Free Practice

Not surprisingly, there wasn’t anything epic that went down during untimed practice and for the most part riders used the time to familiarize themselves with the track and experiment with different ideas. A few slightly different rhythm combos were attempted, there were a few minor crashes, and huge ruts have already started developing. The sand section, which is immediately following a wall jump, looks like pure torture for riders who happen to be right behind someone. The wall forces riders to slow way down, and as soon as they hit the sand they grab a handful, absolutely blasting anyone behind them. As far as times, Justin Cooper was quick right away in the 250SX Class, setting a time of 1:04.305, but Mitchell Oldenburg closed the session fastest with a 1:04.135. In 450SX  Adam Cianciarulo, Cooper Webb, Dean Wilson, and Jason Anderson were all competitive but it was Anderson who ended up fastest with a 1:01.583. Expect these times to change as the day unfolds and the track evolves.

We’ve got a few updates on riders. Chad Reed, who hurt his ribs last week in Glendale, has decided to sit this weekend out. How do we know? He told us as he was watching this session from the press box. Deven Raper, who originally planned on sitting Oakland out, went out for free practice, while Kyle Chisholm, who wasn’t sure if he was going to race or not today, didn’t make it out for free practice. We're hearing that could be a mechanical issue so stay tuned for qualifying.

Qualifying – Session One

If you’re a Dylan Ferrandis fan this session would have left you smiling. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider was fast immediately and was using lines most other riders weren’t. There are a couple turning tabletops on this track, and while most 250SX riders are jumping over them, Ferrandis was jumping onto them, which set him up for different lines exiting the section. He was also one of the few 250SX riders jumping into the sand section. His line choice and exceptional skill amounted to some crazy fast lap times too, and as the session wore on Ferrandis just kept getting faster. First it was a 1:01.945, then a 1:00.950, then a 1:00.644. It looked like he was putting in a heater on his final lap too, but he made a mistake as he was approaching some traffic, which ruined his time. It didn’t matter though, as he was still much faster than everyone else. Justin Cooper threw down on the last lap to displace Austin Forkner for second with a 1:01.525, but he was still substantially off Ferrandis’ pace.

When the gate dropped on the first 450SX qualifier Cooper Webb roared to the front, and with a clean track ahead of him, set the fastest time early on. From that point on the lead time started changing faster than the beat of a hummingbird's wings, with Malcolm Stewart, Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, Justin Hill, Blake Baggett, and Adam Cianciarulo all taking turns leading the pack. Interestingly enough, when Cianciarulo first set the fastest time he crashed right before the finish line, but since the sensor is at the base of the jump, which he crossed, it recorded his time.

Most riders were jumping into the sand section in this one, and there were more riders experimenting with jumping on top of the turning tabletop instead of over it. It seemed to work for guys like Stewart and Hill, but when Eli Tomac did it he was only ninth fastest. When the checkers flew it was Baggett who’d bested the field with a time of 1:00.275, set on his final lap.

“Yeah normally qualifying isn’t my best thing but I will take it for sure,” Baggett remarked. “The dirt is unreal. It’s slick in spots and soft in others. We did a lot of testing at the KTM track this week, so big thanks to them for letting us come out there.” Baggett also commented on the jump line into the sand that has begun to develop. “The sand is always tough, because the harder you jump into it the more the bike wants to turn and not go straight. So it’s kind of a positive and negative if you jump into there. Have to find that happy medium through there. My bike is great in the whoops, so hopefully we can bring that into the main event.”

As the session wound down there seemed to be more and more experimentation with rhythm combos and it’s going to be interesting to see what the guys settle on in the final qualifier after getting a chance to look at section times and image overlay footage.

Qualifying – Session Two

Austin Forkner, who hasn’t been very explosive in qualifying this year, climbed to the top of the board early in this one, but it wasn’t long before he was displaced by Michael Mosiman and Jacob Hayes, who were then disposed of by Dylan Ferrandis. The Frenchamn picked up right where he left in the first session by posting a 1:00.313 in the second. Nobody would beat that time either, although Ferrandis himself tried on the final lap but missed by about half a tenth of a second. Whatever Austin Forkner did between sessions, it seemed to work. The Monster Energy /Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider closed the gap quite a bit on Ferrandis, and while he was still about three tenths off, it’s much better than being whole second behind like he was in the first session.

