Main image courtesy of WSX Championship.
Welcome to Racer X's live update feed, coming to you from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, for the first round of the 2022 FIM World Supercross Championship. From qualifying reports to the blow-by-blow from today's racing, you’ll find it all right here. Updates are posted in chronological order, so be sure to scroll down for the latest info. For even more updates be sure to follow us on Twitter, @Racerxonline.
Note: To watch the British Grand Prix in the United States, coverage will air on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday at 5 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. PDT. For other viewers, visit WSX.tv to see viewing packages.
- WSX
British GP (WSX Rd 1)
Saturday, October 8
MORNING REPORT
Qualifying started the day with a few sessions in the middle of the day. Practice was ran on Friday so most of the riders were already acclimated to the track, but now they would get set for gate pick moving into the night program.
It was no surprise to see Eli Tomac end up on top of the sheets for the WSX class bit Jace Owen on the FXR ClubMX Yamaha team was a bit of a surprise to top the SX2 division. View the full qualifying results below:
SX2 Heat 1
The first heat race of the night got underway with Dylan Walsh grabbing the holeshot from Derek Drake and Carson Brown. Walsh was able to lead the first lap, but it was close with Brown nearly pulling up alongside over the finish line jump.
Max Anstie was in third place early on as Derek Drake got shuffled back with Shane McElrath and Chris Blose rounding out the top five. The top five riders from the heat race would transfer into the Superpole event so it was crucial to remain in those top five spots.
Anstie was going to work on Brown trying to make a pass for second and made it happen on the third lap of the race. McElrath try to follow through and did so just after the finish line jump moments later. Walsh still led as they worked towards the white flag.
Walsh was pushed wide in the final turn as the white flag waved and Anstie took over the lead. Anstie would go on to win the heat ahead of Walsh, McElrath, Blose, and Carson Brown.
SX2 Heat 2
Justin Bogle shot out to the holeshot in the second SX2 heat race with Matt Moss in second. Cole Seely was working on Moss early on with Mitchell Oldenburg getting into the mix. Seely and Oldenburg got together allowing Kyle Chisholm into the mix.
Fastest qualifier Jace Owen slipped into the top five as Kyle Chisholm went backwards. Bogle continued to lead with Moss holding a bit of the pack up. Oldenburg and Seely got around for second and third with Moss still in fourth before it started kicking off a bit. Aaron Tanti got into the mix and went down off the back wheel of Matt Moss which created a bit gap behind Moss who was now in fifth.
Oldenburg was catching Bogle quickly for the lead, but Bogle was just able to hang on as the checkered flag waved. Oldenburg was second with Seely third, Owen fourth, and Matt Moss rounding out the top five.
WSX Heat 1
Thomas Ramette grabbed the holeshot in the first WSX heat race of the night with Justin Brayton and Joey Savatgy right behind him. Josh Grant and Cade Clason rounded out the early top five with Dean Wilson just out of the top five positions.
Brayton took the lead of the race from Ramette before the end of the second lap. The WSX heat races are six laps instead of the five laps for the SX2 class. Brayton began inching away out front with Savatgy moving into second place at the halfway point.
Clason and Grant both went backwards with Angelo Pellegrini moving into fourth and Josh Hill now rounding out the top five. Jordi Tixier had a slide out while running seventh and would fall back to well behind the field like Clason and Grant.
Brayton would hang on to win the heat race in front of Savatgy, Ramette, Hill, and Pellegrini.
WSX Heat 2
Ken Roczen snagged the holeshot in the second WSX heat race ahead of Vince Friese. Eli Tomac quickly moved into second place behind Roczen and the two top qualifiers began pulling away out front in this short heat race.
Adrien Escoffier was behind Friese in fourth with Grant Harlan rounding out the top five. Tomac had a big moment on the third lap of the race before the finish line jump where his rear end slid out of the top of a berm and that allowed Friese back through into second place.
Chad Reed went down hard on the on-offs on the fourth lap of the race and would need to receive medical attention on the side of the track. No word at this time on his condition.
Roczen would hold on to win the heat race ahead of Friese, Tomac, Escoffier, and Cedric Soubeyras.
