This thing is just about over, people. The Monster Energy Supercross Championship has just one race left after this past weekend’s round in New Jersey/East Rutherford/New York City. Amazing how time flies, right?. This weekend’s race saw Ryan Dungey finally clinch his third 450SX title, which was something we’d seen coming since Atlanta, which was Round 8. He had an almost two race points lead after that night (do I hear a chase anyone?). No one, not even J Law, was betting on Dungey making enough mistakes to lose this thing.
More on that later but first up, the track. It was tight and the start was short and SO important. I know we say the start is important all the time but this weekend it meant everything. You couldn’t make up a lot of time out there and if you weren’t good at left hand turns then you were really in trouble as the track featured only one right hand turn. Most guys have the left-handers on lock as you have easy access to the rear brake, but hey, you never know. The over/under bridge was epic (can we bring back the late-90s jump off though? I know it’s dangerous as crap but it was cool!) as usual. This weekend’s track was like last week’s in Foxbourgh but was a tamer version as it didn’t get as hammered. Still, the soft Northeast dirt doesn’t hold up well to 50-plus horsepower dirt bikes.
Like we said, Dungey clinched but in a bit of unusual fashion—he finished fourth. FOURTH!!! Wonder if KTM might think about letting him go now? He made the podium in thirty-one straight races (ALMOST TWO YEARS, PEOPLE) but that streak is now over. Man, he sucks, right? Panic button, maybe?
It’s time to start talking where Dungey fits all-time in the sport. This 450SX title was his third, he’s got 1 250MX title and three 450MX titles for seven total. He’s second all time in 450MX wins as well. I’d still put him below Carmichael, McGrath, Stewart (more titles than Stew but….well, you guys can debate this below) and Villopoto, but ahead of Reed and somewhere around Rick Johnson. And no, 250SX titles do not count as legacy titles, they never have. It’s a regional series with half the competition that you should be facing.
This season has been remarkably similar to 2015 for Dungey. If he wins Vegas he’ll finish with one more point than last year. He scored a fourth at A1 last season and now he has one fourth place finish this year. Other than that, all podes, bro. He won eight times last year and nine this year (ten if he wins Vegas and yes I’m giving him the Detroit win because that flag penalty was ridiculous) and he just never, ever, ever makes mistakes. He’s an all-timer no matter what and he’s shown it the last couple of seasons.
Some of you will bring up Ryan Villopoto’s retirement and say Dungey only won because RV is gone. Yeah, beat it with that. Kenny Roczen, Eli Tomac and others are going balls-out to win and Dungey handled them this year. I think Dungey’s bike is also awesome; the KTM guys have done a great job with it. Would “this” Dungey beat “that” RV? I don’t know, we can’t say because RV checked out. It’s an impossible question to answer with authority. I have RV ahead of Dungey on the Mt. Rushmore of moto (Tim Ferry is just off to the side but still fits in the photos in case you’re wondering) but this Ryan isn’t done like the other Ryan is.
Kenny Roczen rode amazing to win again. It’s his second win in a row and the fifth on the season. His margin of victory (over 19 seconds) was the largest gap all year. He grabbed the holeshot and just checked out. Like, he was GONE. Fantastic riding for Roczen who repeats in all his interviews about how his recent bike changes have helped, he’s feeling great, his fitness is great and he’s having fun. Kenny loves to drop the “having fun” phrase into his interviews win or lose. Because I think he really is now and he wasn’t there for a few years.
Eli Tomac is “fixed” everyone! Or at least it seems that way. After his fast qualifying in St. Louis and his race from a ways back to second in Foxbourgh, this week was big for Tomac. He hasn’t been able to find any momentum this year and yeah he rode great in Foxbourgh but if this was the Tomac from earlier in the year, he would have crashed or gotten a bad start this week and finished seventh. That’s the way it’s been going—something good followed by something bad. But oh no! Not THIS Eli Tomac!
He came from around ninth off the start to finish second again. He had nothing for Roczen because the #94 was gone but it was stunning to see the 2016 Tomac catch, pass and leave Ryan Dungey, Justin Brayton and Cole Seely behind. He didn’t wait, he just zapped all three dudes and took off. So this weekend was big for Tomac and he passed the test. I’m confident that he’s fixed and all it took was some serious work by Eli and his team. Or maybe ET just found his geranium…
If there’s a baby Jesus, he’ll allow us that Roczen and Tomac are “good” now because we know Dungey is and we see some sort of battle royale in the 450MX class this summer. But hey, Eli and Ken, you cannot get bad starts and just finish sixth. No pressure!
