The fourth round of the 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season has come and gone. Both classes provided several talking points from passes, crashes, winners to losers. As such, we fired off some questions to 16-year professional racer Jason Thomas to get his take on all things Anaheim 2.
What went wrong for Vince Friese during his crash in the whoops?
Vince’s crash was a common whoops crash. They were getting more difficult as the race wore on and he just got out of shape as he tried to hold off a hard charging Hunter Lawrence. The crash itself was nothing out of the ordinary, if not heartbreaking. The impact between he and Jo Shimoda was far more dangerous. Still, it was just a racing happenstance. Shimoda was committed to blitzing the whoops and at speed. For him to throttle down or brake would have likely meant a crash. Unfortunately, Vince’s recoil from his crash left him right in the path of Shimoda’s KX250. It was a brutal impact that could have been far worse. Vince had no idea of what was coming and Shimoda really had no choice but to stay committed and hope Vince wasn’t in his path. Thankfully, Vince looks to be okay, and a worse outcome was avoided.
Michael Mosiman held off Christian Craig for as long as he could, but the Yamaha rider eventually took over and went on to win. Craig, Hunter Lawrence, and Mosiman are starting to really separate themselves. Will we see Nate Thrasher, Jo Shimoda, or someone else land on the podium and mix up the points or will we see these three on the podium constantly throughout the rest of the season?
I think Shimoda has a chance each weekend to be a factor. He really was expected to be. His season has to be considered a disappointment thus far.
As for Thrasher or Swoll and the rest, I just don’t think they have the pace to consistently battle for a podium right now. Could they in the right scenario with unusual circumstances? Of course. In a normal main event where the main protagonists are all on their game, I just don’t see it. I think the top four guys are the best guys (Craig, Mosiman, Lawrence, Shimoda) and will continue to prove it.
What happened in the Jason Anderson/Ken Roczen incident in the sand section in the 450SX main event?
Jason Anderson is not scared of contact. In fact, I think he prefers to race aggressively. He’s very good at it and I believe he utilizes that skill. Ken Roczen, on the other hand, is the least likely rider to make a questionable move. He doesn’t take cheap shots and has really come out on the losing end of those scenarios via Cooper Webb. If Anderson was looking to make a move on a rider that would likely see no retaliation, Roczen might be the top of the list.
So, as Anderson entered the sand behind Roczen, he dove at a door that was barely cracked open. Roczen’s line was clearly defined and requires full commitment. Anderson knew that and dove into the intersection point anyway. The chances of contact with the line that Anderson took are almost 100 percent. Roczen is slingshotting around that outside line with a handful of throttle and oblivious to Anderson’s quiet 450 coasting through the inside. That cracked door was blown off the hinges. Anderson knew what he was doing and never hesitated. Right or wrong, it was not an accident.
Coincidentally, that contact was made in almost the exact same spot as the Christian Craig/Dylan Ferrandis incident a few years ago. It wasn’t exactly the same circumstances but interesting that it was in the same spot.
It looked like Kenny got sand in his goggles and he was onlyable to salvage 13th. What did you see after the crash?
I would agree with his goggles likely absorbing sand after being buried head-first in it. He stopped to try to regroup later that lap and then seemed like he was struggling to regain his form for the rest of the race. It’s always hard to diagnose exactly what’s happening in those moments as it could be any combination of sand in his eyes, a bent-up motorcycle, a subtle injury, or just struggling mentally from the incident.
Eli Tomac was jumping up onto the elevated turn and it appearedto save him some time. This was also where Jason Anderson messed up and handed Tomac the lead. Can you explain this turn, yourthoughts on it, and how it impacted the racing compared to anormal turn?
I don’t think it was a make-or-break section. If executed perfectly, it was a tad quicker but there was also a significant risk of a mistake as we saw with Anderson. There were two basic options: 2-3-1 or 3-3. The 3-3 was much tougher and as mentioned, required absolute precision on the landing of the second three. Landing on that short, flat spot of track required hard braking and being three feet short or long would result in a loss of time. The 2-3-1 was much easier and more of a “race line” than the 3-3. I think Tomac would have won with either choice.