Superpole
Cedric Soubeyras was the first rider to hit the track for Superpole. He would put down a 47.156 which of course put him on top. Angelo Pellegrini was next, and he was about a half second slower leaving Soubeyras up top. Adrien Escoffier then was next, and he went about three tenths slower than Soubeyras to put him second ahead of Escoffier.
Josh Hill went out fourth and finally became the first one of the day to bust out the quad at the end of the long rhythm section. The time was a 47.074 and that put him atop the board by less than a tenth over Soubeyras. Vince Friese went out next and put down a 46.700 without doing the quad that put him on top.
Eli Tomac was next out and he as well did not do the quad before the finish, but he did quad before the supercross triple and went to the top of the board with a 45.939. Thomas Ramette hit the track next, and he put down a 46.822 which went third fastest behind Tomac and Friese.
Joey Savatgy was out next, and he did the quad before the supercross triple as well which boosted him to second behind Tomac about three tenths back. Ken Roczen hit the track ninth and not only did the quad before the triple but also the quad before the finish line jump and was able to just narrowly pip Tomac for top time with a 45.874. Justin Brayton was the final rider to hit the track then and was not able to cork the quad before the finish which left him fourth fastest. So Roczen wins Superpole from Tomac, Savatgy, Brayton, and Friese.
SX2 GP Race 1
The first “main” race of three races on the night that count for the win of the British Grand Prix for the SX2 class was GP Race 1. The holeshot went to Mitchell Oldenburg with Kyle Chisholm starting strong in second. Matt Moss was in third, but Chris Blose went around into third with Moss battling it out with Dylan Walsh for fourth.
Justin Bogle had an issue on the second lap of the race and would pull off the side of the track and out. Chisholm suddenly had an issue as well from second place and needed to go into the mechanics area to sort it out. That gave Oldenburg a big lead with Blose now moving into second.
Cole Seely jumped into Aaron Tanti while battling for fifth place and went down. Moss remained in third with McElrath trying to close down. Dylan Walsh moved into fifth when Tanti and Seely got together to round out the top five.
Mitchell Oldenburg took the win in GP Race 1 ahead of Blose and Moss on the podium. McElrath ended up fourth with Walsh in fifth. Carson Brown got around Aaron Tanti on the last lap to move into sixth. Derek Drake, Kyle Chisholm, and Justin Bogle all finished way down the order.
SX2 GP Race 2
The second race happened just a few minutes after the first ended and this time it was Max Anstie wo grabbed the holeshot. Chisholm and Matt Moss went down in the first corner. Wilson Todd, Anstie’s teammate momentarily took the lead, but Anstie fought right back and got it back into the lead before the end of the first lap.
Mitchell Oldenburg went down hard on the tricky switchbacks in the middle of the track as he went to triple to the inside and landed into Derek Kelley and went flipping over. So Oldenburg was buried way back then when he finally got going which totally flipped the overall upside down.
Maxime Desprey and Chris Blose both caught up to Todd for second and each of them snuck around into second and third, respectively. McElrath also got around Todd and was working on closing up to Blose for third. McElrath made the move stick before the white flag waved.
Desprey closed right up to Anstie for the lead, but Anstie would hold on during the final lap of the race to win GP Race 2 ahead of Desprey, McElrath, Blose, and Todd inside of the top five.
SX2 Super Final
Oldenburg came back fighting in the third race as he rocketed out to the holeshot. Walsh was in second early on with Cole Seely battling behind and the two came together right before the finish line with Walsh going down. Justin Bogle ran over Walsh’s hand as he was trying to get up but eventually Walsh would remount in last.
So Oldenburg led from Seely, Moss, Bogle, and Tanti inside of the top five. Race 2 winner Max Anstie got shuffled back at the start and was in 13th. Justin Bogle was the man on the move as he got around Moss for third and he brought Carson Brown and Aaron Tanti with him as Moss was slipping back.
Cole Seely was working on catching Oldenburg for the lead and the race was 10 laps for the Super Final which gave even more time in this one for the lead battles to tighten up. Seely had closed up a bit, but Oldenburg seemed to respond well and pulled the gap back out a little bit. Bogle was closing in for third and the top three had a slight gap over Tanti in fourth.
