In qualifying, the team came out swinging with all four riders at the top of the timesheets. Although this time around, Ferrandis was second to his young teammate Masterpool. After a crash Friday in the first moto, the back-to-back 250SX West Champion did not feel 100 percent, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t putting in a full effort.
Ferrandis found himself 13th at the start in the first moto and had to work his way forward. He passed his teammate Cooper for seventh on lap four and then pursued his title rival, Jeremy Martin. In the heat of the battle, the pair came together a couple of laps later. Ferrandis quickly rejoined and moved up to fifth in the final moments of the moto. At the start of Moto 2, he found himself in 13th again, but as the laps wore on, the Frenchman started to gain momentum and worked his way into third. On the final lap, Ferrandis made the move to score an important runner-up finish for second overall and regained three points in the title chase.
By comparison, McElrath’s motos were at opposite ends of the spectrum. The North Carolinian got off to a great start, fighting a close battle for the holeshot with Masterpool and coming in second. He lost a position to the competition at the halfway mark but regained the second spot after an error from the race leader, his teammate Masterpool. With two laps to go, McElrath moved into the lead after a mistake from the front runner and was cool under pressure to take his first moto win of the season. Unfortunately, he could not pull off a repeat in Moto 2 and was back in 17th after the first lap. McElrath kept pushing and crossed the line 10th to score third overall.
With all of the drama going in both motos, Cooper was steady. He got off to a decent start in sixth both times, and ultimately finished seventh in the first moto and improved to fifth in the second moto for seventh overall.
Masterpool came out swinging in his second race back from injury, setting the fastest time in qualifying and taking both holeshots. The 18-year-old maintained his lead in the first moto until a tip over in the mechanic’s area had him rejoining in fourth, where he ultimately finished. In the second moto, Masterpool was up front again but made an error lining up for Larocco’s leap and was overtaken for the lead. He maintained second until a tip over had him once again in fourth. Unfortunately, Masterpool had another crash a few laps later and finished the race 13th for eighth overall.
The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team gets a weekend off before heading to Millville, Minnesota, for Round 6 of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Spring Creek National, on Saturday, September 19.