Malcolm Stewart admitted that the pressure of leading the points and being so close to a title has been getting to him and I like that refreshing answer. I’ve talked to some people on the GEICO Honda team and they’ve repeated the same thing. Simply put, Mookie hasn’t been Mookie lately and he had to go back to being Mookie if he wanted to hold onto this slim points lead.
And he did just that this weekend by coming from around fifth or sixth into the first turn (after cleverly chopping off his title rival Aaron Plessinger) and grabbing the lead quickly. After that he rode flawlessly to grab his second win of the series and combined with Plessinger’s poor race, stretch out a 14-point lead with one race left. There was a nasty set of whoops and a dragon’s back and Stewart was just KILLING everyone on those. He was so fast every single lap and I’m sure somewhere out there big bro James was smiling.
Riding with some (some) reckless abandon paid off for Stewart and it’s good to see him just say “Eff it” and ride like he knows he can. Huge win for him and the team. It just might pay off with a number one plate this Saturday night.
Let’s take a look at the results shall we?
250SX Results
1 50 Malcolm Stewart Haines City, FL Honda CRF 250- Been a crazy 250SX East Region so it’s weird to see Stewart with a semi-big points lead with one race left.
2 49 Martin Davalos CLERMONT, FL Husqvarna FC250- I thought the track suited Marty pretty well as it was pretty technical. You had to be pretty precise at times and need throttle control—things that Davalos is pretty good at. He was great but Mookie was greater. I sure as hell hope Davalos fired the lawyer that was “helping” him with his immigration issues because that guy just might have cost him a title.
3 6 Jeremy Martin Millville, MN Yamaha YZ250F- J Mart still has a very slim chance at this title but I’m sure the last two weeks he’s thought about how close he was to making some passes that didn’t happen and knows he left points on the board. Still, he told us on the PulpMX Show that if he can win this weekend in Las Vegas (where he’s won before) then he’ll have the most wins in the series and that will be somewhat of a small victory.
4 30 Shane McElrath Canton, NC KTM 250SX-F- Quiet night for McElrath out there and nothing wrong with having that and just missing out on the podium. I find that myself and others maybe discount Shane a bit when you look at his finishes since healing up; he’s been very solid.
5 23 Aaron Plessinger Hamilton, OH Yamaha YZ250F- Plessinger won his heat with a great ride and had second pick on the gate. He went second from the inside. Anyone who has read my column for a while and listened to me bag on Villopoto for this knows I don’t like this choice. Those far inside gates are boom or bust and with Plessinger being a bit heavier, he’s not always a great starter. What happened? He didn’t get the jump, Mookie pinched him off and he was done from there.
6 53 Tyler Bowers Corona, CA Kawasaki KX 250F- I thought Bowers would be upset over his ride, after all he lost the heat race win (and 5K bonus) in the last turn and in the main he faded back from a podium spot to this position. But, he was happy afterwards and said that he didn’t get arm pump, he didn’t spaz out and he was “in the battle” so that was ok for him.
7 61 Gannon Audette Tallahassee, FL Kawasaki KX 250F- Oh no! Audette rode like the “old Audette” this week as in where he logs a solid finish but you don’t really notice him y’know?
8 64 Dakota Alix Jay, VT KTM 250 SX-F- Alix pulled yet another holeshot in the main and rode well to get this top ten finish. And no, he still doesn’t have any graphics on his bike.
9 46 Luke Renzland Hewitt, NJ Yamaha YZ250F- Renzland’s starts have sucked lately and he’s been forced to come from the back. He told me after the race that he’s working with Gary Bailey to try and fix these issues.
10 201 Cedric Soubeyras Venasque, France Kawasaki KX 250F- “Soupy” was solid again this weekend as a total privateer. I’ve seen this dude race in Europe probably 700 times and he’s got skills. He also wants to race the outdoors here so if any teams are reading this and need a guy, hook it up, bro.
11 32 Matthew Bisceglia Weatherford, TX Suzuki RM-Z250- ALL HAIL THE SUZUKI RM-Z250 GUY!!!!
12 31 Rj Hampshire Brooksville, FL Honda CRF 250- Hampshire’s entire 250SX East Region can be summed up with either “he crashed” or “he got a bad start”.
