There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to the Houston 2 Supercross, the second round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Just two days after round one, the track wasn’t changed that much (more than I thought it would be, though) so I wondered if we’d see more of the same results-wise. Hey, these riders are fragile and confidence is so huge in that two days isn’t enough to lose any of your mojo, or in some cases, get it back.
Man, how wrong I was!
It was a great race in the 450SX class, and in the end the results were completely flipped from what we saw at round one. I first thought that Chase Sexton was gonna win because, well, he was leading and also won his heat, so why wouldn’t he win? Then I thought Adam Cianciarulo, in second, was gonna win because he’d been riding great all day and was doing a quad that Sexton wasn’t soooo that seemed pretty good. Then when both of those guys crashed, it was gonna be Eli Tomac with the win because he’s Eli Tomac and he’s won roughly 429 SX races in his career. But THEN it was gonna be Zach Osborne because Wacko was cutting into Tomac’s lead like a hot knife through butter. But then Wacko dumped it, and although Dylan Ferrandis was also catching Tomac, I stuck with Tomac at that point because time was winding down. Whew! Got all that?
Like I said, great race and in two races we now have six different guys on the podium which is awesome. Let’s break down the Houston 2 results, yeah?
250SX Main Event Results
1st | #18 Jett Lawrence | Wesley Chapel, FL | Honda CRF250R
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG THE JETT has done it. In his eighth career SX, Lawrence gets the win and rode pretty much flawlessly to do it. Very impressive and the first of many. I think there will still be mistakes made by him here and there because he’s a kid but this is just the beginning of the ride. Somewhere out there, Ralph Sheheen lit a cigarette and kicked back in his recliner. Ralph loved him some Jett!
2nd | #64 Colt Nichols | Murrieta, CA | Yamaha YZ250F
Colt has been sneaky good to start the year. Craig gets the “OMG his style!” hype, Forkner gets the “He’s got 11 wins bro!” hype, The Jett gets “OMG THE JETT!” hype, Hampshire gets “Man he stepped it up last year and trains with Aldon Baker” hype. Nichols doesn’t have much hype. Maybe he should?
3rd | #29 Christian Craig | Temecula, CA | Yamaha YZ250F
I was surprised to see CC get caught and passed by Nichols in the main but Christian mentioned that he had some things going on with his bike. Those “things” include a slipping clutch. Did he look as dominant at Houston SX 1? No but he was still damn good.
4th | #42 Michael Mosiman | Menifee, CA | GasGas MC 250F
Mosiman won a heat! That was cool for him and the team. I asked him if the GasGas was much different than his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna and he told me it actually was. Who knew?
5th | #30 Jo Shimoda | Menifee, CA | Kawasaki KX250
Shimoda’s been good to start the season. I see Shimoda and Mosiman in a LOT of battles from here on out.
6th | #38 Austin Forkner | Richards, MO | Kawasaki KX250
Well, the whole “Hmmm, maybe Forkner has gotten smarter in 2020” after his Houston SX 1 lasted only a few days. He made an ill-advised move on Hampshire trying to get second that took them both down. How do I know it was ill advised? Because anytime you attempt a pass and you go down also, it was ill advised. Also, he was jacking with Craig off the start so I guess we’re back to the usual Austin Forkner. Even with this poopy sixth, he’s only seven points back of the lead.
Forkner goes for the pass! 👀 #SupercrossLIVE#DropTheGatepic.twitter.com/OvxKA10rSL
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) January 20, 2021
7th | #49 Mitchell Oldenburg | Aledo, TX | Honda CRF250R
Freckle slammed his way past Max Vohland in the main in a “Welcome to SX, kid” moment.
8th | #115 Max Vohland | Granite Bay, CA | KTM 250 SX-F
Mad Max told me that his dad, the great Tallon Vohland AKA “Lone Wolf,” has been happy with his two races so far and I’d agree. By the way, why doesn’t Max have “Baby Wolf” on the back of his pants?
9th | #24 RJ Hampshire | Minneola, FL | Husqvarna FC 250
Me saying RJ has had a rough start to his 250SX season would be kind. He’s already visited the medics way more than he wants to. Also, the best story on Monday’s PulpMX Show was how Christian Craig Venmoed RJ $200 for his medical bills after CC cut open Hampshire’s finger in Houston 1’s heat race.
