By Jason Weigandt and Chase Stallo
Never good to start the day with injury news, but that was the case in Phoenix, as Eli Tomac bowed out after suiting up and trying to ride practice—his GEICO Honda team manager Mike LaRocco said Eli basically rode to the first turn and realized it wasn’t going to happen. "If I was able to ride tonight I would have been able to hopefully earn some points and keep any championship hopes alive, but it wasn't even close," Tomac said in a team statement. "I need to let this thing heal, and I need to ride before I race again to get my fitness back. I couldn't ride at all during the week. Today was the first time I got on the bike. Now when I come back I'll be at full strength." Tomac has said that round four in Oakland would be his earliest possible reentry into the series.
About 30 minutes later, GEICO Honda’s news went from bad to worse when Zach Bell crashed in a rhythm section and broke his collarbone. Today, the team announced that Bell is officially out for the rest of the 250SX West Region following surgery to repair the collarbone.
Josh Grant had an MRI on his shoulder yesterday. We should know soon if he will be ready for A2.
Simon Cudby photo
JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant went down in the same rhythm section that claimed Bell and was expected to be out for the night—until he decided to suit up a few hours later and give it a try. But after riding around during opening ceremonies, JG realized his sore shoulder wasn’t going to let it happen. By the way, Grant didn’t complete a timed qualifying lap, but, riders ranked in the top ten in points (Grant was seventh entering Phoenix) get a provisional 21st gate pick in their heat race in they chose to race but don’t make it through timed qualifying.
We know what you’re thinking now. Grant’s hurt, what about Phil (in) Nicoletti? Grant got an MRI on Monday to determine the shoulder damage and if he can race Anaheim 2. As a precaution, the JGR team will fly Nicoletti out to California so he will be ready if needed.
Let’s get to the lap times:
450SX Class
Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
1 | 1 | 55.952 | 5 | 56.892 | Ryan Villopoto |
2 | 3 | 56.336 | 9 | 57.321 | Ryan Dungey |
3 | 6 | 56.397 | 3 | 57.792 | Ken Roczen |
4 | 4 | 56.513 | 7 | 57.422 | James Stewart |
5 |
5 | 56.581 | 2 | 57.646 | Justin Barcia |
6 | 2 | 56.755 | 16 | 57.239 | Justin Brayton |
7 |
10 | 56.910 | 13 | 58.005 | Wil Hahn |
8 | 11 | 57.061 | 3 | 59.304 | Matt Moss |
9 |
18 | 57.112 | 10 | 59.721 | Jake Weimer |
10 | 8 | 57.122 | 4 | 58.460 | Broc Tickle |
11 | 7 | 57.405 | 10 | 58.293 | Andrew Short |
12 | 12 | 57.598 | 11 | 59.223 | Ivan Tedesco |
13 | 9 | 57.677 | 8 | 58.662 | Chad Reed |
14 | 13 | 58.005 | 4 | 59.639 | Nick Wey |
15 | 17 | 58.284 | 10 | 1:00.575 | Mike Alessi |
16 | 21 | 58.497 | 4 | 59.774 | Weston Peick |
17 | 15 | 58.599 | 9 | 1:00.656 | Matt Goerke |
18 | 16 | 58.926 | 4 | 1:00.823 | Kyle Chisholm |
19 | 14 | 59.057 | 11 | 1:00.287 | Vince Friese |
20 | 19 | 1:00.561 | 6 | 1:02.579 | Kyle Partridge |
21 | 20 | 1:01.021 | 6 | 1:03.159 | Nick Schmidt |
22 | 22 | DNF | DNF | DNF | Chris Blose |
250SX Class
Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
1 | 2 | 55.711 | 5 | 56.784 | Cole Seely |
2 | 1 | 56.068 | 7 | 56.584 | Jason Anderson |
3 | 3 | 56.997 | 4 | 58.341 | Zach Osborne |
4 | 4 | 57.173 | 4 | 58.890 | Dean Wilson |
5 |
12 | 57.237 | 4 | 1:00.400 | Shane McElrath |
6 | 8 | 57.245 | 9 | 59.123 | Justin Hill |
7 |
6 | 57.260 | 3 | 59.016 | Cooper Webb |
8 | 5 | 57.997 | 6 | 59.728 | Malcolm Stewart |
9 | 9 | 58.578 | 4 | 1:00.328 | Jessy Nelson |
10 | 7 | 58.975 | 5 | 59.985 | Dean Ferris |
11 | 17 | 59.697 | 7 | 1:01.340 | Dakota Tedder |
12 | 10 | 1:00.053 | 4 | 1:01.647 | Cole Martinez |
13 | 14 | 1:00.239 | 6 | 1:00.980 | Darryn Durham |
14 | 13 | 1:00.861 | 5 | 1:02.218 | Austin Burns |
15 | 11 | 1:00.977 | 4 | 1:02.057 | Scott Champion |
16 | 20 | 1:01.342 | 3 | 1:05.226 | Killian Auberson |
17 | 16 | 1:01.472 | 5 | 1:03.477 | Colton Aeck |
18 | 15 | 1:01.658 | 6 | 1:03.157 | Chris Plouffe |
19 | 18 | 1:02.106 | 4 | 1:03.521 | Aaron Siminoe |
20 | 19 | 1:02.416 | 6 | 1:04.196 | Ruben Alanis |
21 | 21 | 1:02.789 |
3 |
1:05.841 | Conner Elliott |
22 | 22 | DNF | DNF | DNF | Jake Canada |
Ryan Villopoto served up a strong warning to the field on Saturday: Anaheim 1 was an aberration, and he can claw his way back from a bad start if he so feels. Let’s take a look and see where RV made up the most time on Justin Brayton and Ryan Dungey down the stretch:
Lap | Ryan Villopoto | Justin Brayton | Ryan Dungey |
2 | 58.119 | 57.182 | 57.890 |
3 | 56.449 | 56.898 | 56.877 |
4 | 56.949 | 56.903 | 56.784 |
5 | 55.952 | 56.892 | 56.753 |
6 | 56.531 | 57.706 | 57.773 |
7 | 57.001 | 57.143 | 58.258 |
8 | 57.773 | 57.537 | 56.838 |
9 | 56.016 | 57.115 | 56.336 |
10 | 56.263 | 56.981 | 56.718 |
11 | 56.280 | 57.184 | 56.667 |
12 | 57.017 | 57.289 | 58.444 |
13 | 56.387 | 57.000 | 56.763 |
14 | 56.981 | 58.234 | 57.466 |
15 | 56.471 | 57.560 | 57.229 |
16 | 57.011 | 56.755 | 57.071 |
17 | 57.510 | 56.827 | 57.481 |
18 | 57.309 | 57.681 | 58.096 |
19 | 57.390 | 57.205 | 57.190 |
20 | 57.556 | 57.458 | 58.476 |
Justin Barcia used a fiery attack early to reel in Justin Brayton and challenge for the lead. Barcia’s first four laps were all in the 56-sec range. But was Barcia too aggressive too soon?
