By Chase Stallo and Jason Weigandt
A 1-1 and the points lead is great, but Joey Savatgy walks away from Hangtown with more than just the red plate. He already has a 15-point gap over everyone else! We did some digging and found that’s the largest first round points lead in either class since the 1999. How was Joey able to distance himself so much in just one afternoon? Most of the other riders had good and bad days all wrapped together.
The Other Martin
Alex Martin logged a where-the-hell-did-that-come-from performance in moto two. Most expected another Martin (Jeremy) in that position. It certainly was a surprise for many (he currently leads our online poll as the most surprising performance of the weekend), considering his supercross season was a struggle, but AMart has been improving rapidly over the last two seasons. Until last year, Martin has notoriously struggled at Hangtown and Glen Helen during his career, until he got it solved in 2015. Check out his results at the two rounds since 2009. (Glen Helen was off the schedule from 2011-2013.)
| 2009 | |
| Glen Helen | 16th |
| Hangtown | 21st |
| 2010 | |
| Glen Helen | DNC |
| Hangtown | DNC |
| 2011 | |
| Hangtown | 17th |
| 2012 | |
| Hangtown | 21st |
| 2013 | |
| Hangtown | 19th |
| 2014 | |
| Glen Helen | 16th |
| Hangtown | 11th |
| 2015 | |
| Hangtown | 4th |
| Glen Helen | 5th |
Still, when Alex logged eighth in moto one, it seemed about normal. Then he went nuts in moto two and nearly caught Savatgy for the win! It was an impressive ride for second overall—but that eighth in moto one means he’s somehow still 15 points back even after finishing second at the opener.
Webb’s Wrist Holds Up
Gritty performance from Cooper Webb at the season opener despite breaking his scaphoid (that's a bone in the wrist motocrossers refer to as a navicular) in April and only riding once since Las Vegas Supercross. Webb is confident his wrist will hold up throughout the season, telling us at the pre-race press conference that he can’t do any more damage. “I’ll do the best I can, not expecting too much the first few rounds but we’ll try to get better as the year on,” he said. “The plan is to be here all summer. So just have to stay in it, and I feel like I have a good shot.”
If you told Webb he was going to podium Round 1, and even outscore the defending champ Jeremy Martin, he would have taken it. A 4-5 isn’t the usual for Cooper Webb, but under these circumstances, it must feel like a win.
Plessinger Down and Up
Like his teammate Alex Martin, Aaron Plessinger’s first moto was only so-so with a ninth. Then he got rolling in moto two to net a strong third. Aaron really excels on the rutted, rough, deep, muddy tracks, so fourth overall in completely different conditions is good.
The Champ
Alex Martin’s second was a huge surprise—and for opposite reasons, so was Jeremy Martin’s fifth! We heard that JMart was flying like usual during the pre-season, but he seemed under the weather on the weekend, and his brother even mentioned as much. We also think these track conditions didn’t play to his strengths. Either way fifth is below-par for the two-time champ and while it’s not a disaster, he somehow already sits 18 points back after one race. Hey, it’s almost like he gave the field a head start.
Nelson Still Rebounding
If you’re Jessy Nelson and TLD/Red Bull KTM you have to be happy with sixth overall at the first round. Nelson hasn’t raced since Anaheim 1—in January!!!—and led 11 laps in the second moto before dropping back to sixth. After the race, in a team statement, he said he now has a “good base” to work off. “I’ve been working really hard to be prepared for the competitive outdoor season and I think that I rode pretty well considering I wasn’t sure how I would stack up after being out so long.” He wasn’t quite ready to win yet, so he ended up logging a decent, but not spectacular, day.
Jordon Gets Jammed
Second year pro Jordon Smith made a statement in the first moto with a career-high second place finish. Smith, who’s knock has been inconsistency, was ready to solve that by also running up front in the second moto before being taken out by Alex Martin. “Had another good one going in the second moto and…I ended up getting taken out,” he said in a statement. “I just sort of struggled from there and finished sixteenth. I was running up front in both motos, had good starts and showed I had the speed, so I can just build on that.” The good news: there were signs of consistency, until he got knocked down.
