbing through the pack working toward the top twenty. Just as he began to catch the top twenty riders he suffered another crash, this time hurting his wrist. He decided to pull off and was unable to finish moto one.
“I made a last minute decision to race the second moto as I felt like my wrist would be strong enough to hang on,” remarked Larsen. He was riding inside the top twenty for the majority of the moto before suffering a big mistake near the end of the moto. A rider’s muffler had fallen off and was laying on the course when Larsen landed square on it almost causing him to crash. Luckily he avoided hitting the ground but he did lose a few positions for that. At the moto end he was able to finish 19th.
Next Event: Southwick, August 27, 2011
Overall Results 250 –
1) Dean Wilson
2) Blake Baggett
3) Eli Tomac
4) Kyle Cunningham
5) Justin Bogle
6) Marvin Musquin – KTM
7) Martin Davalos
8) Gareth Swanepoel
9) Alex Martin
10) Cole Seely
11) Tyla Rattray
12) Ryan Morais
13) Nick Paluzzi
14) Gannon Audette
15) Malcolm Stewart
23) PJ Larsen – KTM
Overall Results 450 –
1) Ryan Villopoto
2) Ryan Dungey
3) Justin Barcia
4) Chad Reed
5) Mike Alessi – KTM
6) Jake Weimer
7) Justin Brayton
8) Kyle Regal
9) Jimmy Albertson
10) Jake Canada
11) Nick Wey
12) Brett Metcalfe
13) Ricky Dietrich
14) Andrew Short – KTM
18) Tye Simmonds – KTM