“I felt good all day and put myself in a good position at the start of the main, but I just rode too aggressive in the beginning and kept making mistakes. Once I made those mistakes I got tight and wasn't riding as well,” said Barcia in a team statement. He compounded a big mistake on lap 6 (59.392 lap time) with a 57.717, 58.796 and a 57.827 before getting back to form with a 56.620 on lap 10.
It was déjà vu in 250SX as Jason Anderson reeled in Cole Seely for the second week in a row, using a dramatic last lap pass to seal his second straight win. Let’s take a look at the charts and see how the two matched up over the final seven laps.
Lap | Jason Anderson | Cole Seely |
9 | 56.985 | 56.707 |
10 | 57.088 | 57.108 |
11 | 56.438 | 56.55 |
12 | 57.106 | 56.358 |
13 | 56.699 | 56.778 |
14 | 56.166 | 56.797 |
15 | 56.209 | 59.886 |
But Seely was fast all night. Need proof? His 55.711 was the fastest lap set all night… of any class! Ryan Villopoto’s 55.952 was the second fastest lap of the night. Jason Anderson’s 56.068 was the third fastest lap, putting two 250SX riders in the top three.
Weston Peick said he plans on racing this weekend following a big crash in Phoenix.
Simon Cudby photo
Motosport/Suzuki backed Weston Peick had a huge, massive, big crash in the 450SX main, coming up way short on the first jumps after the start straight, and endoing something fierce. Considering Weston’s toughness, the track is probably hurting as much as he is. Check it out here. Peick said he does plan on racing his weekend.
When Ivan Tedesco was picked up by Rockstar Energy KTM to fill in for the injured Davi Millsaps, most thought the veteran was up to speed because he had been testing bikes for KTM through the off-season. Or was he? “I wasn’t riding as much as I was telling everyone,” admitted Tedesco to us after the Phoenix main. “I did some testing, but for about a week. That was it! It’s really only been about three weeks since I really started riding consistently.” IT is safe to admit the truth now because he’s riding well, making both 450SX mains and finishing 12th in Phoenix. After that, he wasn’t afraid to say it: “I got tired.”
Broc Tickle was noted for being one of the first to jump the difficult triple-triple-triple rhythm near the finish. But it wasn’t his idea. Broc told us he was right behind Justin Brayton in practice and as soon as Brayton jumped it, he knew he’d have to. And even earlier in the day, Tickle knew all about it. “On track walk, RC [Ricky Carmichael] told me we’d have to jump this. I was like … man it’s big!” Tickle had no issues with the obstacle in route to an eighth-place finish, backing up his eighth place from the previous week.
Kyle Chisholm decided to race Phoenix and finished 16th.
Simon Cudby photo
51FIFTY Honda's Jake Canada had a big crash early in the 250SX main after colliding mid-air with another rider. “Jake will sit out a few days of practice but is expected to make a full recovery and be ready next weekend for Anaheim 2,” explained 51FIFTY team manager, Jeremy Coker.
Who the heck is Cole Martinez? The privateer took a solid tenth in the 250SX main. We plan on ringing him up for a Privateer Profile piece later in the week.
Team Cycle Trader/Rock River Yamaha has already had quite the revolving door of riders this season. Ben LaMay was expected to be the lead 450SX rider, until he crashed a few days before Anaheim 1—he’s just now out of surgery to get some plates in his face. Ouch. In came Kyle Chisholm as a replacement for Anaheim 1, but Chizz was expected to head to Germany for the final round of the supercross series over there and skip Phoenix. So Les Smith was brought in to replace Chisholm, except Chisholm and the Rock River team decided to race Phoenix anyway. Smith stayed on as a second rider, and the team will keep him on as a second rider at least through the end of the California SX swing in San Diego in a few weeks. By the way, Les doesn’t own a 2014 Yamaha so he had to borrow one to prepare for Phoenix—he rode it all of 20 minutes before heading to the airport. Unprepared, he missed the main, but Yamaha is giving him a bike to practice on out in California, so things are looking up. As for Chisholm, the veteran put his YZ450F into the main and finished 16th.