By The Numbers
1,092
It has been 1,092 days since Honda HRC's Roczen's last 450SX main event win, which came on January 14, 2017 (almost three years to the day).
25
This was Roczen's 25th main event start since his crash at the 2017 Anaheim 2 Supercross.
12, 16
Roczen led the final 23 laps of the race before taking his 12th premier class main event win, tying Ezra Lusk and David Bailey for 16th all-time.
3, 1
Brandon Hartranft earned a third-place finish in the 250SX main event, his first career podium finish.
8
It's reported that over 100 friends and family of Austin Forkner in attendance of the St. Louis Supercross, where the Missouri native won his first main event of 2020 and the eighth of his career.
2, 15
In two straight weeks, a factory rider has won both LCQs as Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Derek Drake (250SX) and Honda HRC’s Justin Brayton (450SX) took the LCQ wins Saturday before getting into their respective main events. Fifteen years separate Drake (20 years old) and Brayton (35 years old). Rockstar Energy Husqvarna riders Zach Osborne and Michael Mosiman won the LCQs at the season-opener at Anaheim.
5th
Place finish for GEICO Honda’s Jett Lawrence, who ran in second place through the first 11 laps of the race. Lawrence clipped a Tuff Block and bent his brake pedal, and he had to pull into the pits for quick bike maintenance. Lawrence finished fifth to earn his first top-five finish. Check out his brake pedal.
Quotes From Around The Paddock
Eli Tomac | 4th in 450SX
"Well we didn’t finish the night where we wanted or should be, but the team and I will get back to work this week and get everything dialed before Anaheim next weekend. I know we’ll be focusing on my starts, which have really been hurting my chances at finishing on the podium, but we’ll get those dialed and make any other minor adjustments that need to be made so we can get back on top.”
Zach Osborne | 5th in 450SX
“All-in-all it was a good night and a good rebound from last weekend. It was good to get a solid finish and restart my season after being really ill last weekend.”
Adam Cianciarulo | 7th in 450SX
“Today was a really encouraging day. In the 450SX Main Event, despite my start, I felt like I was riding well and making good progress. Unfortunately, I turned a fourth into a seventh with a last lap mistake. I’ve been grinding on my starts trying to get them where they should be, but I obviously didn’t execute tonight. We’ll lock those in and be ready for A2.”
Justin Brayton | 8th in 450SX
“Definitely a wild night. I never want to go to the LCQ, but I actually enjoyed it a bit. Under those circumstances, you just try to make the best of it and it was kind of nice to get out there and win it, plus get to ride the track so close to the main event. I hope I don’t have to go to another one though! I’m super proud of the team to be able to get me back out there. Main event-wise, I was still able to get a pretty good start from the far outside gate. I ran inside the top 10 for the whole race, finishing eighth, which isn’t where I would like to be by any means but still an overall good start to the season with the adversity both weekends. Hopefully another cleaner weekend next week at A2 and I’m really hoping to be in the top five, then build up to some podium finishes.”
Blake Baggett | 9th in 450SX
“Tonight didn’t go how I wanted. My start wasn’t there in the main and I found myself buried in the pack. We still have a few changes that we need to make on the bike and we will back battling for a top-three next week at Anaheim.”
Aaron Plessinger | 10th in 450SX
“Today was a little bit better than last weekend. I kind of struggled in the Heat race. I didn’t get the greatest start, but I still qualified pretty good. A 14th gate pick in the Main was tough. Then, getting a bad start and trying to work my way back up into the top 10, it was really gnarly. The track conditions were pretty challenging. It was slick in some spots and really rutted. So, you had to be on your toes at all times or the track was going to take you down. It took a lot of people down, and I’m glad I wasn’t one of them. It was tough day, but we’re making progress. We’ll go back this week, put some more work in and work a little bit more on the starts and sprint laps so I can get a better gate pick. I want to try and get up on the podium or at least in the top five.”
Cooper Webb | 12th in 450SX
“Tonight definitely didn’t end up how I had wanted it to. I struggled all day to get comfortable and unfortunately, I was just not able to make it happen tonight. We are going to regroup, work on getting healthy and hopefully get back up on the podium next weekend in Anaheim.”
Dean Wilson | 13th in 450SX
“Tonight was a small improvement for me. I had a good start and ran in the top-10 for a few laps but I’m just not prepared to be at that point. I just have to keep working and building from here."
Justin Bogle | 15th in 450SX
“While my result doesn’t show it, tonight was a step in the right direction. It felt good to lead a few laps in my heat, I just didn’t get the start I needed tonight in the main to run in the top ten. We will keep pushing forward, make a few changes on the bike and be ready for Anaheim 2 next weekend.”
