Welcome to Salt Lake City, and welcome back to Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship. After a break of 85 days, with 11 weekends off, a championship resumes. Seven races are slated to take place here in Utah in three weeks. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many safeguards and social distancing rules are in places, which will result in a different look for supercross today. There are no fans in attendance, as the event is limited by the state of Utah to 900 total people, with a limit of 400 allowed in Rice-Eccles Stadium at any time. Teams are capped at 10 total staff members, and teams can only interact with those in their group. Riders will go to the starting line without mechanics, and we have heard that pit boards will not be used inside a revamped mechanic’s area.

Everyone here took a COVID-19 test once they arrived in Utah, and riders and teams will operate within the state for the next three weeks. We’ve heard of several teams finding or building tracks here and getting in some riding to acclimate to the soil and weather, as Salt Lake City sits at about 4000 feet of elevation. The track designs will change for each of the seven rounds.

For a better breakdown on today's track and conditions, check out former pro Jason Thomas' Staging Area.

This first race will begin at 2 p.m. local time, in order to fit into live TV windows on NBCSN and NBC. The stadium opens at 7 a.m., there will not be a track walk or in-person rider’s meeting. The 450SX and 250SX East Regional classes will race today, running the traditional format of heats, a LCQ and a main event in each division.

In the 450SX class, Eli Tomac holds a slim three-point lead over Ken Roczen, with Cooper Webb 29 points back, and Justin Barcia 31 points behind. Due to the break, riders are healed up, rested and ready. Check out our breakdown of the 450 field. 

In 250SX East, Chase Sexton is up ten points on Shane McElrath. Third-place RJ Hampshire is not here due to ACL surgery. Home state rider Garrett Marchbanks is fourth in points, and won the last race, back at Daytona in March. Here's the full rundown on the latest in 250SX East.

Racer X is on the ground in Salt Lake City to take in the action, as well as spot the differences between this and all the supercross races that have come before it. Should be a much different atmosphere at these rounds, but how much will that impact the results? The points are close, and the pressure will mount in a stretch run that has the feel of a playoff. Also, what riders and teams can adapt best? We’re here to find out.

250 First Practice

These first sessions are not used for timed qualifying.

In the very first practice in supercross’ return, the B group of 250 riders rolled out on the track. Literally. Without track walk, riders are required to roll all the jumps for three minutes before resetting and hammering down. Kyle Peters led the group rolling around the track, but when they reset and started putting in lap times, it was Josh Osby—in his first race this year returning from injury—on top of the board. Jerry Robin, who has switched from Honda to Husqvarna since the break, was second, ahead of Hunter Sayles and Peters.

In the A group of 250 riders, Shane McElrath took off first, ahead of Enzo Lopes. McElrath’s time held for awhile, then Chase Sexton jumped to the top. McElrath put in another heater, but Sexton’s time remained at the top of the board to the end. Sexton’s GEICO Honda teammate Jeremy Martin was third. Colt Nichols, in his first race this season, was fourth, ahead of Lopes.

450 First Practice

These first sessions are not used for timed qualifying.

Justin Brayton was first rider on track and nailed the triple-triple on the first lap of the timed session. Ken Roczen then jumped to the top of the charts, but Cooper Webb looked frisky, going around Brayton and Barcia to become the lead bike on the track. On his fifth lap, he then took the top time of the session. The next lap, Webb bettered his lap time. It wasn’t enough, though, as Adam Cianciarulo surpassed that to take the top time later in the same lap. On the ninth lap, Eli Tomac surpassed Cianciarulo. Malcolm Stewart slotted into third ahead of Baggett and Webb.

By the way, the riders don’t have pit boards, and the “Beast” scoring tower is not here, so the riders have no idea where they stand on lap times during practices.

 On the last lap, Malcolm Stewart put in a flyer to grab the top spot from Tomac! Tomac and Cianciarulo were second and third ahead of Webb and Barcia. Baggett, Wilson, Anderson, Bloss, and Brayton rounded out the top ten. Roczen was 15th. 

