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Safe at home: Millville's Jeremy Martin dominates the day at Spring Creek motocross pro nationals

jason feldman, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·6 min read

Jul. 18—Broken fingers, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured wrist.

All of those things were secondary for Jeremy Martin on Saturday to a win in Moto 1, a win in Moto 2 and an overall win at the motocross track that means the most to him.

The Millvillle native gave the hometown crowd exactly what it wanted on Saturday, riding through often-intense pain to sweep both 250 class motos and win the overall for the day in the AMA Pro Motocross national championship series races at Spring Creek MX Park.

—Martin brothers are back on track with return home to Spring Creek MX Park

—Air horns, cow bells and holeshots: Sights and sounds from a Spring Creek newcomer

"This feels really good," Martin told the crowd of close to 20,000 fans, after his victory. "I've been through the ringer this year with injuries. I've learned that sometimes the cards you're dealt aren't always ideal, but you have to push through it."

Martin, who has been riding through injuries for the past six weeks, made the most of the AMA series' annual stop at the track on which he grew up, the facility owned by his parents, John and Greta Martin.

He put on a show in the first 250 class moto, passing Justin Cooper for the lead late in the race while flying down the downhill on Mt. Martin, the massive hillclimb on the west side of the track. Martin zipped to Cooper's outside, edged past him as they approached the bottom of the hill, then took the lead for good as they took the turn coming out of the downhill.

No such dramatics were necessary in Moto 2, as Martin won the holeshot and led the race from start to finish. He led Cooper by nearly six seconds at the halfway point of the moto and cruised to his first overall win of the season.

Martin, a former two-time 250 class national champion (2014, 2015) is likely out of the running for the championship this season after missing two motos last month due to his injuries. But days like Saturday are the reasons why he opted to continue to race his No. 6 Star Racing Yamaha bike for the rest of this season, as opposed to having immediate surgery on his injured shoulder.

"I'd suffer (pain) like this any day to see a crowd out here like this," said Martin, who leaped from eighth to fourth in the season points standings, 68 points behind leader Cooper with six rounds remaining in the season. "To have (the crowd) cheering me on, it was a really big motivator."

As perfect as Saturday was for Jeremy Martin, it was equally difficult for his older brother, Alex. The elder Martin has been out of action since suffering a broken arm in early June at Thunder Valley MX in Lakewood, Colo. He rode two 35-minute motos on his own two weeks at Spring Creek, but he struggled on Saturday.

Alex dropped out of the first moto in the first lap and gutted it out in Moto 2 to finish in 20th place. He finished 25th overall.

Michael Mosiman finished second overall in the 250 class (finishing 3-2 in the two motos), followed by Cooper (2-3) in third, and Jett Lawrence (4-6) in fourth.

Cooper's podium finish allowed him to take over the points lead in the 250 class from Lawrence, a 17-year-old Australian who has missed the podium in four of the past five motos, after earning podium finishes in six of the first seven.

"It's what it's all about," Cooper said of taking over the points lead. "We're at the halfway point and we're going after this championship. That's the mindset.

"I was just mediocre today. I left a lot on the table. I'll take the blame, I have to be better, but we'll take it. We have the red (leader's) plate and we'll keep grinding."

Barcia Wins 450 Overall

Dylan Ferrandis has been all but impossible to beat in the 450 class this season, so when Justin Barcia saw his opportunity to do so, he knew he had to do everything in his power to make it happen.

Barcia didn't disappoint, holding off a hard-charging Ferrandis and veteran Eli Tomac to win the first 450 moto and ultimately Saturday's overall in the class.

Barcia's overall victory is his first since the 2018 season and it's the first overall win over for his GASGAS team, which was purchased by bike manufacturer KTM and is fielding a motocross team for the first time this summer.

"This means a lot to all of us," Barcia said. "We all worked so hard to get this one. We had pressure from wire to wire (in Moto 1), a couple of scary moments. It was a crazy race but I never let up the whole time. I couldn't let up.

"I just gave it my all, even with (Ferrandis and Tomac) behind me."

Veteran Ken Roczen, who sat second in the 450 points standings coming into Saturday's races, salvaged what could have been a disastrous day by winning Moto 2.

Roczen was part of a four-bike crash entering Turn 1 in Moto 1. He remained down and was taken off the track on a cart and brought to the mobile medical unit near the starting gate. Roczen was ultimately cleared to race in Moto 2, saying he "just has some road rash around his ribs."

"I got banged up pretty good," Roczen said. "I'll have to see if my ribs are broken. I'll be pretty sore tomorrow, I'm sure.

"There was no question in my mind, though, that I was going to come back out for Moto 2 and give my best. I didn't have the best gate pick (to start Moto 2), but we made it work. I'm pretty banged up, but just glad I could finish. I did all I could with what it was."

Tomac finished second overall, followed by Ferrandis, the 450 class points leader, in third. Ferrandis had to dig out of an early hole in Moto 2. He was in 24th place early in the race and battled his way up through the field to place fifth in the moto.

"I have some frustration, disappointment, just in the mistakes I made," Ferrandis said about his third-place overall. "(The second moto) was another good moto. I had to dig deep to come back and save some points.

"But I have some disappointment to be sure. We'll go to work this week and hope to be back on the top step next week."

------SATURDAY'S RESULTS

450 CLASS

Top 10

(Rider, Bike, Moto 1-Moto 2)

1. Justin Barcia, GasGas, 1-2; 2. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 3-4; 3. Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha, 2-5; 4. Chase Sexton, Honda, 7-3; 5. Christian Craig, Yamaha, 4-6; 6. Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha, 5-9; 7. Marvin Musquin, KTM, 8-8; 8. Ken Roczen, Honda, 40-1; 9. Joey Savatgy, KTM, 11-7; 10. Dean Wilson, Husqvarna, 10-10.

250 CLASS

Top 10

(Rider, Bike, Moto 1-Moto 2)

1. Jeremy Martin, Yamaha, 1-1; 2. Michael Mosiman, GasGas, 3-2; 3. Justin Cooper, Yamaha, 2-3; 4. Jett Lawrence, Honda, 4-6; 5. Hunter Lawrence, Honda, 5-5; 6. Colt Nichols, Yamaha, 7-7; 7. Jo Shimoda, Kawasaki, 8-9; 8. Austin Forkner, Kawasaki, 17-4; 9. Carson Mumford, Honda, 14-8; 10. Jalek Swoll, Husqvarna, 12-10.