Also, the elevated turn dropped down and into the whoop section. No one was consistent in the whoops today. What made this set ofwhoops so difficult? That drop down, the way the dirt was packedin, what was the problem here?
The corner was okay but the whoops were really tough. I walked the track at around 3 p.m. and they were deteriorating quickly. They were tall, sharp, and there were many of them. Why that matters is fairly straight forward. The height of them from peak to trough becomes more and more important as they become less consistent. As riders start to make mistakes and let their front wheel drop lower into the next whoop, the distance to the bottom can be the difference between a minor mistake and a cartwheel over the bars. Keeping the motorcycle on a level plane is the goal. Allowing that front wheel to drop into a deep crevice in between whoops is asking for a trip to the Alpinestars Medical Unit.
The angle of the whoop is also critically important. The “sharp” factor changes how much the rear tire drives the motorcycle forward. A sharp peak will give much less acceleration possibility than a rounded, smooth whoop face. As they get sharper and sharper throughout the night, that rear tire is challenged more and more to maintain forward drive. Less drive equals a higher likelihood of the front end dropping and as seen above, bad things happening.
The last factor is that there were many whoops. The importance there is that when and if things start to spiral out of control, how far away is the safety of flat ground. In a short set of whoops, riders are almost out of the section before trouble can really escalate. In a long set, there is simply more opportunity for the situation to unwind. Short sets of whoops are much easier to attack because of the likelihood of making it to the other side. A longer set requires much more diligence in technique and detail.
What did you think of this week’s track? It seemed busyand had lots of bowl berms and appeared to make for greatracing.
It was really busy! There was actually supposed to be another whoop section as well, but they changed the layout at some point. The tracks have been very challenging this season for the most part. Even San Diego’s basic layout featured a brutal whoops section to up the ante. As Davey Coombs said at the FLY Racing Radio show on Saturday afternoon “these tracks feel more mid-season than we normally see in January.” There was no “warm up” period in 2022, the difficulty level has been near the top from the get-go.
Dylan Ferrandis goes, unofficially, from about 14th to fourth.What makes him able to make so many passes?
His speed is what’s allowing it, but I also believe his starts have forced him to cultivate his passing ability. Riders that consistently get poor starts will involuntarily develop passing skills if they ultimately find success. It’s not the most effective way to get the job done and he is hurting his results with the lack of starting consistency, but he’s definitely minimizing the damage with the deft passing skills.
Carson Brown, Robbie Wageman, and Derek Kelley had big nights.Which rider (of these three or someone else not mentioned) didyou see them ride and see their results and say, “Wow,what a night!”
I think Friese deserves credit for how well he was riding. I have had more than my share of incidents with him over the years and I don’t consider myself a fan, but fair is fair. He was legitimately in the mix for a podium and holding his own with the best in the 250SX West.
Which rider made you shake your head as you believed they underperformed?
I thought Cooper Webb had an off night. He just didn’t have pace in the main event, and then fell over all on his own. He will be better as we move east, and the series matures.
Which riders will benefit most from the upcoming return of theTriple Crown format we will see next week?
I think Friese has a big opportunity here. He will capitalize on his elite starting ability and block like an all-pro left tackle.
In the 450SX Class, I think Shane McElrath and Mookie are the ones to watch. Shane’s starts have been as good as anyone in the class and he’s staying at the front a little bit longer each week. I don’t think he can win anything but a top five could happen.
Mookie will need a start to really have a chance, but I think his odds of grabbing a win over the course of 10 minutes is simply higher than 21 minutes. He had a great opportunity on Saturday night as he was second behind Jason Anderson and looking spicy. He just didn’t have the next gear it would have taken to not only handle Anderson but also hold off a dominant Eli Tomac. On the right track in a shorter race, maybe he can.