Round 3 of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is underway. Check back here throughout the day for recaps and highlights from each 250 Class moto at Thunder Valley.

QUALIFYING

Through two rounds, Joey Savatgy currently finds himself outside the top five in 250MX points. But there’s reason for optimism as he tries to turn things around—not only has he won at Thunder Valley each of the last two years, he also set the fastest lap time (2:06.926) in qualifying today.

Savatgy’s teammate Austin Forkner—11th in points and in need of some momentum of his own—qualified second (2:07.269), and ascendant rookie Justin Cooper was third (2:07.727).

Meanwhile the two riders who have dominated the opening rounds of the season both fell outside the top 10. Aaron Plessinger, coming off a sweep at Glen Helen, qualified 11th (2:09.864), but more concerning is Zach Osborne down in 20th (2:12.543). Osborne, who fell in the first practice session, appeared to aggravate a thumb injury and could be seen trying to massage it after the second session.

250 Qualifying Times
1. Joey Savatgy, 2:06.926
2. Austin Forkner, 2:07.269
3. Justin Cooper, 2:07.727
4. Alex Martin, 2:08.446
5. Jordon Smith, 2:08.829
6. Chase Sexton, 2:09.109
7. Jeremy Martin, 2:09.206
8. RJ Hampshire, 2:09.334
9. Shane McElrath, 2:09.704
10. Garrett Marchbanks, 2:09.714
11. Aaron Plessinger, 2:09.864
12. Michael Mosiman, 2:10.064
13. Enzo Lopes, 2:10.691
14. Sean Cantrell, 2:10.722
15. Jordan Bailey, 2:11.548
16. Brandon Hartranft, 2:11.735
17. Martin Castelo, 2:11.844
18. Gage Schehr, 2:12.363
19. Justin Hill, 2:12.445
20. Zach Osborne, 2:12.543
Full Results

MOTO 1

Justin Cooper conquered Thunder Valley’s uphill start to capture the holeshot in Moto 1, and Joey Savatgy soon settled into second place. Jordon Smith, Zach Osborne, Alex Martin and Jeremy Martin rode third through sixth, respectively, behind them. Meanwhile last week’s winner, Aaron Plessinger, was back in eighth place after the opening lap.

Shortly before the midway point, Savatgy closed in on Cooper and finally found an opportunity to attempt a pass for the lead. But Cooper was able to shut the door and keep himself out front. Despite being under constant duress, Cooper was able to lead for a full 20 minutes before giving up the top spot. That’s when Savatgy was able to take an inside lane around one of the turns and take the lead away from the rookie.

Savatgy appeared to be well on his way to a victory. But with three laps to go, his bike shockingly stalled. That enabled Cooper to reassume the lead, and from there, the rookie was able to cruise to his first-ever moto win. In total, he led 11 of the race’s 16 laps.

Jeremy Martin finished in second place, with older brother Alex behind him in third. Smith, who had fallen all the way down to seventh at one point, made some late passes to put himself into fourth.

Behind that group were the two riders with co-possession of the red plate. Osborne, who aggravated a thumb injury earlier in the day, finished about a half second ahead of Plessinger to claim a top-five finish.

250 Moto 1 Results
1. Justin Cooper
2. Jeremy Martin
3. Alex Martin
4. Jordon Smith
5. Zach Osborne
6. Aaron Plessinger
7. Austin Forkner
8. Garrett Marchbanks
9. Shane McElrath
10. Chase Sexton
11. Sean Cantrell
12. Enzo Lopes
13. RJ Hampshire
14. Martin Castelo
15. Justin Hill
16. Michael Mosiman
17. Jordan Bailey
18. Brandon Hartranft
19. Ramyller Alves
20. Gage Schehr
…
34. Joey Savatgy
Full Results

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: COOPER AND SAVATGY HAVE AN EPIC DUEL FOR THE LEAD

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: SAVTAGY HAS BIKE ISSUES LATE

MOTO 1 RACE RECAP

MOTO 2

As the riders entered the first turn, a huge pileup ensued that collected Zach Osborne, Joey Savatgy and Justin Hill, among others. Enough riders were involved that several bikes, including Osborne’s, got tangled up. For a moment, it looked like Osborne might be unable to continue as he seemed to be in some pain walking away. But then he got the bike straightened out and hopped back on, albeit with a huge deficit in front of him. Also facing a huge deficit was Savatgy, who found himself outside the top 20 on the heels of his heartbreaking Moto 1.