10th | #95 Joshua Osby | Valparaiso, IN | Honda CRF250R
Osby (I’d like to call him by Phil’s nickname for him but it wouldn’t be appropriate) was in a BATTLE OF DEATH with John Short in the main event for many laps. It was great.
11th | #55 John Short | Pilot Point, TX | Suzuki RM-Z250
John Short’s got, like, a full ride and stuff. That’s awesome.
12th | #773 Thomas Do | Murrieta, CA | KTM 250 SX-F
Pour one out for Thomas Do finally getting off Suzukis after a long time on yellow. Stay strong Barry Carsten!
13th | #122 Jeremy Hand | Mantua, OH | Honda CRF250R
I’ve called Jeremy “David” a bunch of times. My bad. Jeremy rode very well but he’s got a little bit to go to beat his uncle David’s best finish which was an 11th overall at Troy, Ohio in 1992. That was David’s best finish ever and he quit!
14th | #99 Hunter Sayles | Chassell, MI | KTM 250 SX-F
The “Gretzky” of SX looks pretty good out there.
15th | #125 Luke Neese | Jamestown, NC | Kawasaki KX250
I liked Neese’s look last year on the Honda, now he’s on a Kawasaki and won the LCQ. By the way, Kawasakis are everywhere these days! They pay to make the night show so a lot of privateers have gone green.
16th | #76 Grant Harlan | Justin, TX | Honda CRF250R
17th | #241 Joshua Varize | Perris, CA | KTM 250 SX-F
Varize is loose. That is all.
18th | #88 Logan Karnow | Amherst, OH | Kawasaki KX250
Karnow told me arm pump got him after I made mention of how his fitness needed some work in the wrap-up pod. Hey, I’m a fan of carne asada and Karnow.
19th | #260 Dylan Woodcock | Rayleigh, ENG | Kawasaki KX250
Woodcock is very improved from last year. I was NOT happy with him in the LCQ as I had Kevin Moranz and that T-bone cost me big time. It pains me to even call Woodcock improved.
20th | #170 Devin Simonson | Laurinburg, NC | Kawasaki KX250
21st | #87 Curren Thurman | Rosharon, TX | KTM 250 SX-F
Rough night for Curren but hell of a wild ride in the LCQ to make it in. Watching the 250SX class is basically like paying for a ride at Action Park, New Jersey, back in the day.
22nd | #116 Tj Albright | Mount Marion, NY | Kawasaki KX250
Again, I hope Albright is okay but the fact is that he only did two laps and therefore one less than Curren Thurman. This pushed Thurman into double points for me in PulpMX Fantasy.
450SX Main Event Results
1st | #1 Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO | Kawasaki KX450
Good ride by Tomac to take the win after a poor H1. He did some testing on Monday after the race and changed a fork setting which made a difference for him, obviously. Notice I didn’t say “great ride” because in the heat, AC and Sexton pulled him and in the main he was getting caught late by Osborne. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. If Eli is having a good night, no one catches him late. Still, a wins a win and he’ll take it.
2nd | #14 Dylan Ferrandis | Lake Elsinore, CA | Yamaha YZ450F
Super impressive ride by Ferrandis, when the whoops were beat down he was still flying through them. He also came from tenth after lap one to this spot and man, no one really expected him to be this good, this soon. Last week he got Plessinger late also to move up. Great work from the rookie here.
3rd | #10 Justin Brayton | Charlotte, NC | Honda CRF450R
Look at this! JB10 with the early season contender for surprise of the season. Great ride by Justin. I thought when Roczen got behind him we might see some more “creative” lines by Brayton to allow Roczen to get by, but he never relented. Impressive start to the year for Justin and that’s awesome for him and his team.
4th | #2 Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | KTM 450 SX-F
Webb gutted out this fourth. We heard TV reporter Will Christien mention Cooper’s back had been a problem still in the pre-season. He didn’t look like his usual self out there until late in this main event.
5th | #94 Ken Roczen | Clermont, FL | Honda CRF450R
Roczen had a weird race, moved up from a bad start quickly, got stuck behind some guys and then got passed late in the race by Webb. He also got docked for jumping on a red cross and was not happy on social media about it. Although I didn’t see it in front of me, I watched his video and talked to people who saw it and the flag was hidden (let’s face it, the flagging at most pro races borders on horrific many times) a bit. Roczen tried to check up, as well.
