Ferrandis qualified well in fourth, and as the first gate dropped, he nearly had the holeshot. As he tried to avoid some chaos in the first few turns his teammate was able to get by, but when the riders saw the green flag at the end of the first lap, the Frenchman was back into second. As the laps ticked off, he put his sights on the leader, and by halfway, he was right up on his rear wheel. Ferrandis made the pass with seven minutes remaining in the moto and went on to enjoy his eighth moto win of the season by a 12-second margin.
The second moto was a culmination of the grit and determination that Ferrandis showcased all year long. After being collected in the first turn, the premier class champion was forced to come from outside the top 30. While the overall looked out of reach, Ferrandis was undeterred and used the entire moto to make it up to third place, awarding him the overall victory.
Teammate Craig had his starts dialed in at Hangtown. He was third on Lap 1 of the first moto and was able to maintain a good speed to finish fifth. The Californian backed up his Moto 1 start by nearly earning the holeshot in Moto 2 and made his way into the lead just a few turns in. Craig held onto the front spot for four laps before dropping to third. For most of the moto, he was in the podium position until his hard-charging teammate made his way through in the final laps. Craig crossed the line fourth to end the day fourth overall for his best result in the 450 class this season.
The final round of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Hangtown National marked the end of an incredible year for the team in the premier class. In addition to the 450MX Championship, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. earned Manufacturer of the Year honors, and the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team was named Team of the Year. The series also awarded Jeremy Coker Team Manager of the Year and the 450 Mechanic of the Year went to Ferrandis’ mechanic, Alex Campbell.
