The 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has been a great season, and at its conclusion, the Seattle round will go down as one of the championship’s best. A tough track and stiff competition served up one of the greatest and most unpredictable races yet. To get gain insight on the pandemonium that went down in Lumen Field, we fired off questions to former pro and NBC pit reporter, Jason Thomas.
Rain fell in Seattle during the days leading up to the event, and in the morning for about thirty minutes after the tarps came off, then stopped for the rest of the day. How much of an effect did the moisture actually have on dirt in Seattle?
It had a dramatic effect, but we also got very lucky. With rain forecasted all week, to not get any significant amount of rain on Saturday was very fortunate. The dirt was soft, and the rains of Thursday and Friday certainly left their mark, but to have a rutty race versus the slog it could have been had to be viewed as a win. We’ve had a difficult season weather-wise and the tracks have been showing it. With five outdoor venues over the next six rounds, it may not be over yet, either.
When it gets rutted up like it did in Seattle, you never know when you’re going to catch a peg. Is that a deterrent to taking the same lines every lap, or is it better to take lines that’ve been working for you all night?
I think it can be both. The biggest key is staying aware of changing conditions. Some races, such as Glendale, riders can lock in on one line all the way around the track and never alter it. The dirt doesn’t shift, and it becomes more about executing the same lap over and over. Races like Seattle require adaptation and an open mind. A line that is great on lap two may be a liability by lap fifteen. Knowing when and where to adjust to a changing track is where the magic lies. Some of that can be done on the parade lap. Having a plan A, B, and C is a common strategy. If plan A goes away or feels like it has lost its effectiveness, knowing the alternative ahead of time and immediately employing it is a big coup.
Michael Mosiman was the fastest qualifier of the day in his first race back since getting hurt at Hangtown last summer. Yes, he had a huge advantage due to being in the first session of the day, but even so, were you expecting that level out of him so quickly?
The qualifying session was situational as mentioned, but overall, I was impressed. He hasn’t raced in almost a year and rust could and should be expected. Was he his best self? No, but how could we expect that? Showing he was still capable of running a relevant pace was a great first step. He’s only been riding for six-to-seven weeks, so I would expect improvement as we move forward.
How pivotal was the 2-3-3-3 jump line in the longest rhythm lane? When the guys could nail it cleanly it was faster, but what degree of added risk did it present?
The two rhythm sections back-to-back were the most important sections of the racetrack (outside of the sand wall). When Jett put both together on his quickest laps (and jumped the sand wall), he was putting two-to-three seconds into the leaders. The funny thing is that when done correctly, it wasn’t a huge risk. Had the track been dry, it would have been the standard line done by everyone. The trick was finding a rut that was able to be driven through. The second rhythm section offered a triple out of the corner that only Jett was able to put together with any consistency.
Jordon Smith looked great early in the 250SX main, but the wheels really fell off after he crashed the first time. What’s it like mentally when you see a season slipping away due to a mistake?
I saw his post where he mentioned clearing any concussion concerns, but I was very confident that he was a bit woozy. I hope I’m wrong and that was simply due to bent handlebars, which he alluded to. It certainly looked otherwise, though.
Levi Kitchen had a fantastic night. He’s always been good, but lately he’s been a level above. Can we chalk this up to a home race, or has he simply leveled up in 2024?
It appears that he has taken another step. He was quite a bit better than RJ Hampshire in the heat race and looked like he had Smith under control in the main event until the crashes arrived. Up until now, he has been able to win (just the triple crown to be fair), but it had been by the narrowest of margins. This was a significant departure from that. He was in control the entire night. Impressive stuff.
Talk about the mental strength of Cooper Webb in Seattle. He stayed in the fight and managed to hold off Sexton, despite developing arm pump late.
This isn’t Webb’s first rodeo. He has been taken to the late rounds by many riders and usually bests them in that scenario. There are not many riders that I would trust more in a last-lap battle than Webb. He often knows where the other rider is going better than they do. He knows where to block and where any opportunity may lie. He’s the ultimate strategist in that regard.
Jett Lawrence eventually settled down and accepted third, despite being able to seemingly make up time at will early in the 450SX main. Were you surprised he didn’t keep going for it?
I was watching him closely and he was still going for the win until the incident with Ryan Breece. Once he dropped back yet again due to that, he realized the risk was far too high to make a serious run. He would have had to nail every single line perfectly to have any chance and that just wasn’t reasonable on a quickly deteriorating racetrack.
Jett’s race was lost when he tried to force the move on Webb. One day (maybe today), he will look back on that and realize he didn’t need to force anything there. He had so much time left and had plenty of pace. He could have used one of the rhythms or whoops to make an unimpeded pass. To force a pass that early just showed that he has some maturing to do yet. This is still all a process for a rookie in this class, even though it feels like he has it all figured out at times. I will say this, though, when he finally gets through his learning process, it’s going to be a very tough period for everyone else. The ceiling for #18 is higher than we have seen in a long, long time.
Aaron Plessinger was pretty good in Seattle, and nearly caught Lawrence for third at the end of the 450SX main event. Did you notice anything he was doing especially well in Seattle?
These conditions work for AP. He is comfortable in the ruts and that was apparent in the heat race as well. The key is to be able to maintain a pace that closely represents what dry conditions would offer. Most can’t overcome the adverse conditions and race through the ruts with speed. AP doesn’t allow the indecision and hesitancy that ruts cause to slow him down. There are techniques to help with this, like looking further ahead instead of at the rut directly in front of your tire, but in the end, executing is easier said than done. Everyone has their strengths at this elite level. Anderson can find traction where most can’t at tracks like Denver or Glendale, while AP can navigate ruts and deteriorating conditions more efficiently than most. That’s the magic of a series that has every sort of soil and challenge.