6th | #25 Marvin Musquin | Corona, CA | KTM 450 SX-F
Marvin crashed in the sand and ruined what could’ve been a better finish. He also struggled a bit compared to the top guys in the whoops but this is fine. Clearly the Red Bull KTM guys thought that the on/off on the table in the rhythm was better (I timed it and it was 0.2 better but not better consistently) as he and Webb were the only guys in the main to do it.
7th | 27 Malcolm Stewart | Haines City, FL | Yamaha YZ450F
Malcolm had a weird moment when he slowed down and let a couple guys by and then jumped in back of them and took off. Maybe he racked his nuts, maybe he was trying to go for a tear-off, maybe he thought he was being lapped but it was weird. Still a good race for him though.
8th | #21 Jason Anderson | Rio Rancho, NM | Husqvarna FC 450
A better round two for Anderson for sure, he didn’t move forward a ton without guys crashing but he maintained his position, something he didn’t do last race.
9th | #51 Justin Barcia | Greenville, FL | GasGas MC 450F
Barcia was good again, he won the heat again and everything was set up for success once again. He didn’t get the start he needed for sure but I think a podium was potentially there for him. Then he broke his shifter off and was stuck in first gear. Now I don’t know how much you guys know about SX but riding around in SX in first is not ideal.
10th | #16 Zach Osborne | Clermont, FL | Husqvarna FC 450
I thought Zacho was gonna win! Then he crashed while running second, but Ferrandis was coming. He definitely looked a bit winded out there after he got up. Zach’s gone 10-10 in the two races but it’s the fastest 10-10 in SX history if that’s any consolation.
11th | #15 Dean Wilson | Murrieta, CA | Husqvarna FC 450
Dean’s probably not happy with the start of the season but he hasn’t gotten any starts. Even Tomac admits that he’s not coming through the pack in this field without a start.
12th | #9 Adam Cianciarulo | New Smyrna Beach, FL | Kawasaki KX450
I thought AC was going to win as I said up top. I thought this was his night but he did a full endo when he flew into the sand like John Dowd in 1997 and the berm couldn’t support his speed.
13th | #20 Broc Tickle | Holly, MI | Honda CRF450R
I didn’t notice Tick much out there other than he pulled off in the heat on the last lap with what I assume is a bike problem and gave the last spot into the main to his teammate Bloss.
14th | #11 Kyle Chisholm | Valrico, FL | Yamaha YZ450F
This is a very good ride by him, yes he benefitted from some crashes by other dudes but a 14th is a 14th. Chiz will chiz, now and forever folks.
15th | #40 Vince Friese | Menifee, CA | Honda CRF450R
Wild night for Vince. Launched his bike into another lane, laid his bike down on top of a tabletop trying to fix it, won the LCQ going away, crashed in the main event and probably got a few grey hairs in the process.
16th | #7 Aaron Plessinger | Hamilton, OH | Yamaha YZ450F
Plessinger crashed his way back to this position but after a impressive opener (to me anyways) he lacked that magic this race. Let’s see if he can get it back this Saturday.
17th | #28 Brandon Hartranft | Brick, NJ | Suzuki RM-Z450
Hartranft had a quiet night back there but so far he’s two for two (main event wise), clicking things off and figuring out this whole 450 thing.
18th | #83 Alex Ray | Milan, TN | Kawasaki KX450
The good: Alex has made both main events to start the year in a deep field. The bad: he’s crashed out of both.
19th | #37 Benny Bloss | Oak Grove, MO | Honda CRF450R
Bloss looked hurt out there. I hope he’s not but it doesn’t look promising and even if he’s okay, he’s off to one hell of a bad start.
20th | #36 Martin Davalos | Tallahassee, FL | KTM 450 SX-F
We had more than a few crashes in the sand. If there’s a little bit of a danger zone out there, you know that Marty’s not getting through it unscathed. Annnddd he didn’t.
21st | #17 Joey Savatgy | Clermont, FL | KTM 450 SX-F
Savatgy crashed out in front of the mechanics area at some point and crawled off the track. Bummer but he’ll be back for round three.
22nd | #23 Chase Sexton | Clermont, FL | Honda CRF450R
I don’t think Sexton will be back for round three though. Bad crash while he was leading (he yarded everyone in his heat race, also) and I was happy to see him walk off. His gear was Houston Astro themed but I didn’t see his mechanic banging a trash can anywhere at any time.
Thanks for reading! Email matthes@racerxonline.com if you want to chat about this or anything else. Are you ready for Houston 3? It’s coming up!
