Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News

Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • One Click Sign-In

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    OR

    Sign in with your username and password

    • Sign In
  • Features
    • 10 Things
    • 30 Greatest AMA Motocrossers
    • 3 on 3
    • 250 Words
    • 450 Words
    • Between the Motos
    • Breakdown
    • Deals of the Week
    • GNCC Report
    • Great Battles
    • How to Watch
    • Injury Report
    • Insight
    • In the Mag, On the Web
    • Lockdown Diaries
    • Longform
    • MXGP Race Reports
    • My Favorite Loretta Lynn's Moto
    • Next
    • Observations
    • On This Day in Moto
    • Open Mic
    • Privateer Profile
    • Race Day Feed
    • Racerhead
    • Racer X Awards
    • Racer X Redux
    • Rapid Reaxtion
    • RX Exhaust
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Staging Area
    • The Conversation
    • The List
    • The Moment
    • Things We Learned at the Ranch
    • Unphiltered
    • Wake-Up Call
    • Where Are They Now
    • 50 Years of Pro Motocross
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Galleries
    • The Weege Show
    • Racer X Films
    • Video
    • SX Preview Shows
    • Factory Tech Tip
    • MX Preview Shows
    • Behind The Bars
    • Racer X Rapid News
  • Races
    • Series Schedules
    • TV Schedules
    • Results
    • Champions
    • Teams
    • 2022 Numbers
  • Results
    • Points Standings
    • Race Results
    • Riders
    • The Vault
    • Loretta Lynn's Vault
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • The Mag
    • Digital Magazine Bookstand
    • Customer Care
    • Current Issue
    • Newsletter
    • Store Locator
    • Subscribe
    • Free Stickers
    • Sell Racer X
  • Table of Contents
  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News
Results Archive
GNCC
Loretta Lynn's - eMTB Only
Articles
Amateur
Loretta Lynn's
Articles
MXGP of
Sweden
Articles
MXGP Results
  1. Jeremy Seewer
  2. Tim Gajser
  3. Glenn Coldenhoff
Full Results
MX2 Results
  1. Jago Geerts
  2. Tom Vialle
  3. Simon Laengenfelder
Full Results
Upcoming
Motocross
Unadilla
Sat Aug 13
Articles
Upcoming
MXGP of
Finland
Sun Aug 14
Articles
Upcoming
Australian MX
Queensland Moto Park
Sun Aug 14
Articles
Upcoming
Australian MX
Coolum
Sat Aug 20
Articles
Upcoming
Motocross
Budds Creek
Sat Aug 20
Articles
Upcoming
MXGP of
Charente Martime
Sun Aug 21
Articles
Full Schedule
Insight: Bail Out
Jason Weigandt

Jason Weigandt

Insight Bail Out

January 30, 2020 11:00am
by: Jason Weigandt
  • Home
  • Insight
  • How Triple Crown Format Bails Out A Bad Night - Supercross

Mobius Technologies, creators/inventors of the X8, the most protective, comfortable knee brace on the market utilizing innovative patent pending technology, which incorporates the CCRS (Continuous Cable Routing System) to form an unparalleled system of support and protection. The forged, CNC machined dial makes fit adjustments on the fly and through pants easy. Fully lined with plush EVA foam, a comfortable, impact-absorbing surrounding is created.

Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Glendale, AZ Glendale Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship

The surface of the Triple Crown events looks all chaotic and gnarly. Three shorter races lead to more starts (with a full gate of top riders) and higher intensity, but also more total laps. Certainly some riders who have dealt with big injuries in the recent past, like Dean Wilson and Malcolm Stewart, were just happy to just survive the night at Glendale. 

“Trust me, I’m not gonna lie, I’ve never seen more yellow flags,” said Malcolm Stewart to our Steve Matthes. “I was sitting on the line saying ‘Lord, please, just get me through this race.’ After that second restart, I think that changed everybody’s mind set. You know what? It’s the beginning of the year, let’s just get through it.”