13 48 Anthony Rodriguez Cairo, GA Kawasaki KX 250F- A Rod’s streak of top ten finishes ends at three. Let’s pour some chain lube out on the street to honor this.
14 128 Alexander Frye Huntingtown, MD KTM 250SX-F
15 159 Darryn Durham Menifee, CA Yamaha YZ250F- Durham told me after the race that he hasn’t ridden supercross since Atlanta and has been having fun and hitting ramps during the week. Well then, maybe some others out there need to switch up their training schedule ASAP.
16 84 Jimmy Albertson Shawnee, OK Suzuki RM-Z250- Top Jimmy’s caught in this vortex where he has to be out there for his teams sake but he’s not 100 percent and probably doesn’t practice much if at all. Then he goes to the race and struggles, maybe crashes and it’s back to square one. Tough place to be in.
17 62 Justin Starling Deland, FL Kawasaki KX 250F
18 373 Jacob Williamson Swartz Creek, MI Kawasaki KX 250F- I was impressed with this rookie when he had to go to the LCQ but just got the start and rode off calmly with the win. Sometimes you see borderline main event dudes just get flustered in these short, pressure-packed races.
19 83 Daniel Herrlein Bethesda, OH Honda CRF 250
20 175 Paul Coates Zephyrhills, FL Honda CRF 250
21 90 John Short Pilot Point, TX Yamaha YZ250F
22 740 Lane Staley Chillicothe, OH KTM 250 SX-F- “Ain't found a way to kill me yet…Eyes burn with stinging sweat…Seems every path leads me to nowhere…Wife and kids household pet…Army green was no safe bet…The bullets scream to me from somewhere
Here they come to snuff the rooster…Yeah here come the rooster, yeah …You know he ain't gonna die…No, no, no, ya know he ain't gonna die”
450SX Results
1 94 Ken Roczen Clermont, FL Suzuki RM-Z450- Looking at Roczen’s lap times just gives you an idea of how effing great he was this weekend. His best lap was half a second better than anyone else and he had consistently fast times even near the end while in traffic. Great ride!
2 3 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO Kawasaki KX 450F- I’ve written this before and I’m not sure what’s going on with me this year but I think that I…I…LIKE Tomac’s A-Star’s gear this year! Been awhile. I’m so confused.
3 14 Cole Seely Sherman Oaks, CA Honda CRF 450- VERY nice ride for Cole Slaw by holding off Dungey and getting back on the box. We had Seely on the PulpMX Show on Monday and although he’s probably not going to win a race this year like he did last year, he says that it’s been a good year for him. I agree, there haven’t been as many injuries as last year and Seely’s been pretty good. Getting on the box in his second race after missing three with injury is impressive.
4 1 Ryan Dungey Clermont, FL KTM 450 SX-F- Why did Dungey ride so un-Dungey-like the last couple of races? I don’t subscribe to the track theory that JT has been pumping out. Ryan Dungey can ride any track fast as crap. I just think he was probably thinking about the title and not wanting to push on tracks that could bite you. He wasn’t very good in the whoops this week either and that didn’t help.
5 10 Justin Brayton Mint Hill, NC KTM 450 SX-F- Brayton ran third for a long time and was dicing with Dungey in the main which makes for some awkward thoughts. Justin said he didn’t want to race too hard with Ryan and accidently swap out and take Dungey down with all the head KTM head cheeses there to see Dungey grab the title. Brayton’s had a good season and I know he’s looking for a deal next year. He’s not an outdoor warrior but I’d sign him up on my team in a second.
6 21 Jason Anderson Rio Rancho, NM Husqvarna FC450
7 25 Marvin Musquin Corona, CA KTM 450 SX-F- Marv was the fastest qualifier of the day. Yes, you read that right. In his third race back from injury, he showed that he’s feeling ok. From there he got a terrible start and had to work up. Afterwards Marv said he was ok with this finish because he felt like he rode well. I agree.
8 41 Trey Canard Edmond, OK Honda CRF 450- Trey’s top five streak came to an end about the only way you figured it would and that would be because of a bad start. Well, maybe not “bad” but “mediocre” I guess. Hey man, we all saw his practice crash so I think we can all be thankful that he was fine.
