Sometimes Monster Energy Supercross comes down to just one thing: fighting for it. So much of the sport revolves around training, testing, talent, practice and preparation, but on certain nights a rider is able to dig deep and make things happen in the heat of battle, and that's what makes all the difference. The San Diego Supercross wasn't easy for either of the class winners, but that just made the victories that much sweeter.
450 Main Event
Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John's RCH Suzuki's Ken Roczen has been saying he needed to get his starts back, and he did just that by grabbing the holeshot in the main event. BTOSports.com KTM's Andrew Short had yet another good start right behind him, but Honda HRC's Trey Canard was soon around Short. Canard had hounded Roczen for several laps in their heat race, and he used some of that knowledge to go to work on Kenny for the lead. It didn't take Canard long to make the move and even start pulling away--about eight laps into this one, it appeared Canard had it on lock.
Behind this,Monster Energy Kawasaki's Davi Millsaps ran third but was passed by championship points leader Ryan Dungey, on a Red Bull KTM. Dungey wasn't able to make any ground on the Canard/Roczen duo in front of him. Discount Tire Two/Two Motorsports Chad Reed and GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac were right behind Millsaps and Dungey early, but Tomac made contact with Reed and went down. He got up in about 14th place.
At the halfway mark, Roczen found his groove and started to close back in on Canard. It was a tale of two races, with Canard owning the first ten laps and Roczen doing work on the other ten, and on lap 14 Roczen found an inside line and showed Canard a wheel. Canard managed to edge back ahead, and then they ran into lapped traffic. Canard caught those riders in all the right places, and one rider, Nick Wey, ended up holding up Roczen a bit. With three laps to go, Roczen had ground to make up, and he pinned it one last time in a bid to get back to Canard. He got close, but Canard refused to give in. He hung on under tremendous pressure to seal the victory--his second in three weekends. Roczen was second, Dungey third.
"It's been a long road but I'm just so grateful to be in this position [winning races] again," said Canard, who earned his fifth career win. "I opened a gap and Kenny [Roczen] closed it right back in. He kept me on my toes the whole time."
"That was a very fun race, I just made too many mistakes," said Roczen. "It was a good battle [with Canard]. I wish I would have picked up the pace sooner, but it's good to be back on the box. It was a good night tonight and we'll keep charging."
Reed hung tough for fourth. Millsaps crashed twice and ended up 20th. At one point Yoshimura Suzuki's Blake Baggett was up to fifth, but he tagged a tough block and crashed, bending his shift lever. Incredibly, Tomac came through next, completing an amazing charge from way back. He ran out of time to get to Reed, though. Next came Canard's teammate Cole Seely, Baggett, Short, Roczen's teammate Tickle, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Jason Anderson.
250 Main Event
When Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb too on a huge practice crash, it appeared the door might be back open in the 250SX West Championship. Webb had been dominating as of late, and showing unmatchable speed. But he was clearly jacked up in his heat race, and not quite himself early in the main event.
Meanwhile, Tyler Bowers got the lead and checked out on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Webb would move up to second, but at the halfway mark this one appeared to be all Bowers. Then Webb began to rally just as Bowers started to make mistakes and falter. Webb made up a two-second defecit in about a lap, then made the pass and was gone. On a night where many weren't sure if he'd be able to race at all, he ended up taking yet another win.
"I wasn't going to race tonight," explained Webb. "My crash was gnarly and I'm just thankful to walk away from it. I knew tonight was going to be a fight. I told myself I can hurt as much as I want tomorrow, but there's no better feeling than winning."
Bowers continued to struggle, and Lucas Oil Troy Lee Designs KTM rider Shane McElrath rolled up and made the pass for second. McElrath, who had won his heat race earlier in the night, scored his first career podium with second, with Bowers third.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Zach Osborne had taken the holeshot but dropped back to sixth, struggling with his fitness after missing a lot of riding time the last few weeks. Zacho's been toughing it out with a broken thumb. Motosport/Monster Energy's Josh Hansen logged his best run of the season, getting Osborne and finishing a solid fourth, and then CycleTrader.com Rock River Yamaha's Alex Martin got him for fifth. Osborne's teammate Zach Bell came in right behind him in seventh.
Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs KTM's Jessy Nelson got a horrible start and finished eighth. Motosport/GPI Honda's Tommy Hahn was ninth, and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Chris Alldredge was tenth.
450 LCQ
It's all good, Grant came back to win the LCQ, so no troubles in the TwoTwo pit. Arna/Yamaha's Jimmy Albertson and Mafia Moto's Nick Wey took second and third, while Baggett, who had been through hell in his heat and semi, hung on for the final transfer to the main.
450 Semis
Killy Rusk won the first 450 Semi. Nicely done! He rode steady out front, and on the last lap Broc Tickle made a charge on him, but Rusk held on in a photo finish. The second semi was wild. Josh Grant and Chad Reed got out front, and Reed went to make a pass on the inside of his teammate and accidentally knocked him over a berm. Reed won the race, Grant was sent to the LCQ. Reed said "That's the last thing I wanted to do," but said he and Grant had jumped a different rhythm, and he found himself on the inside, and they accidentally touched.
450 Heats
In the first 450 heat, Andrew Short grabbed yet another holeshot, but Davi Millsaps, who looked much better today than the last few weeks, got past him. GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac was on a roll, though, and went after both. Millsaps gave him a run for a lap, but Eli was into the lead and gone.
In the second heat, Cole Seely grabbed the holeshot, and Ryan Dungey tried to knife underneath. Ken Roczen snuck around Dungey to second, and then Trey Canard pounced on Dungey as well. Canard spent most of the race pressuring Roczen for second while Seely rode away out front, but on the last two laps, Roczen stepped up, got away from Canard and caught Seely. But Seely hung tough, taking the win by a bike length over Roczen. Dungey was fourth.
Final Qualifying Practice
After his huge crash at the end of the previous qualifying session, Cooper Webb sat this one out, but does plan on lining up for his heat race. The track was much faster this time around, as it has dried out, and the track crew got rid of some of the ruts.
Tyler Bowers knew all of this and pushed much harder in this session, going to the top of the board and taking first overall. Bowers said he knew the track would be slower in the earlier session, so he just rode around to look for lines, and then attacked this time. It worked. Jessy Nelson was next. We still think some of the big jump combos will be tough for the 250 guys to do on all 15 laps. Getting the triple-onto-table and the triple-triple-triple will be the decider, in fact