Meanwhile it was Alex Martin grabbing the holeshot ahead of brother Jeremy, Moto 1 winner Justin Cooper, and Jordon Smith. About 10 minutes into the race, a Martin vs. Martin battle developed out front, with the two brothers battling for both the moto win and the overall win. Jeremy made several aggressive challenges but Alex continued to fend him off for several laps before finally ceding the lead shortly before the midway point.

Jeremy Martin proceeded to take control of the race and ended up winning the race by eight seconds. His 2-1 scores also gave him his first overall victory of the season and moved him into the points lead. It marked the third straight round that a different rider has gained at least a share of the red plate.

Alex Martin (3-2) finished second overall and improved his position in the point standings as well.

The battle for third place in Moto 2 was a good back-and-forth affair between Jordon Smith and Austin Forkner, with Forkner ultimately securing the spot. Smith then ceded fourth place to Aaron Plessinger, who lost control of the red plate after posting relatively disappointing 6-4 moto finishes. He’ll enter Round 4 trailing Jeremy Martin by eight points.

Also losing control of his share of the red plate was Osborne, who was able to salvage just a 20th-place finish (good enough for only one single point) after a disastrous start to Moto 2. He now sits 24 points out of the lead.

After winning the first moto, Justin Cooper (1-8) couldn’t replicate that same success in Moto 2 but did fare well enough to finish on the podium in third place overall.

250 Moto 2 Results
1. Jeremy Martin
2. Alex Martin
3. Austin Forkner
4. Aaron Plessinger
5. Jordon Smith
6. Chase Sexton
7. RJ Hampshire
8. Justin Cooper
9. Shane McElrath
10. Michael Mosiman
11. Garrett Marchbanks
12. Joey Savatgy
13. Justin Hill
14. Enzo Lopes
15. Martin Castelo
16. Jordan Bailey
17. Sean Cantrell
18. Challen Tennant
19. Gustavo Souza
20. Zach Osborne
Full Results

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: HUGE FIRST-TURN PILE-UP

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: THE MARTIN BROTHERS BATTLE FOR THE MOTO AND OVERALL WIN

MOTO 2 RACE RECAP

250 OVERALL RESULTS

1. Jeremy Martin (2-1)
2. Alex Martin (3-2)
3. Justin Cooper (1-8)
4. Austin Forkner (7-3)
5. Jordon Smith (4-5)
6. Aaron Plessinger (6-4)
7. Chase Sexton (10-6)
8. Shane McElrath (9-9)
9. Garrett Marchbanks (8-11)
10. RJ Hampshire (13-7)
11. Zach Osborne (5-20)
12. Michael Mosiman (16-10)
13. Enzo Lopes (12-14)
14. Justin Hill (15-13)
15. Sean Cantrell (11-17)
16. Martin Castelo (14-15)
17. Joey Savatgy (34-12)
18. Jordan Bailey (17-16)
19. Challen Tennant (21-18)
20. Brandon Hartranft (18-40)
Full Results

250 POINT STANDINGS

1. Jeremy Martin, 129
2. Aaron Plessinger, 121
3. Alex Martin, 116
4. Zach Osborne, 105
5. Justin Cooper, 98
6. Jordon Smith, 77
7. Chase Sexton, 76
8. Austin Forkner, 75
9. Garrett Marchbanks, 72
10. RJ Hampshire, 72

(Story and photos from ProMotocross.com)