250 Second Practice

In the B group, Josh Osby was fast again in this one, but Kyle Peters stepped up his game in this one, rolling to the top spot. In the A group, Shane McElrath was fast early again in the seeded session, with Sexton and Shimoda chasing him around. Then Shimoda crashed. The corners have formed some deep ruts now, and dudes are railing them. Sexton then took the top spot on lap three, ahead of McElrath and Marchbanks. Then McElrath took the top spot away on the next lap. Sexton logged one more flyer, but it wasn’t enough, and McElrath’s time held. Martin was third again.

450 Second Practice

The 450 practice start holeshot went to Davalos, but Tomac got inside to lead the field around on the first lap. But the Bullfrog Spas/SmarTop MotoConcepts Honda steamroller continues, as Justin Hill went to the top of the board, just like his teammate Malcolm Stewart in the first session. Ken Roczen, who was outside of the top ten in the first session, took over the fastest spot here on lap seven. It appeared that time would hold, but with a lap left, Dean Wilson grabbed the top time! How about Stewart and Wilson going first in the two sessions today? #deepfield Roczen, Stewart, Tomac, Cianciarulo were top five.

 The track here is pretty simple. There’s a triple-triple-triple that everyone figured out immediately, and while the track map had two sets of whoops on it, the actual track has only one section, and they’re easy. The real separation here will be the soil. It’s hard and slick already and it’s probably going to dry out more as the day goes on.

While we’re not allowed to visit the pits, our Steve Matthes fired off a text to Ken Roczen. Roczen wrote that he didn’t feel like he hadn’t raced in three months—everything seemed normal. Plus, he doesn’t walk a practice track when it gets rebuilt, so he didn’t really think it was weird to jump into practice today without a track walk. I (of course) texted Justin Brayton and asked if the track is slick. He replied, “Yes, very.”

The track got watered between sessions. We'll see how that impacts the track.

Final 250 Session

Peters showed the short way around the track again in this final 250 B session, leading Osby, Sanayei, Robin and Halpain. Late in the race, Sanayei jumped up to second ahead of Robin and Halpain, pushing Osby back to fifth.

 Sexton jumped out quick in this session, but Jeremy Martin charged to the top on the fourth lap. Sexton then washed the front wheel and went down hard in a 180 left, he got back up and started logging laps again. McElrath then jumped to the top. The track started drying from the water, and times started to come down. Colt Nichols took the top spot away from McElrath. Times started coming in hot and heavy, with Sexton and McElrath leap frogging Nichols to go back to the top. That’s how it ended, with McElrath on top. Sexton, meanwhile, almost lost the front again in another corner. He hung on for second fastest—but traction is going to be the name of the game in these sessions, and possibly in the races later today.

 “I think for me, I have nothing to lose,” said McElrath, the fast qualifier.  "It’s crunch time for me and the team. They’re 1-2 in the West coast, and it’s go time. We’ve really been working. I really feel good in the altitude, I’m thinking it may work in my favor,“ “Colt [Nichols, teammate] is going fast. Don’t count him out, he’s been faster than me at the test track a few days. Hopefully we can go 1-2.”

Final 450 Session

The final 450 A Group practice start was exactly like the first—Davalos fast around the outside and Tomac edging ahead from the inside on the exit of turn one. Cianciarulo went down in a bowl turn and had to go to the pits. His mechanic swapped out a front wheel. Adam told NBC Sports Daniel Blair he blew the wheel out. This was the first team fire drill using the spread-out mechanic’s area, but ace wrench Justin Shantie got the wheel swapped, and Adam went back out.

Roczen and Tomac battled over the top spot early. Once Cianciarulo got back on track, he jumped to second fastest behind Tomac! On the very last lap, Roczen was on the gas and finding traction on the slick stuff, and he went to the top, by a tenth over Tomac. Cianciarulo, Webb and Wilson rounded out the top five.

In the B 450 group, man, Adam Enticknap has upped his game during this break! He was fastest in all three B group sessions today. Alex Ray sent it for second-fastest over Carlen Gardner, Noren and Clason.

Other News

JGR/Yoshimura Suzuki's bad luck hasn't changed one bit. Poor Broc Tickle has reinjured his hand in a practice crash today, and he's out at least for this event. Tickle was injured in his second race back this year, and even with the break, is dealing with injury again.

Jason Anderson moved on from long time trainer Aldon Baker over the break. He said he stayed in Florida briefly and rode with Dean Wilson and the Lawrence brothers at their track--which is Chad Reed's old place--and then headed back to his home state of New Mexico to build a supercross track at altitude. He has training advice now from Darren Stockton, who was a top trainer with a lot of riders about a decade ago, and is back on the scene.

Anderson has had problems at times with altitude, and he has gotten a TUE from WADA to use altitude medicine. However, he can't use that here.

"I went home to New Mexico and I’ve been riding by myself at home for three weeks," he said. "Usually I get some medicine I usuallu take, but the TUE is only good for three days. So I’m not able to take that at all these. So I built my own track, with some elevation. We'll see how it works out.

"I feel like three podiums in ten rounds, for what I’m hired to do, that’s not it," Anderson continued. "I really want to be up there, get some podiums, get some wins, get my mojo back, I guess you could say. These guys aren’t going to make it easy on me. There’s a championship going on, but hopefully I can just be ahead of those guys."

Dean Wilson started this year coming off a major hip injury suffered at Monster Energy Cup. He rushed to Anaheim 1 and tried to build fitness between races, which is both A) not easy and B) something Dean is unfortunately used to doing. 

"The break was good for me, coming into the season I was really behind on riding and testing and everything," he said. "I’m stoked to get that little bit of a break and I feel like I’m a lot better off now. A big help for me, for sure.

"When your body is not caught up, you just stress out, you’re trying to catch up," Wilson explained, admitting that anxiety was getting the better of him. "After a race your body would be sore but you have to get back after it."

Wilson is in much better shape, and spirits, now.

Blake Baggett has not had the season he wanted, outside of a podium at San Diego. He's a distant 12th in points.

"Forget about the past four races, try to think about the results from San Diego and before that," he said. "Last four rounds had some unfortunate stuff happen. I needed a little break, unfortunate that the virus caused this, but I’m just looking forward to redeeming myself. When you’re not racing, you don’t know what to do, we’ve been racing for so many years, it feels odd."

Cooper Webb is facing long odds to try to make up 29 points on Eli Tomac and 26 on Ken Roczen, but he knows the deep field could help him if riders steal some points from the leaders.

"With a handful of fourths and fifths, you’re making up eight or so points per race," said Webb, hoping to score a win and see Tomac and Roczen miss a podium. "A lot of money to be made and a dream to chase. The goal is still the same—try to go out and win."

250SX Heat 1

With a revised format of racing where the 250SX Last Chance Qualifier would run directly after both 250SX heat races, getting into the first heat race was suddenly a premium position for bubble spot riders. On the gate drop for the first race in 85 days, it was Chase Sexton taking the early lead with teammate Jeremy Martin right behind him.

Pierce Brown and Jo Shimoda engaged in a duel for third which put Brown into the spot. Then the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM rider applied pressure to Martin just ahead of him. Sexton was opening up a big gap out front over the rest of the field as the defending champ looked locked in as ever coming off the long break.

The track was moist in the early running as a lot of water was laid down between qualifying and the first heat race leaving a lot of riders searching for traction. Brown continued to keep the pressure on JMart as the time winded down.

In the end it was Sexton leading wire to wire and picking up the victory. Martin held off Brown for second with Shimoda and Jalek Swoll rounding out the top five. Grant Harlan crashed with a straightaway to go and nearly lost a transfer spot but was able to get up and hold onto the spot.

250SX Heat 2

Fastest qualifier Shane McElrath headlined heat two and he would take the holeshot ahead of his teammate Colt Nichols. Winner of the last round in Daytona, Garrett Marchbanks, quickly moved into third around Jordan Bailey as the front group tried to pull away from the rest of the field.

Close battles commenced immediately as Josh Osby slid his way into transfer spot early ahead of Kevin Moranz and Chase Marquier. FXR/Chaparral Honda’s Chris Blose was having an up and down heat race as he started in the top 10 but dropped out of the top 15.

Meanwhile, Nick Gaines closed up to the back of Moranz for the final transfer spot with a few laps left to go and made the pass in the whoops. Gaines then set sail after Osby ahead of him trying to stretch out the gap between himself and the final transfer spot.

McElrath up front cruised to the win in similar fashion to Sexton in the heat before him. Nichols followed him home second with Marchbanks, Enzo Lopes, and Jordan Bailey.

250SX Last Chance Qualifier

After a lengthy 20-minute break, the 250 LCQ got underway with Kevin Moranz grabbing the early lead from Wilson Fleming. Chris Blose and Hunter Sayles were up in transfer positions early as well with Luke Neese and Lane Shaw in the mix.

Moranz immediately opened up a small lead while Fleming dealt with pressure from Blose for the second position. Blose got the move done before the end of the second lap and set sail after Moranz at the front of the field.

Neese moved into the final transfer spot as Sayles dropped out and the #125 was under attack from Chase Marquier and Jerry Robin from behind. Fleming tucked the front wheel after the whoops and went down with Neese dropping them both out of transfer spot. That promoted Marquier and Coty Schock into the final spots before Schock fell with a few laps to go.

Up front, Blose made the move on Moranz for the lead as the white flag waved. Jerry Robin now sat the final transfer spot after Schock fell, and he tried to defend from Lorenzo Locurcio. Blose would hold on for the win and take Moranz, Marquier, and Robin with him to the main event.

450SX Heat 1

As the 450 class heat race action got underway it was Eli Tomac taking the early lead with Cooper Webb and Blake Baggett in tow. Vince Friese was in fourth with Chad Reed right behind him as the field grouped up outside of the top three.

Zach Osborne moved into the top five ahead of Reed on lap two as he was working his way forward from starting just inside the top 10. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider then closed up quickly onto the back of Friese and was able to make the move just a few laps later.

Malcolm Stewart then made two passes at once getting around Reed and Friese at the same time but Friese got him back and then Aaron Plessinger came from nowhere to make the move on Stewart as well. Frantic action down the field as Tomac and Webb gapped the field out front matching each other’s lap times.

Tomac would hang on to take the win in the first heat race and Webb followed him home closely. Behind them it was Baggett, Osborne, and Friese inside of the top five with Benny Bloss holding onto the final transfer spot.

450SX Heat 2

The second 450 heat race got underway with Ken Roczen snagging the early lead away from Adam Cianciarulo. Justin Brayton sat in third with Dean Wilson in fourth right behind the lead duo.

Roczen and Cianciarulo quickly started opening up a lead together in similar fashion to Tomac and Webb in the heat prior to theirs. Cianciarulo actually closed the gap down a bit on Roczen and applied some pressure around the halfway point of the race.

Further back, Justin Barcia moved around Wilson into fourth while Jason Anderson tried to follow suit from sixth. Tyler Bowers held the final transfer spot and had a large seven second gap on Deven Raper and continued expanding the gap as the race progressed.

Anderson made the move on his teammate Wilson as he was trying to keep pace with Barcia just up the road from him. After hounding Barcia for a few laps, Anderson made the move on the #51 with half a lap remaining.

Up front, Roczen held on for the win over Cianciarulo, Brayton, Anderson, and Barcia.

450SX Last Chance Qualifier

In the 450 LCQ it was Ryan Breece grabbing the early lead before Carlen Gardner grabbed it away from him at the end of the first rhythm section. Alex Ray then came up and moved into the lead just a few turns later, allowing Breece back by for second.

The Breece re-took the lead from Ray as the top six ran nose-to-tail over the finish line. Kyle Cunningham came up and moved around Gardner before Gardner tucked the front wheel dropping him out of transfer spot. The final transfer spot battle then was left to Fredrik Noren and Kyle Chisholm as they were both right behind Cunningham.