Jimmy Decotis | 20th in 450SX
"I've been working hard during the week trying to improve myself, and at round two I felt like we made some positive changes. I’m enjoying the process of being back at the races and working with my team. Ready to improve on my mistakes this weekend and continue to progress and learn as a racer when we head back to Anaheim next weekend. I’m hoping for a speedy recovery for my teammate Freddie as well."
Fredrik Noren | DNF in heat two of 450SX
"I was very excited coming into the weekend and had a good practice week. I was running comfortably in a transfer spot with a few laps left to go when I slightly overshot a triple in a rhythm section. When I landed I felt a snap in my leg. I had to pull off and have come to find out that I’ve injured my ankle. At this point, I’m unsure of the recovery but hoping for the best so that I can be back at the races soon."
Said JGRMX/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s team manager Jeremy Albrecht:
"Freddie was feeling better and more relaxed all day. He was in a good spot to make the main event and made a small mistake over-jumping and injuring his lower leg. Bummed for him as he has been working hard on his SX skills. He will be back but we're not sure of when his return will be yet."
Alex Martin | 4th in 250SX
"It was nice to be back racing in the Midwest as St. Louis is the closest race to home for me. We made small changes for the main that seemed to help as it was the best I felt and rode all day, ending up three tenths out of a podium position with fourth on the night. And we’re two points out of third in the championship. Excited to keep the momentum going heading into Anaheim next weekend!"
Said Albrecht:
"Alex was fast and just needs to get going sooner and he will be on the podium. He rode hard and kept pushing to finishing fourth in the main.”
Jett Lawrence | 5th in 250SX
“Weekend was up and down. Qualified good with fifth fastest, but the heat race was a complete disaster ride like a complete rookie! Thankfully I pulled it together somewhat in the main. I rode a good race and was ready to challenge for the win with three mins left in the main before I clipped a Tuff Block which damaged my rear brake and locked it on forcing me to come in to the pits. Kind of a bummer to have that happen, but it’s okay because I learnt a lot and am ready to battle at the front this weekend in Anaheim!”
Dylan Ferrandis | 12th in 250SX
“I felt really good all day. The track conditions were good too. Unfortunately we didn’t get results we were looking for. I don’t understand what happened on the first lap (of the Main). Someone crashed in front of me and I couldn’t escape it. After that, I just rode to try to save some points, but I’m pretty frustrated about that of course. It is how it is. We’ll go back to training next week and get ready for A2.”
Michael Mosiman | 20th in 250SX
“I actually felt pretty good, better than last weekend. There was carnage in the first rhythm section and I got bumped and then landed on and that was just kind of the beginning of the end. I’m pretty stoked to get out of St. Louis healthy and on to the next round.”
Christian Craig | 22nd in 250SX
“Despite the ending of the main event, I’m pretty pumped on my weekend. The heat race went really good. I passed into the lead quickly and was able to just ride my own race and win. Going into the main I felt the best I’ve felt in awhile. I had a middle of the pack start and was able to make my way to about fourth in the first lap. Everything was going good honestly but with a couple laps to go as I was about to pass for third, I cross rutted and hit a Tuff Block. It was a pretty hard crash, I landed right on my ribs/lungs so I couldn’t breathe at all. Luckily I’m not injured any more than just being bruised up. I’ll be ready to go [next weekend] for A2!”
Cameron Mcadoo | Crashed during qualifying and DNS night show
“Man, what a tough day. It’s always a difficult pill to swallow when you end your day early, especially when you’re riding well and feeling good in the beginning. I made a small mistake in qualifying and just couldn’t really recover after that crash. I was hurting pretty badly, so the team and I all made the decision to call it a day and get checked out in hopes to recover quicker for the long season ahead.”
Unfortunately, McAdoo later learned he had collapsed both lungs in his crash. More on that below.
Injury Updates
As you read above, several riders were banged up during the race. Noren’s wife, Amy, posted this to his Instagram Saturday:
And on Sunday, McAdoo posted details of his injury as well.
“I would like to thank everybody for reaching out yesterday, unfortunately I had a pretty simple little crash in practice, with my bike landing on me. I was able to get my oxygen levels back up to normal so I tried to ride last practice, but could tell something was not okay. I went straight back to the medics they then sent me to the hospital, and they immediately found that I had a fully collapsed right lung, and a partially collapsed left lung. I was put under right away for a chest tube, and further tests. I am currently in the hospital in St. Louis hoping to get out sometime tomorrow! I’ve been feeling better than ever on the bike, and can’t wait to heal up to get back out there! Much love ??❤️”
Yesterday, he posted a video of himself slowly walking around the hospital with the caption: “Feels so good to walk around finally.”