The white flag waved out front with Oldenburg in the lead and holding on to a two second gap over Seely. The overall scores were all over the place with Oldenburg’s bad second race so it still wasn’t clear who the winner would be. Oldenburg took the checkered flag to win the Super Final ahead of Seely, Tanti, Brown, and McElrath inside of the top five.
The overall winner then was Shane McElrath. McElrath’s scores of 3-4-5 were consistent enough to win the SX2 British Grand Prix. Chris Blose was second overall with Oldenburg rounding out the podium.
SX2 Overall
WSX GP Race 1
Ken Roczen launched out to the holeshot in the first GP Race of the night for the WSX class and had Eli Tomac right on him. Joey Savatgy was in third with Justin Brayton in fourth early as the top qualifiers began to battle it out.
The eight-lap race saw time wind down quickly as Tomac began pushing onto Roczen for the lead. Roczen busted out the quad at the end of the long rhythm section on the third lap of the race but then tucked the front end on the roll-double after the finish line jump just after that.
That put Tomac into the race lead while Roczen slipped all the way back to sixth but continued on. Savatgy was then in second place, and he too crashed just before the finish line jump which pushed him all the way back to 18th.
Luke Clout had a huge crash in the tricky on-off section and would DNF the first race. So Tomac led from Friese, Brayton, and now Roczen who had moved back up to fourth. Roczen made the move stick on Brayton for third with two laps left to go.
As the white flag waved and Tomac took it out front, Roczen quadded again before the finish to close right up behind Vince Friese for second. Tomac would hold on for the win from Friese, Roczen, Brayton, and Josh Hill rounding out the top five.
WSX GP Race 2
Vince Friese grabbed the holeshot in the second race with Soubeyras in second just ahead of Brayton. Tomac was in fifth with Roczen sixth off the start, but they were quickly into fourth and fifth, respectively.
Brayton had his hands full in third with Tomac and Roczen as they both shuffled the #10 machine back to fifth. Roczen got up the inside of Tomac trying to get into third but made a mistake and Tomac was able to hang on.
Soubeyras tried to go around Friese to the race lead, but Tomac then pounced on Soubeyras to go into second. Roczen busted out the quad and closed up on Soubeyras before passing him a lap later. Tomac gave Friese a run for the lead, but Friese fought back at the halfway mark to retake the lead.
Tomac then pushed Friese out in the switchbacks to take over the lead and Roczen would move into second less than half a lap later. So now the chase was on for Roczen to try to close the gap down to Tomac with jus three laps to go.
Roczen would bust out the quad on lap six, but Tomac was still going faster per lap as he opened the lead out front. Tomac took the white flag with a three second lead as Friese still remained closely behind Roczen in a battle for second. Eli Tomas took the win in GP Race 2 over Roczen, Friese, Soubeyras, and Brayton inside of the top five.
WSX Super Final
The final race of the night got under way, and it was Justin Brayton who got the holeshot and early lead. Vince Friese was in second place with Tomac and Savatgy right behind. Roczen was buried off the start and ran eighth by the end of the first lap.
The Super Final was a longer race just like in the SX2 class where it extended out to 12 laps as opposed to the eight laps ran for the GP races. Tomac got around Friese for second before the end of the second lap of the race and was working up to Brayton in a hurry.
Tomac then went into the lead before the end of the third lap as Brayton left the door open before the finish line jump. Tomac immediately went to work on pulling away out front while Roczen was still trying to work forward from sixth now. Adrien Escoffier was the next rider to get through to get into the top five and Roczen made it happen on the fourth lap of the race.
Savatgy was the next man on the move as he got around Friese for third and worked up to Brayton in second. Tomac wasn’t quite getting away out front as Brayton remained close and the top five were essentially nose to tail at the halfway point.
Brayton continued to be pressured by Savatgy as he was trying to hang on for second. Roczen got around Friese to get into fourth but was too far back. Savatgy made the pass stick on Brayton right before the white flag waved with Tomac holding onto a three second advantage out front.
Eli Tomac would cruise to the win out front to sweep all three races of the British Grand Prix and win the overall with it. Savatgy finished second in the Super Final with Brayton in third and Roczen in fourth. The overall scores saw Tomac take the win over Roczen with Friese rounding out the podium.