By The Numbers

2

Consecutive years 450SX has seen three different winners in three rounds. Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson, and Eli Tomac in 2018; Justin Barcia, Blake Baggett, and Cooper Webb in 2019. 

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Consecutive years the 250SX West Region has seen three different winners in three rounds. Shane McElrath, Aaron Plessinger, and Joey Savatgy in 2018; Colt Nichols, Adam Cianciarulo, Shane McElrath in 2019.

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Career starts in 450SX for Cooper Webb before winning his first career overall at Anaheim 2.

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Consecutive fourth places finishes in 250SX for GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire to begin the year.

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Place finish at Anaheim 2 for GEICO Honda’s Cameron McAddo, a career-high for the third-year pro. 

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450 riders who have been on the podium at all three rounds after Ken Roczen finished fourth at Anaheim 2.

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250 riders who have been on the podium at all three rounds. Colt Nichols and Shane McElrath has scored three consecutive podiums to begin the year. 

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Different 450SX riders who have made a main event through three rounds.

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Different 250SX riders who have made a main event through three rounds.

Quotes from Around the Paddock

Ken Roczen | 2-5-4 for fourth overall in 450SX

“Overall, it was a good night of racing. We showed a lot of speed and are happy with this Triple Crown race. We got off to a great start in the first race, getting the holeshot and leading the whole race until I made a mistake in the one of the last rhythm sections, which unfortunately cost me the win. We still came in second, which was great. I didn’t get the best start in the second race but weaseled my way through and felt like I was going really fast. I found myself in third and was catching the guys up front but I made a mistake and went down in the whoops and had about five guys go by me. I didn’t let that distract me, rode strong and worked my way back up to fifth. We were just trying to get through the third race, where I finished fourth and unfortunately, just missed the podium. It was a bummer not to be on the overall podium, but we still have the points lead and red plate so that’s awesome.”

Cole Seely | 5-7-13 for sixth overall in 450SX

“Once again, there are a lot of positives to take away from tonight. My starts were much better in two out of the three races, and I was able to run more toward the front of the pack. Being up there and feeling the pace of the front group was huge. The Triple Crown format is definitely a challenge because the turnaround time is really short and you’re basically doing three sprint races, so you have to be on it. I’m getting back into the flow and am excited to go racing each weekend, so [sixth] is another step in the right direction.”

Aaron Plessinger | 12-9-6 for seventh overall in 450SX

“Anaheim 2 was a pretty good race for me. I kind of was struggling with bike setup all day and then after the last practice we made a shock change, and it was great. I got a few bad starts in the first two main events, which hurt my results, but I felt good all night. I rode what I thought was the best that I have ridden. I went 12, 9, 6, for seventh overall. So, I think I did pretty good for it only being my third 450 race. I’m really amped for Oakland next weekend. I’m going to go back and work on my starts, practice them all week and get it down pat so hopefully we can get up front and get a podium.” 

Joey Savatgy | 8-13-8 for eighth overall in 450SX

"It has been a shaky past two weeks for me, so to bounce back from last weekend and land inside the top 10 tonight is something we'll take. We set out to be consistent today and we did that for the most part, so overall I am happy with where we are. We will clean up a few things this week and come out swinging in Oakland."

RJ Hampshire | 5-4-5 for fourth overall in 250SX

“Felt good all day. My speed was better this weekend, just my starts were terrible! It’s hard to be bummed about another fourth because of how bad my start was but I was so close to a podium. That’s the goal every weekend and we’ve been just off. I’m really happy with how I feel on my bike right now and excited to see the progression each week!” 

Adam Cianciarulo | 4-14-2 for fifth overall in 250SX

“It was a rollercoaster night to go from being out front to falling to finishing on the podium. I really want to put the mistakes behind me and I think with three races, I was able to show that I could still be up front even on an off night. We are still in the hunt and will be working hard to make sure we get back on top.”

Cameron McAdoo | 9-5-6 for sixth overall in 250SX

“Anaheim 2 was a big step forward for us! The track was really technical which made for good racing, and I felt comfortable. I think it’s coming together now. I ended up 9-5-6 for sixth overall, but I’m a little bummed I let fifth slip away with two turns to go in the final main. The whole night was good, but I should have kept racing forward there on the last few laps. Still, I was happy with my riding and felt like I belonged up front all night! Can’t wait to get to Oakland.”

Reed’s Bike

JGR/Yoshimura’s Chad Reed DNS’d the second main event on Saturday night due to a bike issue. Reed did not address the issue on the broadcast, but after the race team manager Jeremy Albrecht confirmed to Steve Matthes it was a clutch cover that caused the issue. “The magnesium was jacked up. I think it was stripped or something,” he said. “They tried to fix it really quick. They thought they fixed it then they got down there [to the starting line] and saw it was leaking oil.”

A new rule for the Triple Crown races in 2019 does allow teams to have two bikes. According to the rules, motorcycles may be replaced in between races, but after the start of the sighting lap of a specific race, riders may NOT replace motorcycles. Due to logistics—JGR is based in North Carolina—they did not have two bikes for Anaheim 2. “We talked about it, but we are in North Carolina,” Albrecht said. “There wasn’t really any bike close. We did talk about it before we left, but we didn’t have everything ready to build two bikes at that point.” 

The team fixed the issue before the third race and Reed has his best finish of the night with a fifth. He finished 13th overall on the night.

“It was a good night of racing. I felt race ready, even though my qualifying times were not where I would have liked them to be,” Reed said in a team statement. “I was a little too kind about making my way forward in the first main. Unfortunately, we had a technical issue in the second race. In race three I felt like I needed to pull one of my customary Suzuki starts out of the old bag. From there I really felt like I rode my best all weekend. Moving forward I want to focus on believing in myself more and getting great starts more often.”  

Get Well Soon, Blake

Blake Savage, Ken Roczen’s brother in law and training partner, was seriously injured in a crash last Monday, according to a post on his Instagram. Blake, who raced professionally in the U.S. and Canada for a number of years, said he sustained a fractured C 5, 6 and 7 in his neck and lost feeling from the chest down.

Blake wrote that his test came out as an incomplete spinal cord injury, which gives him hope that he can return to normal activity someday.  

“Surgery went well and I’ve had some up and down days since then but each day making progress,” he wrote over the weekend. “Today I’ve had the most upper body and grip strength so far and can feel finger touch pretty much everywhere but cannot fully move under my own power. It’s going to be a long road ahead to get things back to normal, but I’ve been getting good news and have some great supportive people that have my back. Thank you everyone who has reached out to me and that have came to see me, it means so much to me! Im going to fight hard through this, just like anything else I do.”

Racer X sends our thoughts and condolences to the Savage family during this difficult time.

Lap Times

450SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 1 

450SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 2

450SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 3

250SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 1

250SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 2

250SX CLASS — MAIN EVENT 3

Video of the Weekend

Let’s drool over some factory 250 bikes and enjoy that sweet, sweet mustache.

Gif of the Weekend