Anderson And Savatgy Take WSX Title Fight Down to the Last Lap

Savatgy responded to Anderson’s fast qualifying lap, topping super pole by a mere 0.016 seconds over his teammate Craig. The Quad Lock Honda duo would head to the night 1-2 with Clout in third. A mistake in a rhythm lane cost Anderson his super pole lap giving him fourth gate pick for the night.

It did not take long for the dramatics to start once the gate dropped for SX1 Race 1. Savatgy faded out on Anderson exiting the first turn, causing Anderson to jump off the track. Savatgy took off with the lead while Anderson rode alongside the track. However, Anderson rejoined the track side-by-side with Craig for second, and by the third turn he was up the inside of Savatgy making an aggressive move for the lead. Joey tried to retaliate in the next turn but could not get it done.

The championship trio ran 1-2-3 until Craig fell victim to the slick Cape Town soil and found himself on the ground. Craig was able to remount and charge back to fifth, but it was an uphill battle from there for the 28.

Up front, Savatgy hounded Anderson the entire race but Jason was able to inch away at the end and take the first win of the night and take sole possession of the points lead.       Behind them, Anderson’s PMG Suzuki teammate, Colt Nichols, made a late race move on Luke Clout to take the final spot on the podium.

After the race, Quad Lock Honda Team Manager Yarrive Konsky was asked about Anderson’s off track excursion, explaining, “He pushed through the straight. You saw him turning on the dirt as fast as he possibly could. One would argue that he was trying to get back on the track as quickly as he could, some would argue that he lost a position to Joey. It is difficult.”

Stark Future’s Jorge Zaragoza grabbed an electric-powered holeshot in race two. Anderson followed and made a quick pass for the lead. Savatgy exited turn one in third but got shuffled back in the lap one chaos and fell back to sixth.

Anderson took advantage of the clear track and took off for an easy win. Savatgy, on the other hand, had his back against the wall to keep himself in position to control his own destiny in race three. If he could get back to second, he would keep Jason within two points and still take the title by winning the third race, but if he couldn’t get to second, he’d be back three points or more and Anderson could clinch the title with a second in race three.

Joey got to work and made his way through the likes of Clout, Vince Friese and Henry Miller. With three laps to go he was up to third but Zaragoza, who was having maybe his most impressive showing of his career, was a few seconds ahead. By the last lap, Savatgy was on Zaragoza’s rear wheel and was able to get by when Jorge missed a triple in a rhythm lane. It was a clutch performance and put Joey where he needed to be heading into race three.

The third championship contender, Christian Craig, found himself on the ground once again and this time he was only able to get back to ninth. This put him 13 points back heading into the final race. Craig would basically need Savatgy and Anderson to take each other out of race three to have a chance at the title.

Craig was able to grab the holeshot and early lead in race three, but it didn’t last long. Savatgy and Anderson made their way by within a few sections, and like we have seen in so many championships battles, the two battling for the title separated themselves from the rest of the field.

This one was amazing. It was winner-take-all, and Savatgy and Anderson went toe to toe for the entire twelve laps. The two went back and forth several times and nearly every pass was made with aggression. The two hit many times and one defensive move by Savatgy even sent Anderson of the track and between lanes. It was a masterclass of aggressive, hard racing without crossing the line of dirty.

With four laps to go, Anderson seemed to have the race in hand, but Joey put in a last lap push and got right back to Anderson’s rear wheel. He went for the championship winning pass with two turns to go but came short on the jump into the turn. It gave Anderson just enough of an advantage to escape the front wheel of the #17 Quad Lock Honda. Anderson won the race, swept the night, and gave Pipes Motorsports Group their third WSX SX1 title in four years.

Lost in the championship battle, Colt Nichols’ 3-6-4 scores put him on the overall podium. Christian Craig and Luke Clout rounded out the top 5.

After the race Anderson credited Joey on a great battle saying, “That’s racing. Joey kept me on my toes, and he is so underrated for how good he is. I know it’s two eights and a twelve (minutes), but that is a lot of intense racing, and I’m pretty exhausted.”

SX2 presented the battle we expected to see all season long. Team GSM’s (via Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) Max Anstie came into the week needing to score just four points to clinch the title, while defending SX2 champion, Quad Lock Honda’s Shane McElrath was in a close battle for second in points with Rick Ware Racing’s Coty Schock

McElrath has had an underwhelming WSX season but reminded everybody why the number one plate was on his bike. Shane led every lap of all three races and became the first overall winner not named Max Anstie in SX2 this year.

Shane was able to sprint away and dominate race one. Anstie had to find his way around Sweden’s race three winner, Enzo Lopes, early on but could not cut into Shane’s lead much once he got into second. The second-place finish was enough to clinch the title; his second in the WSX SX2 class.

In race two and three Anstie hounded McElrath the whole way but could never put himself into position to attempt a pass. McElrath was flawless all night and never cracked under pressure.