“I said it last year, I think it’s stupid,” said Dean Wilson to our Aaron Hansel. “It’s just so dangerous for us. Like tonight, we had five starts tonight and we had a fifth-gear start straight. I think the racing was good for me though, it was good training for me. But it’s dangerous. It’s so chaotic the first few laps and you have to do it three times, it’s gnarly. Of course from a fan’s perspective, it’s awesome. If I was a fan I’d be loving it, but as a rider, it’s dangerous.”

Yup, on the surface, three starts means more risk. Most of the riders realize the balance of racing and entertainment, so they’ll take the three Triple Crown events and accept it. Heck, Justin Brayton even mentioned watching last year’s Houston Triple Crown from home (he missed that race with an injury) and how much fun it was to view as a fan!

“I was praying before that last one to make it through safe,
“I was praying before that last one to make it through safe," Ken Roczen on the podium after the final 450SX race. " Three main events and the first overall, I’m over the moon." Align Media

Beneath that, though, there’s an interesting side benefit to the Triple Crown. With the regular supercross format, a massive crash equals a huge loss of points. In a Triple Crown, results from earlier in the night accrue into the overall, and that bails out a rider who bails off late.

Today’s example is Adam Cianciarulo, who suffered a brutal get off in the whoops in the final race. This was worst-case scenario, with Adam not only flipping over the bars, but then slamming into the face of the next whoop (landing on the face or landing of the next obstacle is usually the biggest factor in a supercross crash. Alex Martin suffered a hellacious flip in the whoops last week but landed on the downside, and was able to pop up without injury).

View this post on Instagram

Moto 3 ? AC was flying until this... #supercross @adamcianciarulo ?@cooperwebb2 with the endurocross move #braap

A post shared by Pete Fox (@foxpetefox) on Jan 25, 2020 at 9:15pm PST

For Adam, the crash ended his night. This was terrible, although luckily he somehow avoided serious injury. In a normal supercross, a big get off like this likely means a finish in the 20-22nd range, and a huge loss of points. In Adam’s case, he still ended up eight overall! In fact, his Glendale result was just one spot worse than his St. Louis finish, where he ran up front most of the way before a last lap mishap cost him four positions. The difference between eighth and 20th is 12 points. That’s huge.

Two things helped Adam here. First, the 3-6 scores he grabbed in the first two runs helped massively improve his average. Second, there was enough other attrition that Adam, despite not finishing the final race, still took a 17th-place finish, instead of 22nd. Other riders had already dropped out due to crashes, bike problems, or other issues. Yes, the Triple Crown brings risk, but it can lessen some of it, as well. Right now, Cianciarulo sits 21 points behind series leader Ken Roczen, which sounds like a lot, but he’s just one point behind defending champion Cooper Webb.

Cianciarulo, even with a big crash that ended his night early, still managed to earn 15 points on the night.
Cianciarulo, even with a big crash that ended his night early, still managed to earn 15 points on the night. Align Media

A year ago, at the Triple Crown race at Anaheim 2, Justin Barcia bailed off of his Yamaha on the face of a jump, suffering a big crash and a tailbone injury. He took 22nd in the race, but ended up tenth overall thanks to 7-3-22 scores for the full night. Barcia had won the Anaheim opener just two weeks earlier, and it appeared this tenth had saved the season for a title contender. His season would go further south, but it would not be defined by one 22nd place finish at A2, and the subsequent loss of points.

“I’m not hating on the Triple Crown,” concluded Stewart. “One thing that’s good about it is, if you have a bad race, it’s almost like a throw away. You have one good one, one down one, one good one, mostly likely you can still consider yourself in the top ten.”

  • Observations: Glendale Observations: Glendale 3:55pm
  • Staging Area: Oakland Staging Area: Oakland 3:25pm
Presented by:
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Website
Read Now
September 2022 Issue Now Available
Get Racer X on your iPhone
Check out all the exclusive content this month on any device!
Read Now
The September 2022 Digital Issue Availalbe Now

Motocross & Supercross News - Racer X

122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 | 304-284-0084 | Contact Us
©1999 - 2022 Filter Publications LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
designed at: Website DesignImpulse Studios