Speaking of riders making adjustments between qualifiers, quite a few more of them started tripling onto the turning tabletop instead of jumping over it. Justin Cooper, Alex Martin, Forkner, Luke Clout, and Mitchell Oldenburg all started using that option after Ferrandis was the only rider to do it in the first 250SX session.

In 450SX action it was no surprise to see fast-lap-specialist Adam Cianciarulo post a speedy time early but Ken Roczen quickly beat that time by nearly a second. A few laps later Cianciarulo became the first rider to dip under the one-minute mark, and Cooper Webb quickly did the same. Then Eli Tomac, who’d been hovering around eighth fastest, found some speed somewhere and uncorked a 59.508! It looked like that time would stand, but Cianciarulo decided he needed to keep his streak of fastest qualifier alive and threw down the fastest lap of the afternoon.

Afterward Cianciarulo commented on dealing with the tight confines of the track here in Oakland. “Super tight track, I think they've been throwing lots of different things at us, last week was super fast. These baseball stadiums are usually tighter. When the track’s a little tighter it seems to mess up my flow. I’ve recognized that and have tried to work on it during the off-season.” Whatever he worked on, it worked here in Oakland, as Cianciarulo qualified fastest for the fifth round in a row, despite being a little banged up from his crash last week in Glendale. "[The tailbone injury] actually is okay when I'm on the bike, everything else I do actually hurts more. Signing autographs last night at the dealer signing, I had to stand up!"

The jumps are getting pretty rutted, and they’re going to get crazy over the course of a main event. It’s entirely possible the guys will have trouble hitting the fastest rhythm combos consistently as a result. And speaking of rhythm combos, there have been several in the lane with a turning tabletop in the middle. Some riders are double-doubling, then using the tabletop to double into the rest of the section. Other guys are doubling in, then tripling onto the table, doubling off, then going three-two out. That was the combo Ferrandis started in the 250SX Class. And finally, one option we saw Baggett and Stewart playing with at the end of the second session, was tripling in, doubling to the top of the table, doubling off, and going three-two out. We’ll see how that plays out later when the jump faces look like someone ran a gigantic comb over them.

250SX Heat One

The first race of the night got underway with hometown hero Michael Mosiman taking the holeshot and shooting out to the early lead. Behind him were Austin Forkner, Jacob Hayes, Brandon Hartranft, and Alex Martin. As the race unfolded Mosiman was getting away from the pack, but Forkner was reeling him in. Hartranft went by Hayes, and next thing Hayes knew he had Martin all over him.

Up front Forkner pulled up alongside Mosiman in the whoops, took him wide in the next corner, and sealed up the pass. Mosiman came back in the next turn though and nearly took the spot back, bumping Forkner, and as the two rocketed down the straightaway Forkner was forced to play defense, riding a wide bike and getting on the brakes so hard to block Mosiman he found himself in a nose wheelie. The two blasted across the whoops side by side, but Forkner had the line and squeezed off the inside, nearly putting Mosiman in the dirt. Mosiman checked up, giving Forkner all the room he needed to squirt away with the win. Hartranft was third, with Hayes, Martin, Martin Castelo, Aaron Tanti, Michael Leib, and Taiki Koga transferred to the main. Logan Karnow nearly punted Koga in the final turn for the last transfer spot but went down instead.

250SX Heat Two

It was too close to call who got the holeshot, but Penrite Honda teammates Luke Clout and Mitchell Oldenburg got out front to start this one. Cameron Mcadoo held down fourth but had Dylan Ferrandis all over him like mud on a tear-off. McAdoo couldn’t shake him, and about a lap into it Ferrandis made the move into third. At this point the top five of Oldenburg, Clout, Ferrandis, McAdoo, and Justin Cooper had completely separated themselves from the field. Ferrandis nearly took himself out when he got squirrelly in the turn before the finish line jump but he saved it and got back on the gas in fifth place.