There is no timetable on Noren and McAdoo’s respective returns. We will provide more updates on both riders when they become available.
Craig, who did not finish the 250SX West main event, looks to be okay as he posted this:
On the Craig family’s YouTube channel, Christian is takes his shirt off to reveal his bruises from the race.
Kenny, Finally
Emotions were high for Roczen, his wife Courtney, and the rest of the Honda HRC team following the 450SX main event. Our Jason Weigandt caught up to Roczen following the post-race press conference—here’s what he had to say about the win:
Racer X: You’ve won. You’ve finally won a supercross. Are you processing this, or does it just feel like a [regular] race right now?
Ken Roczen: [Laughs] I think a lot of people thought it was over. Like, “He ain’t winning again.” Honestly last weekend it probably looked like it too. I think with a rider like me, I’m really good when I like my bike. If I don’t, it’s a struggle and then I go backwards. Obviously in 2016 once I got it, I was really good. So we’ve always been trying to find… if there’s something standing out with the bike, you can never just be okay with it. So we scrambled a lot this week, even throughout the day just doing a lot of clicker changes and whatnot, trying to find the best combo. I think I kind of surprised myself a little bit just as in I got good starts. I was riding so good. I had the speed. I felt good throughout the entire main. It was unbelievable. I enjoyed it so much. I tell my wife all the time, this isn’t even fun. I’m riding around in eighth or something like that. It’s bull crap. I’ve won too much in my life to do that. So these are the days that we work so hard for, for sure.
A little vindication? You said the bike setup wasn’t what you wanted last week. I guess you proved that you weren’t just making excuses or giving some line. You changed it, and it was better.
I honestly don’t really care if people think I’m making excuses. I even put in my post that this is not an excuse. There are always dumbasses that think otherwise. All I try to do is give as much insight as possible to the people out there. How they take it is their thing. Obviously, after racing professionally for so long, you still know how to ride a dirt bike. I’ve been doing too much work to just be going backwards like that. So most of the time when that happens, something’s going on.
How drastic were the changes you made thought? Was it that crazy?
Basically back to my 2019 spec shock. I have a different link right now than last year. Then it’s just about figuring out the clickers a little bit. I’m actually on Brayton’s forks. Been riding with those. Still difficult sometimes to find the balance of the bike, just because he rides the bike a lot different. Sometimes the week can almost not be long enough because there’s a million ways to skin a cat. Just because you have a couple long days at the track doesn’t mean you hit it on the target.
But this is different than what you had last week?
Yes. Correct. By saying I was just stiff, I was a lot stiffer than even Malcolm Stewart, and he has a lot of weight on me.
How were the final laps? How did that feel?
Gnarly. Like I said, you have four minutes to go. It doesn’t sound like much, but on a track like that it’s seven laps or something like that, or even longer. So it was a long main event in general. The tower was right behind the finish line, so every lap you get a glance at it. Time just didn’t go by. So it was tough. I’ve messed it up plenty of times in the last lap. So I was planning on not doing that. I was literally riding on egg shells. I’m like, don’t F this up. Once we did it, got to the finish, seeing my team and how excited everybody was, those are moments that are unforgettable.
Will it make easier the next time you’re in the position now? You needed to just get this thing out of the way. It was that big.
Nothing’s ever easy, but yes. The good thing was that it still felt familiar being up there. But I haven’t won in so long that still towards the end I tried to not have that cross my mind and do something and freak out and blow it. It felt good. It felt familiar. I’ve led enough laps to be comfortable with it. This was a big rock off our shoulders that is going to help us for the future.
Going Big
Riders were trying out different lines all day, but two big rhythms that stuck out were the variations in the first section and the section following the whoops. Here, Blake Baggett shows us his line choice on the outside going 3-3-3-1 versus Justin Hill’s line of 2-2-2-2-3 with the small roller on the inside:
Roczen was one of the riders going 4-3-3 in the section following the whoops and, as you’ll see below, he used it to his advantage by hitting it all night long as he passed Zach Osborne for the lead and then used it to put time on Justin Barcia and the rest of the field throughout the race. In the video below, our online content editor Kellen Brauer takes a look at Roczen's line compared to Osborne's. He also looks more into Tomac's rough start in the main event. Take a look:
Watch the GoPro footage from Roczen’s point of view here: