Salt Lake City 5

By The Numbers

In the 250SX class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner took the 250SX main event, his fourth win of the 2020 championship, and the most of the 250SX West Region in 2020. The win was Forkner’s 11th career 250SX main event win. Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis finished second—his seventh time on the podium in 2020—and GEICO Honda’s 16-year-old Jett Lawrence earned his first main event podium finish in only his fifth start.

The win puts Forkner into a seven-way tie for tenth-most 250SX wins of all time. He leads the current list of active riders, but with another year in the 250SX class it will be interesting to see how high he will climb in the list. By the end of his 250SX career, does Forkner catch James Stewart’s lead of 16 250SX wins? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

Forkner’s win also moved him around Justin Cooper and into second place in the 250SX West Region points standings with one final round remaining, Sunday’s 250SX East/West Showdown:

1. Dylan Ferrandis | 181 points | 3 Wins
2. Austin Forkner | 174 | 4 Wins
3. Justin Cooper | 164 | 1 Win
4. Brandon Hartranft | 141
5. Michael Mosiman | 118

Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen took the 450SX main event win—his fourth of the championship but his first since the Atlanta Supercross. The win was Roczen’s 15th career 450SX main event win, which is currently 16th on the all-time list.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM-WPS’ Benny Bloss earned his first career 450SX heat race win on Sunday. Bloss finished 13th in the main event. After a broken footpeg derailed Malcolm Stewart’s day in the Salt Lake City 4 Supercross, the SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts rider earned his second top-five main event career.

Privateer Mason Kerr also made his first AMA Supercross main event when he finished in the final transfer spot in the 450SX LCQ.

After a rough go, which included a crash in the second turn and a get-together in a pileup, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson finished 22nd in the main event—his first finish outside of the top ten since he finished 11th in the Atlanta Supercross main event.

Watch what happened to Anderson below in the SLC 5 Supercross Race eXamination:

Quotes From Around The Paddock

Zach Osborne | 4th in 450SX

“I came home with a fourth, it’s a decent result but after the last few weeks I want more. I do have to keep things in perspective and know that at the beginning of the season I would have given anything for a string of results like this. So all in all, I’m happy but still striving for more.”

Malcolm Stewart | 5th in 450SX

“I felt really good in practice, but there were a few struggles for me and I rebounded in the last session and got ninth overall. In the heat race, I found my groove and some lines that I felt really good with. In the main event, I got a bad start but I made some things happen in the first turn with the carnage going on and shot through the gap. I broke free and felt really good all the way through the race with a pass on Osborne. I made one big mistake right before the dragon’s back with a few laps to go and Osborne got back around me. Fifth overall is something I’m very happy about and with two rounds to go, I’m ready to keep moving forward.” 

Dean Wilson | 6th in 450SX

“I feel like my pace was decent through the whole main and I think a few different line choices would have helped me throughout the race. I think I had a couple bad lines after watching it and that kind of held me up a little bit. But other than that, I can’t get too frustrated. I gave it my best and that’s all you can do.”

Broc Tickle | 12th in 450SX

"Overall it was a better day on the track today. We made some changes in the right direction to give me more comfort on the bike. In the LCQ it was good to get a holeshot and get some more laps on the track." 

Said JGRMX/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team manager Jeremy Albrecht:

"Tickle was feeling good but this track was tougher on his hand. He kept pushing every race to do his best and ended up 12th in the main. I know Broc can do even better at these next two rounds.” 

Jason Anderson | 22nd in 450SX

“In the main event, I ripped a good start and I went into the second corner in second, and then it kind of turned into a crazy night. It sucks I wasn’t able to finish but at the same time there’s a lot of positives to take away from how I was riding, and my starts, and stuff like that. I’m just going to look forward and try to prepare for the last two rounds and end on a good note.”

Jett Lawrence | 3rd in 250SX

“I was just too excited. Those were just words coming out of my mouth, really. I didn’t know what I was saying. I was just happy to be alive and to be experiencing that. I bet you no other sixteen-year-old is getting to do what I’m doing, traveling the world and getting to race with some of the fastest guys in the world.”

Michael Mosiman | 5th in 250SX

“It was a tough day. I got into some lapped traffic in the main event and made some mistakes that really set me back. I’m disappointed that I had a podium finish going and to have that taken away but I’m fired up for the last round!”

Hunter Lawrence | 7th in 250SX

“It was better but the result didn’t even reflect the progress we made. The team and I changed some things on the bike which really helped out, and a better heat race put us in a better position for the main so that was a big factor. I felt good in the main, two mistakes cost me positions. I’m having fun out here in Utah, really looking forward to going downhill mountain biking this week to freshen up for one more race on Sunday!”

Christian Craig | 10th in 250SX

“Not much to say besides I’m at a loss for words. I felt great. I qualified in a good spot and rode well in my heat to win. I made mistake after mistake in the main and was on the ground twice. I had a podium right there and lost it. Not sure what’s going on with me in the mains but I’ll figure it out.”

Alex Martin | 21st in 250SX

"I qualified better in practice and my intensity was coming around. My heat race was good with a strong finish. I'm very frustrated with the main but also motivated to end the series on a high note next weekend.”

Gifs Of The Weekend

Salt Lake City 6

By The Numbers

In the 250SX main event, Shane McElrath led Chase Sexton early in the main event, which would have tied the championship back up had they finished in that order. But Sexton had other plans as he made an aggressive pass for the lead before taking his fourth win of the year. With McElrath finished second, Sexton gained three points on McElrath in the championship, opening up a six-point lead with Sunday/s 250SX East/West Showdown to go.

Husqvarna swept both 450SX heat races for the first time in history as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates Dean Wilson and Jason Anderson each claimed their respective races. The last time the same OEM took both heat race wins was at the Salt Lake City 2 Supercross when Malcolm Stewart and Ken Roczen won their respective heats aboard Honda CRF450Rs.

On Wednesday night, Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb did it again, taking his third Wednesday night win as he won the 450SX main event. It was the 11th career 450SX main event for Webb, and the “Wednesday Night Wonder,” as the TV broadcast crew has dubbed him, kept his 450SX title fight alive, as he sits 22 points behind Tomac. While there’s a good chance that Tomac dethrones Webb to take over the #1 plate, Webb is still mathematically alive in the championship. Unfortunately for Roczen, who sits 28 points down from Tomac in third, he’s mathematically eliminated from winning the title.

Also, here's a weird coincidence our online content editor Kellen Brauer picked up on between Tomac and Webb:

For each Wednesday Supercross, the 450SX podium has included some combination of Tomac, Webb, and Osborne.

Quotes From Around The Paddock

Ken Roczen | 4th in 450SX

“The second-to-last race in Salt Lake City was a good one. I’d rather have it this way and put in a hard effort and not be good enough and get beat than have too many issues and drop off completely. I just wasn’t fast enough tonight. I tried really hard to at least get on the podium, and we were close, but just not enough, unfortunately. We put in a good charge. We’re going to come back in the last race and try to get to the very top step one last time for 2020. Overall, it was a very good effort from the team and on my side, especially after a heat race where I got parked because I had a big rut in my line and didn’t have the greatest gate pick. We put in a good fight and ended up fourth for the night. It’s not exactly the result we wanted in the end, but it was a great fight and that’s all we can ask for.”

Justin Brayton | 6th in 450SX

“This was the best one yet for me. I had a great start in the main and ran second for a while. I was running up front and doing the laps that I wanted to do, running good lap times, racing with the guys I feel like I should be racing with. I’m pretty proud of this one. Sixth isn’t amazing, but overall from what I’ve been doing—starting 13th or 14th and coming to eighth, it’s much better to start second and run there for a while and get used to that pace again, then get passed by a few of the best guys in the world and end up sixth. Overall it was a good night for me. One to go—let’s do it!”

Malcolm Stewart | 7th in 450SX

“Practice was a little bit of a struggle for me. It was a little muddy from the overnight rain and we only had two practices, but I felt better in the last session. I managed to turn the day around when it was time to race. The heat race was good, and I ended up in fifth place, even though I was really far back off the start. The main event was a freight train with everyone doing the same thing on the track, the whoops were beaten down, and it was hard to make any gains, but I ended up in seventh place. We’re coming into the last round and I’m excited to see what happens!”

Justin Barcia | 9th in 450SX

“Unfortunately the other day I woke up and my neck was fully stuck and I couldn’t move it. So I only had a day to try to get that better and it really didn’t get better. The beginning of the day did not go well for me at all. I just rode around trying to get used to the track and loosen up my neck a bit. Luckily, it got a little bit better throughout the day. The heat race went pretty well, I ended up fourth in that, but it was another one of those not so great starts again in the Main Event. I got a little tangled up in the second corner and then ended up fighting my way back from 16th to ninth.

“I think you can make excuses about not being able to go faster on the track because it was one-lined, but I just didn’t have any more speed than that. I got through it and I’m healthy. I’m just going to keep trying to loosen up my neck. I’m looking forward to Sunday and hopefully will get a run on a solid result.”

Aaron Plessinger | 14th in 450SX

“I had a great heat race, a great qualifying, I just couldn’t put it together for the main. I got an okay start. The track was pretty slick and I just got held up by a lot of people, and I just rode tight. Yeah, the bike’s starting to work better, but I just need to put it together. There’s no excuses. I shouldn’t be finishing outside the top 10 or even the top five. I just have to put one race together. I get one more shot this year. I’ve got to send it. I just want to get out there and ride my dirt bike, have fun and do the best I can at the last race.”

Said Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing team tanager Jim Perry:

“Today was another step in the right direction. Although the results didn’t show how well the guys rode, they definitely rode better than the positions they finished. Practice was much better for Aaron, and Justin struggled a little bit, but he got that turned around with a few changes in the bike setup. Both guys rode solid in their heat races, finishing third and fourth. However in the main event, we struggled with the starts again and that set us up for a poor result. We’ve got a couple things that we need to work on to get better starts. We’ll come back Sunday and look to fight up front.”

Jo Shimoda| 5th in 250SX

“Yeah I was feeling good all day, fourth in timed qualifying, but I did have one crash. Good start in the heat race and the first few laps I was close to Shane [McElrath]. I finished second. For [the] main event I started around 10th and could only catch up to fifth for the day. It was better than the last few races, though. Just little bit better start and I really focused on the first two turns to get through. The last few races I’ve been frustrated because I didn’t get to ride 100 percent with all the crashes.”

Gif Of The Weeknight