Rancho Cucamonga, CA: The 2020 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship came down to the final round at Pala Raceway in Southern California. And for the eleventh consecutive year, Dunlop riders took both the 250 and 450 National Motocross Championships. Dunlop’s Geomax® tires rolled onto podiums all year, sweeping all top ten spots in the 450 championship, and taking the top five positions in the 250 championship. By capturing all the pro titles in 2020, Dunlop riders have now won 163 AMA Motocross and Supercross Championships.
The 450s
Zach Osborne came into the season with a new determination to win after finishing fifth last year, and he posted overall victories at the opening rounds, then grabbed four more wins to build a 24-point championship lead going into the final event. Team Dunlop Elite alum, Adam Cianciarulo (2019 250 motocross champ), stepped into the premier class this year with high expectations, but spent the season clawing his way back into title contention after an early round DNF robbed him of valuable points. He won four times and put himself back in the title hunt coming into Pala. It was a classic showdown—Cianciarulo, the 450-class rookie, versus Osborne, the veteran eyeing his first 450 title 14 years after turning pro.
Cianciarulo did everything he could to stop Osborne at Pala, setting a blistering pace while leading both motos, ultimately ending the day with 2-3 finishes, and a second in the 450 championship. Fellow Team Dunlop Elite alum Chase Sexton set fastest qualifying time, and took his first 450-class overall win, giving the field something to think about over the winter. But it was Osborne’s point lead to lose and he took no chances, posting conservative 5-6 finishes to win his first AMA 450 National Championship with 12 points to spare.
The 250s
The 250 title was even tighter. Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis headed into Pala with an 18-point lead over Jeremy Martin thanks to eight moto victories, including a late season tear of five straight wins to put himself in the points lead. But at Pala, it was 17-year-old Australian rookie sensation Jett Lawrence who went 1-2 for his first professional overall win, launching himself to fourth in points for the year. Martin won the second race by nearly 20 seconds, but Ferrandis finished the day with 2-5 moto scores to lock up the AMA 250 National Championship ahead of Martin, Shane McElrath, Lawrence, and Justin Cooper to make it a clean sweep of the top five title spots for Dunlop.
Dunlop riders have now won every AMA Pro Supercross and Motocross championship since 2010. No other tire company comes close to an eleven-year win streak. The Geomax tires favored by the top motocross pros are developed with constant input from those same professionals, and this continual evolution of the Geomax line ensures Dunlop customers get nothing short of pro-level performance.
There have been many challenges in 2020, so it’s with an extra nod that we congratulate the 2020 motocross champions, and all the riders who chose to compete on Dunlop’s premium performance motorcycle tires this year.
