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Morning Report

After two mud races, we're set for a beautiful day here in Denver for round 16 of Monster Energy Supercross. The sun is out and a high of 72 degrees is expected this afternoon. The riders will have plenty of challenges today, but adverse weather won't be one of them! 

The action to watch today will be in the 450SX Class. With just two rounds remaining Ken Roczen leads Hunter Lawrence by four points, making tonight an extremely important race. If Roczen is able to stack more points on Lawrence, even just two points, it’ll be much more difficult for Lawrence to win this title next week at the finale in Salt Lake City. With a six-point lead, Roczen could finish third next week and win the title no matter what, and with the way Roczen has been riding lately, worse than third seems pretty unlikely. Clearly, a win for Lawrence tonight is of the upmost importance.

Further complicating things in the 450SX Class is the return of Eli Tomac, who crashed hard during qualifying in Cleveland and hasn’t raced since. He’s back in Denver though, and if he’s back in top form he’ll be a factor up front tonight. Cooper Webb, although out of the title chase for all intents and purposes, is still in the mix too and has been riding very well lately. He’s taken second at the last three races in a row! Keep an eye on Justin Hill today also—he lives and trains at high elevation in Wyoming, so these Mile High conditions should suit him well. Go here to check out an interview Eric Johnson did with him earlier this week.

In the 250SX Class the West Division is back in action, but Haiden Deegan has already clinched the championship. And considering how dominant he was before the West went on break, there’s no reason to think he won’t win tonight. The battle for second in points is tight though. Levi Kitchen, in second place, leads Max Anstie by just three points, and Ryder DiFrancesco is only another three points back of Anstie. That’s tight enough that any of those three could end up in second after the checkered flag flies! For more storylines coming into this weekend, like Gage Linville making his debut with Triumph Racing, go here.

The track features a fairly long start stretch with a very small drop, about the height of a curb, about fifteen feet out of the gate. It’s likely there to help keep riders from accidentally drifting in to the mechanic’s area during the races, and it probably won’t play a huge role in how the starts play out. The start funnels left into a small rhythm section before taking a 180-degree righthander into the first whoops section. That’s right, there are two whoop sections today. There’s also a sand section with inside and outside options coming into it, and a long rhythm lane that runs the length of the stadium.

Qualifying is set to begin here shortly, so check back for a report on who’s throwing down heaters in Denver.

Qualifying – First Sessions

Haiden Deegan jumped out to the lead right away in the first 250SX qualifier with a 53.214, and it held for multiple laps before Ryder DiFrancesco turned a 52.945. At that point Deegan turned the heat back up and started going hard again, but the closest he could get was a 53.073. DiFrancesco, meanwhile, lowered his own time down to 52.688, which would hold for the rest of the session. This soil is hard, not unlike what DiFrancesco grew up riding on in Bakersfield, California, so maybe that’ll play into how things unfold today.

In 450 action Eli Tomac was immediately back to his old tricks, setting a 52.624 early, but a couple laps later Hunter Lawrence busted out a 52.144. Tomac instantly responded though, turning a 52.113 to jump back to the top of the board. Qualifying then unfortunately came to a halt when Joey Savatgy crashed hard attempting to double a big gap coming into a rhythm lane, which prompted a red flag. Savatgy eventually left the track in the Alpinestars Medical Mule with his right arm in a sling. We’ll have more info on this situation when it becomes available.

When qualifying resumed Malcolm Stewart threw down an incredibly fast lap, recording a 51.970! Lawrence wouldn’t be denied though, and quickly went back to first with a 51.687. It wouldn’t matter because on the last lap Chase Sexton turned it up and unleashed a 51.259. Ken Roczen was never a factor up front in this one. He hovered around seventh to fifth, eventually taking fifth-fastest with a 52.013.