Up front, the battle was raging, with multiple bikes in the air at the same time over just about every jump. Oldenburg still led, but McAdoo was slowly inching up on him. Behind them Cooper and Clout were going at it like two grizzly bears fighting over a chunk of salmon, and when the two came into a 180-degree bowl turn Clout put an aggressive move on Cooper that left him in the dirt. It took Cooper a while to get going again and when he did he wasn’t in a qualifying spot. He finished the race in tenth, just short. Cameron Mcadoo went on to win, with Ferrandis, Oldenburg, Clout, Robbie Wageman, Derek Drake, Carson Brown, Mitchell Falk, and Jay Wilson nabbing transfer spots.

450SX Heat One

Ken Roczen knifed his way to a holeshot in the first 450SX heat, but Eli Tomac immediately dove do the inside in the next corner and blocked his way into the lead. Not to be outdone, Roczen retaliated almost immediately and took the spot back. Baggett, meanwhile, lurked in third watching it all happen as the three started distancing themselves from the pack. They started to separate from each other slightly too, but as the race wound down they tightened up again and Baggett put a move on Tomac that stuck and caused Tomat to lose just a bit of time. One lap later, Tomac came back on Baggett and took second place back and went after Roczen. As Tomac prepared for one final push in the last two sections, Baggett came back up on the inside, causing Tomac to play defense. Roczen took the win with Tomac, Baggett, Malcolm Stewart, Zach Osborne, Vince Friese, Tyler Bowers, Kyle Chisholm, and Kyle Cunningham taking transfer spots. Dean Wilson had troubles early on and was dead last and was only able to work up to tenth.

450SX Heat Two

Justin Hill nabbed the holeshot in this one with Martin Davalos and Ryan Breece in tow, but it wasn’t long before Aaron Plessinger and Cooper Webb took over the second and third positions. Breece and Davalos continued to give up spots after that too, with Justin Brayton and Justin Barcia both coming through. Hill was killing it up front though and held roughly a five-second lead over Webb.

In back were Jason Anderson and Adam Cianciarulo, who both went down on the first lap. Cianciarulo didn’t lose as much time and found himself right back in a qualifying spot. Anderson had to work for it though, and wasn’t in the safe zone until nearly the end of the race. Barcia, who was absolutely flying, wasn’t so lucky. He was running third, but with just two turns left his motor let go, belching huge plumes of smoke and an obviously frustrated Barcia was forced to pull off. Hill hung on for the win over Webb, with Brayton, Plessinger, Davalos, Cianciarulo, Anderson, Breece, and Josh Cartwright taking transfer spots.

250SX LCQ

Justin Cooper did exactly what he needed to do in this one by taking the holeshot and ducking away, free and clean of any potential carnage. Killian Auberson stuck with him for a little bit but Cooper’s pace was superior and it wasn’t long before he was all by himself. Back in the fray fighting to qualify were Lorenzo Camporese, Wyatt Lyonsmith, and Logan Karnow. Camporese in third was pretty safe, but Karnow was all over Lyonsmith and made the pass with about a minute left on the clock. From that point forward the final four spots were set, and while Karnow was catching Camporese, there was no need to push it, as they were both in qualifying position.

450SX LCQ

Joan Cros shot out to the early lead in this one but Justin Barcia soon muscled his way by and checked out for the win. Dean Wilson didn’t start very well, but after one lap he’d already moved into a qualifying spot. Cade Autenrieth ran second, Wilson held third, but there was a battle shaping up for the final transfer spot between Jason Clermont, Joan Cros, Adam Enticknap, and Alex Ray, who’d gotten an absolutely horrible start. With roughly two laps remaining the herd had thinned slightly, and Ray had taken control of fifth and was starting to take the measure of Clermont. Ray was obviously fighting as hard as he could and as he and Clermont went through the whoops he pulled alongside of him, only to see Clermont pull back out. Ray waited a turn, then made a move and slipped by on the straightaway, just barely getting into the next turn safely ahead of Clermont. With just a few turns remaining Ray defended his spot and was able to squeak his way into the main event. Barcia, Wilson, Autenrieth, and Ray all transferred to the main.