Alex Ray took the lead again as Breece started falling down the order in a hurry. Cunningham moved up to second as Chisholm took over third leaving Breece and Noren to battle for the final transfer spot. Cunningham kept applying the pressure to Ray for the lead as the white flag waved out front.

In the end, Ray held on for the victory over Cunningham, Chisholm, and Noren.

250SX Main Event

The first points paying race in almost three months got underway with the 250SX main event and it was Shane McElrath grabbing the holeshot away from Chase Sexton and Jeremy Martin. Pierce Brown went down early after a good start dropping him down to dead last. McElrath started putting down hot laps right away trying to get away from Sexton as Colt Nichols hit the pit lane early for repairs--he had gotten caught up in the crash by Brown.

Jo Shimoda also had to hit the pits for some repairs as several riders were affected by the first lap chaos. A broken front brake ended Shimoda's race. Garrett Marchbanks put an aggressive pass on Jeremy Martin early on to move up into third in an attempt to not lose touch with McElrath and Sexton out front.

Jalek Swoll sat inside of the top five early right in front of Enzo Lopes, Jace Owen, Jordan Bailey, and Kyle Peters. Lopes was able to move by Swoll for fifth as Peters made the move on Bailey to slot himself up into eight. The battles from fifth on back remained very close through the early running of the main event.

Pierce Brown was making quick amends for his early fall by ripping through the field to get up inside of the top 10 by the halfway point. His march continued as he clicked off Jace Owen for eighth with about seven minutes left still on the clock.

Up front, Sexton was just a bit off the pace of McElrath as he sat a few seconds back as the time kept ticking away. With a few minutes left on the clock, Sexton started reeling McElrath back in as lapped traffic became more of a factor as the duo was lapping up into the top 10.

Shane McElrath was able to hold on for the win for his second victory of 2020 as Sexton came up just a bit short of a late charge. Marchbanks came home in third with Martin and Brown rounding out the top five.

450SX Main Event

In the 450 main event it was Blake Baggett getting the holeshot on front of Adam Cianciarulo, Justin Brayton, and Eli Tomac inside of the top five. Cianciarulo fell heavily out of second and was actually ran over by Webb in the process. The crash moved Tomac up to third with Webb and Ken Roczen right behind him.

Baggett was opening up a small lead at the front as Brayton was dealing with the pressure from behind of the three title rivals. Tomac made a small mistake and allowed both Webb and Roczen by for third and fourth, respectively. With the track conditions deteriorating quickly, the battles up front remained close as everyone was taking their time to setup passes.

Roczen then made a small bobble just after five minutes into the race and allowed Tomac back on through. Then all three of them moved around Brayton to set sail after Baggett. Tomac moved back around Webb to get up into second as the musical chairs continued.

Tomac quickly picked up his pace and ran down Baggett for the lead before the halfway point setting consistently fast laps to do so. Tomac quickly moved into the lead, and continued his breakneck pace as Webb and Roczen closed right up onto Baggett for second.

Behind the chaos out front, Jason Anderson had moved into the top five and brought his teammate Zach Osborne with him for sixth. Webb moved Baggett out of the way just past the halfway point and the momentary blip for Baggett caused Roczen to slip by for third as well.

The pace began to settle in by the second half of the race as Tomac managed a few second lead over Webb with Roczen dropping back a few seconds behind the defending champion. Osborne charged up and moved past Baggett to find himself up in fourth.

Baggett continued to descend through the field as Anderson also moved around him and then Martin Davalos was the next man by with about four minutes remaining. Justin Barcia sat in eighth place for most of the second half of the race after moving around Brayton just past the halfway point. Roczen had a huge moment with a couple laps to go when he landed on the Tuff Blox but rode out of it and continued on.

In the end, Eli Tomac claimed his sixth win of the season as he extended his points lead to eight points over Roczen as Webb claimed second and Roczen rounded out the podium.