Round 4 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is underway from High Point. Check back here for recaps and highlights from the 250 Class throughout the day.

QUALIFYING

With Zach Osborne lost for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, Jeremy Martin has taken over as the title favorite in the 250 Class. Two weeks after winning at Thunder Valley and gaining possession of the red plate, J-Mart set the fastest lap time at High Point with a 1:58.370 in the second session. That was enough to beat out RJ Hampshire, who had set the best time in the first session with a 1:58.463.

Several notable riders are making their return to the series today after missing the first three rounds due to injury: Dylan Ferrandis (7th), Mitchell Harrison (18th) and Cameron McAdoo (19th).

250 Qualifying Times
1. Jeremy Martin, 1:58.370
2. RJ Hampshire, 1:58.463
3. Justin Cooper, 1:58.679
4. Joey Savatgy, 1:58.751
5. Aaron Plessinger, 1:59.193
6. Garrett Marchbanks, 1:59.656
7. Dylan Ferrandis, 1:59.905
8. Austin Forkner, 2:00.077
9. Chase Sexton, 2:00.504
10. Alex Martin, 2:00.914
11. Enzo Lopes, 2:01.585
12. Shane McElrath, 2:01.748
13. Michael Mosiman, 2:01.748
14. Jordon Smith, 2:02.021
15. Brandon Hartranft, 2:02.059
16. Jordan Bailey, 2:03.790
17. Sean Cantrell, 2:04.109
18. Mitchell Harrison, 2:04.289
19. Cameron McAdoo, 2:04.518
20. Luke Renzland, 2:06.319
Full Results

MOTO 1

A pair of Yamahas raced to the front of the field, with Justin Cooper beating Aaron Plessinger for the holeshot but quickly getting passed by his teammate. Jeremy Martin soon got past Enzo Lopes to move into third behind that duo, while another title contender—Alex Martin—had a crash on the opening lap that shuffled him toward the back of the field.

While Plessinger pulled away out front, the biggest battle on the track was between Cooper and Jeremy Martin. The rookie held off the two-time champion for the first half of the moto but eventually a mistake from Cooper allowed Martin to get inside and take away second place. The pass came with a little over 10 minutes (plus two laps) left in the race, but by that point, Plessinger had amassed a 10-second lead.

Plessinger went on to lead all 18 laps and win the race, with Jeremy Martin in second and Cooper in third. Austin Forkner and Jordon Smith rounded out the top five.

After his first lap crash, Alex Martin was able to salvage a few points with a 12th-place finish.

Of the riders making their return from injury, Dylan Ferrandis (8th place) had the best result in Moto 1. Mitchell Harrison took 14th, while Cameron McAdoo did not complete a lap.

Unfortunately one rider may have picked up a new injury. Garrett Marchbanks had been working on another top-10, but a hard crash with two laps to go left him grabbing his leg in pain and unable to finish the race.

250 Moto 1 Results
1. Aaron Plessinger
2. Jeremy Martin
3. Justin Cooper
4. Austin Forkner
5. Jordon Smith
6. Joey Savatgy
7. RJ Hampshire
8. Dylan Ferrandis
9. Shane McElrath
10. Chase Sexton
11. Brandon Hartranft
12. Alex Martin
13. Michael Mosiman
14. Mitchell Harrison
15. Sean Cantrell
16. Jordan Bailey
17. Luke Renzland
18. Austin Root
19. Ramyller Alves
20. Enzo Lopes
…
27. Garrett Marchbanks (DNF)
40. Cameron McAdoo (DNF)
Full Results

MOTO 1 EXTENDED RECAP

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: PLESSINGER TAKES LEAD ON OPENING LAP

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: GARRETT MARCHBANKS CRASH

MOTO 2

Justin Cooper grabbed his second holeshot of the day, but once again, he was unable to hold the lead for a full lap. This time it was Jeremy Martin—his nemesis throughout Moto 1—that capitalized on a mistake to take the top spot away. Cooper soon dropped second place to Austin Forkner, then nearly came under pressure from Moto 1 winner Aaron Plessinger for third place.

Cooper wasn’t done battling with Forkner though. The two riders went back and forth several times until Plessinger and Alex Martin joined the battle around the midway point of the race. After some shuffling, Plessinger moved into second place, Forkner slotted into third, Cooper moved into fourth, and Alex Martin crashed and fell back to sixth.

A few minutes later, all those riders would pick up an extra position when race leader Jeremy Martin had a mechanical issue with his bike and found himself stranded on the track. As he pushed the bike into the pits, Plessinger assumed the lead while Forkner, Cooper, Dylan Ferrandis and Alex Martin took over positions No. 2-5.

Ferrandis spent the rest of the moto mounting on a charge—first passing Cooper for third, then challenging Forkner for second. The two nearly went by side-by-side across the finish line after an intense final lap, but Forkner ultimately survived to secure second place.

Neither one was able to catch Plessinger though. The Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider finished off a 1-1 sweep to grab his second overall win of the season and retake the points lead.

Because of Jeremy Martin’s DNF in Moto 2, Plessinger now holds a substantial 20-point lead over him in the championship standings. Alex Martin and Cooper are both within 35 points of Plessinger as well.

Forkner (4-2) and Cooper (3-4) secured spots on the overal podium in second and third, respectively, and Dylan Ferrandis (8-3) was fourth in his first race of the season.

Jeremy Martin wasn’t the only big name not to finish Moto 2. Joey Savatgy, Chase Sexton and Enzo Lopes all failed to score points in the moto after issues of their own.

250 Moto 2 Results
1. Aaron Plessinger
2. Austin Forkner
3. Dylan Ferrandis
4. Justin Cooper
5. Alex Martin
6. Shane McElrath
7. RJ Hampshire
8. Brandon Hartranft
9. Michael Mosiman
10. Jordon Smith
11. Luke Renzland
12. Sean Cantrell
13. Cameron McAdoo
14. Mitchell Harrison
15. Ramyller Alves
16. Challen Tennant
17. Austin Root
18. Vann Martin
19. Carson Brown
20. Kevin Moranz
…
33. Jeremy Martin (DNF)
34. Joey Savatgy (DNF)
38. Chase Sexton (DNF)
39. Enzo Lopes (DNF)
Full Results

MOTO 2 EXTENDED RECAP

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: FORKNER/COOPER/MARTIN/MARTIN FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR 2ND

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: JEREMY MARTIN GOES OUT WITH BIKE ISSUES

250 OVERALL RESULTS

1. Aaron Plessinger (1-1)
2. Austin Forkner (4-2)
3. Justin Cooper (3-4)
4. Dylan Ferrandis
5. RJ Hampshire
6. Shane McElrath
7. Jordon Smith
8. Alex Martin
9. Brandon Hartranft
10. Jeremy Martin
11. Michael Mosiman
12. Sean Cantrell
13. Joey Savatgy
14. Luke Renzland
15. Mitchell Harrison
16. Chase Sexton
17. Cameron McAdoo
18. Ramyller Alves
19. Austin Root
20. Challen Tennant
Full Results

250 POINT STANDINGS

1. Aaron Plessinger, 171
2. Jeremy Martin, 151
3. Alex Martin, 141
4. Justin Cooper, 136
5. Austin Forkner, 115
6. Zach Osborne, 105
7. Jordon Smith, 104
8. RJ Hampshire, 100
9. Shane McElrath, 91
10. Chase Sexton, 87

(Story and photo from ProMotocross.com)