250SX Main Event

Justin Cooper looked like he was going to start out up front but he got shuffled back and Alex Martin ended up leading with Austin Forkner and Dylan Ferrandis behind him. About a lap into it Forkner went by Martin and a few turns later Ferrandis followed suit. At this point the race was on for the lead between Forkner and Ferrandis and the two set a blazing pace in what seemed like it would be a tone setter for the remainder of the series.

Back in the pack Michael Mosiman went down and a stack of bikes piled up with him. Mosiman must have damaged either himself of the bike because he didn't rejoin the race. Cooper, meanwhile, was doing his best to put in a charge and with nine minutes on the clock he went by Luke Clout into fourth and set off after a distant Martin.

Up front the battle for the lead was really starting to heat up. Forkner was just out of striking distance but Ferrandis absolutely refused to let him get away, matching his pace lap after lap. After a while the two started getting into lapped traffic and Ferrandis put a move on Forkner in a right-hander right after the whoops, bumping him ever so slightly, and took the lead as Forkner went off the track briefly. Forkner didn’t lose much time, but Ferrandis took full advantage to put as much time between himself and Forkner as possible and with two minutes left Ferrandis had a comfortable two-second gap on Forkner.

Back in third Cooper had closed on Martin quite a bit but still wasn’t close enough to pounce. That changed when Cooper slashed his way through the whoops on the next-to-last lap and went around Martin on the outside of the ensuing corner and immediately gapped him. When the checkers flew it was Ferrandis taking the win, and the points lead, with Forkner, Cooper, Martin, and Clout rounding out the top five. The crowd showed their displeasure with Ferrandis after, whether it was over his move on Forkner (which wasn't dirty) or residual anger from his incident with Christian Craig, and rained down boos during his post-race podium interview.

450SX Main Event

The final race of the night started with a holeshot from Ken Roczen, but Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates Eli Tomac and Adam Cianciarulo were right behind him. Next in line were Cooper Webb, Zach Osborne, Justin Hill, and Jason Anderson. Webb was looking spicy and it didn’t take him long to start throwing moves on Tomac, coming in hot on the inside of a bowl turn and trying to knife by. Tomac reacted though and took the spot right back and pulled a slight gap over Webb. At this point the lead trio of Roczen, Cianciarulo, and Tomac started distancing themselves from the field, and for the time being they weren’t close enough to each other for any positions to change. It stayed that way for a while too, but with twelve minutes on the clock Tomac had crept up close enough to Cianciarulo to put a block pass on him and take over second.

Roczen had about two seconds on Tomac at this point but Tomac’s pace had increased and it quickly became apparent that Tomac was slowly reeling in Roczen. As the two entered the whoops Tomac sliced to the inside to line up a pass, pulled the trigger, and sent it, coming cleanly up the inside of Roczen in the ensuing turn and making it stick. When Tomac started inching away it looked like it was over, but Roczen found some speed somewhere and started pulling Tomac back in after a few laps. But then Tomac made a mistake all by himself at the end of the sand section and went over the berm! He didn’t lose much time, but he did lose the lead and the crowd gasped. That set up yet another duel between the two and as Tomac started once again creeping up on Roczen the crowd sensed a move would be coming soon. The air was electric, and when Tomac lined up Roczen in the whoops yet again, the crowd exploded with anticipation as Tomac went up the inside of Roczen in the exact same spot as before. This time there would be no fighting back from Roczen and Tomac disappeared with the win. Roczen wasn’t able to just cruise in for second though, as Webb was charging hard at the end and the two put on an insane battle, with Webb trying like hell to get around Roczen. Finally, in the last turn, he came in hot on the inside, bumped Roczen, and took the spot. Roczen appeared to be holding his foot afterward.

Behind the lead battle Cianciarulo had faded a bit and held fourth. Anderson held fifth, but with a lap remaining Barcia was hard on the gas about a second back. It looked like Barcia was giving it everything he had and if he’d had an extra lap or two he may have been able to catch Anderson but he simply ran out of time.