It's a weekend that will never be forgotten in Monster Energy Supercross, as Eli Tomac's apparent 450SX Championship went poof in an instant, in a bizarre injury so rarely seen in this sport.
Meanwhile, Chase Sexton won the race, Adam Cianciarulo grabbed a podium and Ken Roczen came from last-to-second in an injury-depleted field. RJ Hampshire scored the 250 win. Former pro Jason Thomas was on hand at Empower Field, and here's what he saw.
The dirt in Denver gets hard, that’s just how it is. This year they mixed sand in with the dirt, put more water down throughout the day, and it was a night race. Did these factors contribute to a different track than last year’s
Yes, those factors all helped to create a better, more raceable surface than in 2022. The sand made it a bit inconsistent at first but once it mixed in, it added traction in areas that were much more hard packed last year.
Maybe a bigger factor was the timing of the Monster Jam event, though. Last year, Monster Jam visited Empower Field the weekend before Monster Energy Supercross. That means the dirt sits in the stadium for nearly two weeks, baking in the spring sunshine. It’s very difficult to soften the base once it hardens. It was apparent during last year’s racing that the sun had won that battle. With Monster Jam not leading up to the event this year, Dirt Wurx was able to protect the soil much more, leading to more agreeable conditions on Saturday. Factor in a bit of rain on Thursday and things set up perfectly for dirt that really needs a lot of attention.
Eli Tomac injured his Achilles tendon in a seemingly routine section. Have you ever seen anything like this before? Was there anything he could have done to avoid this injury?
I am hoping he will shed insight as to if he had any prior issues with his Achilles. If this was completely without warning, I will have to admit that I’ve never seen an injury like this happen in moto. If this was the NFL or NCAA football, I would be much less surprised. The premium protection offered by boots in our sport usually prevents this type of injury. We need more information before we can fully understand what happened here.
Adam Cianciarulo was on the box for the first time this season and was understandably emotional. Moving forward, is this the spark that ignites an inferno, or does this get written it off as a result of a thin field? Should we all just chill and appreciate that he earned a podium?
I don’t think we should expect any change based off of this result. The depth is a real factor here but honestly, who cares. You can only race against who shows up on Saturdays. He has been through Hell for a long while now, mentally suffering alongside the laundry list of physical injuries. If anyone gave him a sideways look as Adam expressed the relief and joy of finally seeing success, that tells me more about them than Adam.
All along, I have hoped Adam could just put in a full season and stay healthy. He’s a great rider, so I knew the results would come if that prior prerequisite was accomplished. He did miss a few rounds but here we are, at round 17, and Adam is one of the few factory riders left. That’s a win.
What’d you make of Ken Roczen’s ride? He came from last to second, which is incredible, but was it because he’s that much better than the healthy field, or was there something Roczen was doing that was particularly impressive in Denver?
The lack of depth has to be acknowledged. There’s simply no way around that. But, he still rode really well. Both things can be true in that the field is decimated, making things much easier, and he also charged from the back with solid pace. There’s no way he gets to second place in a full field, starting from last, but I don’t think anyone is claiming that. No one has control over the injuries sustained by their competitors. Both Kenny and AC9 have been on the other side of this coin many times so I am very much ok with them seeing the upside of this dynamic for once.
Colt Nichols’ contract with Honda HRC doesn’t extend into the summer, which makes every remaining supercross an opportunity for him to bolster his resume. Unfortunately he crashed out in Denver. Is this a big blow or a non-issue for him moving forward?
I don’t think it really changed anything big picture but of course it was a missed opportunity. The field is missing several stars, opening the door to better finishes (a la his 4th in Nashville). I don’t know what the future holds for him this summer but as we see more and more injuries strike the factory teams, they will want and need to fill those spots. I would assume Nichols’ representation has been making phone calls on repeat to see who needs a solid top ten guy.
There was a steep wall jump in Denver just before the finish line. At some point guys decided to start launching it, which turned it into a double with a lot of hangtime. What were the advantages and disadvantages of launching it?
The upside is carrying momentum into and through the jump. The key to that was staying as low as possible when jumping, though. The higher a rider jumped, the less effective the line was. To accomplish this, riders would want to garner as much speed as possible exiting the corner, making acceleration on the take-off unnecessary. Accelerating on the take-off is what sends riders higher, compressing the suspension and rebounding off the tip of the jump. If speed is attained prior and then the rider backs off coming into the jump, the suspension can stay higher in the stroke on the take-off, keeping riders lower. It seems like semantics but staying lower over jumps like this is how the best guys gain time over the rest of the field. Simply jumping the hardest sections isn’t enough, staying low means more overall speed and lower laptimes.
RJ Hampshire won the main event in Denver, but did after hitting a false neutral and casing a big double. What’d you like and dislike about Hampshire’s night?
It was the full RJ experience! There is simply no one giving more effort out there than RJ Hampshire. That comes with the highest of highs and lowest of lows. He takes risk and this year, it’s paid off more than ever. He got the second win of his career and several podium finishes. He earned a new contract at Rockstar Husky and is coming into the Pro Motocross season with a lot of confidence.
If I had to dislike something, it’s just the likelihood of a night-ending mistake. It’s very difficult to win championships when the bad days are horrific (think A2). Those inconsistencies need to be smoothed out for him to be his best self. I don’t know if that development ever occurs for RJ but this year is the closest to it that he’s been. Being a podium guy week in and week out and sprinkling in a win or two will make you a lot of money in this sport.
Levi Kitchen had a good night in Denver. He was quick in qualifying, won his heat race, and led a ton of laps in the main event. On the other hand, he got beat by a guy who cased a double and went off the track. Is this a confidence builder or a discouraging turn of events for Kitchen?
I think it can be both. He had a great night overall but there is a bit of disappointment, too. He led something like 16 laps which would usually indicate a win for your troubles. For someone who still doesn’t have much SX experience (especially compared to someone like RJ), I thought it was a great indication of what’s to come. I think Levi’s race came down to the next lap or two after Hampshire’s mistake. If he could have logged two really strong laps, it would have let doubt creep in for RJ. RJ, though, really turned it up, started closing, and then hope appeared.
For Levi, these are all learning lessons. If you don’t have him as one of your title favorites for 2024, I don’t know what to tell you.
A troubling video from the stadium emerged over the weekend. What are your thoughts on this?
This is easily one of the biggest marketing gaffes in NFL history. I am generally a fan of Russell Wilson. Having said that, good lord, what a horrible idea.
