250 Class
1st Place: Zach Osborne. It is hard not to choose Osborne at this point. He is the defending champion in this class and won the title in the outdoor series as well last year. He won the opening round last weekend and he is the most likely to win again this weekend in Tampa.
2nd Place: Martin Davalos took a hard hit when he fell in the first corner last weekend. He was hit from behind and went down hard. He is a little banged up but sounds like he will be racing this weekend. He was the fastest rider in the 250 class pretty much all day last weekend and I’m willing to bet he will be fast again. I can’t pick anyone over Osborne yet, but if anyone can take down Osborne it is Martin Davalos.
3rd Place: Jordon Smith. He didn’t have a great ride last weekend but he should be able to bounce back and get back on the podium. He was a serious contender for this title last year and he is going to try to contend for the title this year as well. He is fast and he is motivated to win.
4th Place: Austin Forkner. Like Smith, Forkner did not have a good opening round last weekend. He ended up on the ground in the main but looked fast all day. I really wanted to put Forkner in my top 3 but I couldn’t knock any of the other guys down to make room for him. I have to put him in 4th this week but if he were to win I wouldn’t be shocked.
5th Place: RJ Hampshire LOVES riding in the sand and this track appears to have a lot of sand. Look for Hampshire to be feeling good all day and put in a good ride to finish 5th. He led some laps last weekend but ended up crashing in the main. He will be fast but with how competitive this class is I am not able to put him anywhere higher than 5th this week.
It was difficult for me to not have Jeremy Martin or Colt Nichols in my top 5 this week especially since they both finished in the top 5 last weekend. There is a lot of competition and crazy things happen (especially in the 250 class) so it is really hard to predict what will happen in this class. In the next couple of weeks we should have a better gauge of where each rider belongs as far as results goes.
450 Class
1st Place: Eli Tomac. I believe Tomac is the fastest rider in this class and for the most part, he has proved that. If he doesn’t win, he crashes. I think he gets another win this weekend and he rides well in the sand so I think he has the best odds to win this weekend.
2nd Place: Jason Anderson. It seems like he has this class covered with the exception of being beat by Tomac. As long as he doesn’t get an awful start he can probably catch up to and pass each rider in this class other than Tomac. I would like to see Anderson get the holeshot and have Tomac in 2nd off the start and see what happens. I don’t think Anderson will win unless he can start in front of Tomac.
3rd Place: Marvin Musquin was 2nd last week and will usually find his onto the podium unless something crazy happens. He is going to win again soon, but I don’t think it will be this weekend unless he can get the holeshot, then he will have a chance. I see him getting a solid 3rd place.
4th Place: Blake Baggett has been on the podium the last few weeks and has the speed to get another podium this weekend. The only problem is that there are more than 5 guys who could be top 3 this weekend. I think Tomac, Anderson, and Musquin are the best three guys in the class right now but Baggett is the next guy who is able to mix it up with them. He could definitely be on the podium again this weekend considering how he has been riding and that he is a good sand rider. I think he will most likely finish 4th this weekend.
5th Place: Cole Seely is always hovering around the 4th-6th place spot and will most likely be there again this weekend. I think he has a really good chance at finishing 5th place. Not a lot to say with this pick, he always finishes around this position and I think you can bet on him doing it again.
Cooper Webb and Weston Peick are two riders that could be fighting to get into the top 5 this weekend. The start is everything and if either of these riders can start in the top 5 they very well may finish there.
The Moto Report 