9 22 Chad Reed Dade City, FL Yamaha YZ450F- Didn’t talk to Chad after the race but with him dropping back a couple spots at the end I have to wonder if his clutch issue popped up again. It’s something that’s been haunting him.
10 19 Justin Bogle Cushing, OK Honda CRF 450- It’s funny because you would look at this finish, see that Justin was seventh at one point and maybe pooh-pooh it but he was riding very well. A couple of small mistakes is all it took as him and the riders around him were bunched up and looked to be hauling ass. The pace was high in dirty Jersey.
11 28 Weston Peick Menifee, CA Yamaha YZ450F- It was great to see Coy Gibbs at the race. He’s been looking over the JGR NASCAR team and hasn’t been at the dirt bike races for a while. Weege and I made a point to go over there to talk to him and not much has changed, he called us both “dummies”, asked where our journalism degrees were and said that the JGR NASCAR team’s recent success was all due to his motivational talks.
12 4 Blake Baggett Grand Terrace, CA Suzuki RM-Z450- Just one more Blake and then onto the outdoors where you really shine!
13 20 Broc Tickle Holly, MI Suzuki RM-Z450- Tickle was jumping this tricky 3-3 rhythm early on and looked great in practice. The best we’ve seen him since his comeback from injury. I spoke with him in the truck and he indicated that it was going to be a good night as he was feeling it. And he got a good start and looked fast early, but not sure what happened after that.
14 800 Mike Alessi Hilliard, FL Honda CRF 450
15 51 Justin Barcia Greenville, FL Yamaha YZ450F- Barcia qualified 18th, started in 16th and finished 15th. He followed Alessi for 14 laps and couldn’t do a thing with the 800. Let me know if you know what’s going on with him.
16 33 Joshua Grant Wildomar, CA Kawasaki KX 450F
17 12 Jacob Weimer Wildomar, CA Suzuki RM-Z450- I went into the RCH truck after practice to talk to Tick and Jake about their days. I was giving Weimer shit about not tripling in after the wall and he said he was struggling a bit with it, but the team made a flywheel change and he would jump it in the night show, which he did. After Vegas Jake’s going to get a plate taken out of his arm and take some time off, although he said that if there’s an injury with the RCH guys, and if he’s ready, he would fill in for motocross if asked. Lots of “ifs” in there, I know.
18 55 Vince Friese Cape Girardeau, MO Honda CRF 450
19 167 Benny Bloss Oak Grove, MO KTM 450 SX-F- Bloss looked good as he made his first 450SX main event ever. He rode well, crushed the whoops as usual and he was telling me in the morning that he’d like to stay in the 450 class. Unfortunately for Benny, there are way more rides in the 250 class so that’s probably where he goes. Benny also got a welcome to the 450’s in his semi when he was rammed by Vince Friese in the last turn for the last spot. It’s like a secret initiation.
20 27 Nicholas Wey Murrieta, CA Kawasaki KX 450F- Wey blew Cade Clason up in the last turn of the last lap of the LCQ for the last spot into the main. It was ugly, but hey, in this situation almost, ALMOST, anything goes. I’d park my mom into the fifth row to get in the main. On a dirty scale I’d give Wey’s an 8.5 and Friese on Bloss a 7.
21 79 Nicholas Schmidt Lake Elsinore, CA Suzuki RM-Z450
22 86 Aj Catanzaro Savannah, GA Kawasaki KX 450F- The Cat had a front row seat in practice for Canard pulling a superman on the triple. He’s lucky to not have landed on the 41.
Some other news and notes:
- Who wants James Stewart, Chad Reed, Justin Brayton, Weston Peick, Dean Wilson, Broc Tickle, Jake Weimer, Justin Bogle, Blake Baggett, Wil Hahn, Malcolm Stewart (if he wraps up the 250SX title), Cole Seely or Trey Canard? These are just some of the high profile riders whose contracts are up at the end of 2016. Yes, you read that list right. There are a ton of contract talks going on right now and we’ll see some major riders switching teams next year. Exciting!
- Rumor is that Star Yamaha’s signed MX2 rider Dylan Ferrandis for next year and if that’s true, great job by them. Ferrandis has been hurt a lot but he’s got some serious skills and I think it’s a good move by the bLU cRU. Remember, Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin are moving on up to the 450s so the Star team has some holes to fill.
Thanks for reading, bros. Appreciate it. You can email me at matthes@racerxonline.com and we can chat about this race, Vegas, Star Wars or anything else.