Rookie One
Kawasaki tried to temper expectations for Austin Forkner’s pro debut. They relegated media sessions to before and after the event in hopes of releasing some of the pressure on him. The rookie held tough under the pressure, going 13-7 for a respectable eighth overall. “First moto I rode really tight in the first half of the race but near the end was able to calm my nerves and make a few passes to finish 13th,” he said in team PR. “[Second moto] I rode really strong for the first 20-25 minutes by pacing the leaders. After deciding to back it down, I crashed and ended the moto in seventh, but that’s definitely something I can build on. We learned a lot today and I had a blast.”
Rookie Two
Tristan Charboneau finished one spot behind his fellow rookie. His day was more stressful than you know. Tristan’s brother Cody had a big crash a few days before the event and ended up in the hospital, so his parents couldn’t even come to watch him in his first race. Somehow he blocked away all that, and the nerves, to take a solid sixth in the first moto. “Had a great first moto, went out and got a great start and followed the leaders around for awhile,” said Charboneau in a team statement. “I got sixth, and I tried to throw a few passes in there, but a rookie guy doesn’t really know how to make those passes yet! Second moto I had a terrible start and crashed, but they red flagged it and had a restart because someone was down. But I got another bad start, had to work my way up to 14th. Made a lot of progress today and I think I’ll be alright going forward.”
Mr. Consistency?
Pretty much everyone in the top ten besides Savatgy and Webb can point to one good race and one bad one—but then comes Mitch Oldenburg, who was tenth with solid 11-10 scores. Mitch’s rep used to be speed over steadiness, but he’s making great strides this year.
On The Other Hand
Zach Osborne, meanwhile, is usually rock solid but he rode like two different people in the two motos. The first moto was bad, and then made worse when he had to pull in for goggles. He finished 20th. Then came moto two. He was flying! Zach set the fast lap of the entire moto and came from outside the top ten to fourth. “The first moto was a huge disappointment,” said Osborne. “I pulled in for goggles and just generally didn’t do very well. In the second moto I got off to about a 12th place start and came up to fourth and was only three seconds from the win. I got the fastest lap of the race so that’s definitely something I can take some momentum from and build on and come back stronger next weekend.”
Hard Charger
Christian Craig proved to be a good starter in supercross. He wasn’t at Hangtown. “I went into the motos confident, but I fell in the third corner of the first moto,” he said in a team statement. “Started dead last and worked my way up to fifteenth. Second moto I started mid pack and just tried to go forward. I got to seventh and went down. Had to just ride it out and I got eighth.” Expect more from Christian soon—but first he has some roost to pick out of his teeth.
Stuck in the Middle With You
It would have been great for Adam Cianciarulo’s return to racing to feature a holeshot and laps led—like last year—and when he qualified second-quickest it seemed possible. Alas, not this time. He started mid-pack both motos and could only scratch his way forward. “In the first moto I crashed on the opening lap which set me back,” said Cianciarulo in a team statement. “From there it was all about salvaging a decent position. The second moto was better and I felt I rode well. Overall, I’m happy to have gotten through round one safely and I’m looking forward to improve throughout the year. This is just a starting point.”
Unknown Debut
Colt Nichols has been around for a while but this was actually his first-ever National. He raced AMSOIL Arenacross in 2014 and missed the outdoors last year with a torn ACL. So he’s just learning the ropes, and took respectable 14-12 finishes for 14th overall.
Undercarriage
Last year, GEICO Honda teammates Jordon Smith and RJ Hampshire showed speed but usually would have one good and one bad moto each race day. We mentioned above how Smith nearly solved that but under up getting taken out. Well, Hampshire, too, was strong in moto one with fifth and was up front early in moto two until he crashed and got stuck under his bike, twisting his arm. By the time he got rescued, his moto was over. These guys are due to sidestep the bad luck!
