AMA Supercross 2019

Round Four – Oakland Coliseum

Images by Hoppenworld

Cooper Webb arrived at the Oakland Coliseum fresh from his maiden victory at A2 with two wins in the triple-header format and that round win had promoted Webb up into third in the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship.

There were, however, only seven points separating the top five in the series as they readied for battle in Northern California, and the man at the head of that table was Ken Roczen. The Honda man has led the most laps so far this season, but is still yet to win a Main. The German has been consistent enough though to build a tally of 63-points which saw him leading Eli Tomac by two-points as they arrived in Oakland.

A rider missing from the gates at this fourth round of the championship was 2018 AMA SX Champion Jason Anderson. A practice crash earlier in the week had seen the 25-year-old break his left arm in two places, the hopes for a successful championship defence now in tatters.

Eli Tomac and Joey Savatgy were the winners of the heat races ahead of Cole Seely and Ken Roczen respectively. Dean Wilson and Justin Bogle were forced to the LCQ in order to make their way through to the Main.

450 Main

Cooper Webb scored the clear holeshot when the gates dropped and early on it was a KTM 1-2-3 with Marvin Musquin and Justin Bogle right behind him. Aaron Plessinger, Joey Savatgy and Ken Roczen had also all started well while Eli Tomac and Chad Reed were outside the top ten.

Savatgy got the better of Plessinger a couple of minutes in to the race to claim fourth. Roczen then pushed Plessinger further back to sixth place as Eli Tomac was marching his way through the field.

By the four-minute mark Tomac had moved up to seventh place ahead of Dean Wilson and Justin Barcia, while Blake Baggett was rounding out the top ten ahead of Chad Reed.

Savatgy then moved up to third place after squeezing past Bogle. Roczen then pushed Bogle further back to fifth a lap later.

Aaron Plessinger then got ejected from his Yamaha over the wall jump and it took more than 30-seconds for the #7 to get up and running again after another rider landed in his machine and damaged it. That promoted Tomac up to fifth place and put Plessinger at the back of the field.

Marvin Musquin then made a small mistake as he was pressured from behind by Savatgy and Roczen which saw both those riders get the better of him and push him back to fourth place. Eli Tomac then pushed him further back to fifth as the race broached the halfway marker. Nothing separated those riders from second through fifth, but Cooper Webb had clear air up front and was enjoing an eight-second lead.

The fire then went out in Joey Savatgy’s KX450F while he was running in second place. Savatgy could not get the Kawasaki running again and thus was out of the race while Roczen moved up into that second place ahead of Tomac and Musquin. Blake Baggett was up to fifth ahead of Dean Wilson and the injured Justin Barcia.

Musquin got the better of Roczen with eight minutes remaining and Blake Baggett then added further insult by pushing the Honda man back to fourth. Eli Tomac had made a mistake through a series of jumps which cost him plenty of time and relegated him back to fifth but he then recovered and was starting to pressure Roczen for fourth.

With four-minutes remaining it was a KTM 1-2-3 up front but Webb’s lead had been trimmed to three-seconds by Musquin while Baggett was equidistant in third.

At the two-minute mark Tomac got the better of Roczen to push the Honda man back to fifth.

Marvin Musquin pressured Cooper Webb all the way to the flag but they remained in that order while Baggett was a relatively distant third place to secure KTM that 1-2-3 finish ahead of Kawasaki’s Tomac and Honda’s Roczen.

That win saw Cooper Webb move into the overall championship lead with a two-point buffer over Roczen while Eli Tomac slipped to third place ahead of Musquin. There is nothing in it at the top of the table though with only a four-point spread covering that leading quartet with a huge 13-rounds remaining.

Cooper Webb – P1

“Oakland was a great day for me. It was a perfect race – I was able to lead from start to finish. I had some pressure from Marvin at the end but I held on and was able to get a win, so I’m stoked. Two-in-a-row and the first time I’ve had the red plate in my career is pretty amazing, so hopefully we can keep it going. We’ve got a long season ahead but it’s been a great two weekends so we’ll get back to work on Monday. Thank you to the Red Bull KTM Team for believing in me and getting me back here. It was awesome to see KTM dominate tonight with 1-2-3 finishes and 1-2 for me and Marv the last two weekends.”

Marvin Musquin – P2

“It was super intense and physically it’s tough out there, I’m definitely getting better. This week I was able to ride all week so I’m getting better and better. That track was definitely difficult for everyone and especially those whoops but I figured it out in the Main and I was able to pass some guys. It’s frustrating, I rode really well, I’m really happy but it could have been mine tonight but it happens, no excuses. I went down but I was the fastest and I was able to pass those guys and be a little more consistent. I’m a little bit bummed, finishing right behind cooper is not fun but it’s good, I’m making progress. Second place is good, it’s a lot of points but I want to win for sure.”

Eli Tomac – P4

“We’re in a good position, not only in the point standings but also for the season. I’m healthy and consistently finishing in the top 5. I’ll get back to work with the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki crew and continue to improve each week. It’s all a process and I feel good about this season.”

Ken Roczen – P5

“Oakland started off pretty good. I felt super good in practice and was super-happy with the bike. I was confident going into the night show and happy to have first gate pick. We had a decent heat race, finishing in second. We had to do some little bike adjustments, just as the track changed. I didn’t have a great start at all but fought my way up to second for a bit. I was struggling in the whoops and started feeling uncomfortable and unfortunately, I went back to fifth. That’s not ideal but we’re leaving healthy. We lost the points lead but only by a couple points; it’s a long season, so if we can take this as our worst race, that’s pretty good. It’s time to regroup and hopefully get back on the podium in San Diego.”

Justin Barcia – P7

“Wow. What a day. I had to be really mentally tough. I rode through a lot of pain, but made the best of it. Coming in I knew it would be difficult, but I was pretty optimistic about what I could handle. It was a crazy race for me. It was a difficult track, pretty rough, and I just had to push through the pain. It could have been a lot worse. After last weekend’s crash, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to race but I salvaged some points tonight. I feel like I just need to keep moving forward. Hopefully this week I can work on my body and keep feeling better. We’ll be back at it next weekend in San Diego.”

450SX Main Event

1. Cooper Webb – KTM 23 Laps
2. Marvin Musquin – KTM +00.760
3. Blake Baggett – KTM +09.126
4. Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +13.965
5. Ken Roczen – Honda +20.260
6. Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +26.783
7. Justin Barcia – Yamaha +30.630
8. Justin Brayton – Honda 450 +44.635
9. Chad Reed – Suzuki +48.592
10. Justin Bogle – KTM +55.625

450SX Rider Standings

1. Cooper Webb Newport, NC 83
2. Ken Roczen Clermont, FL 81
3. Eli Tomac Cortez, CO 80
4. Marvin Musquin Corona, CA 79
5. Justin Barcia Greenville, FL 72
6. Dean Wilson Clermont, FL 69
7. Blake Baggett Grand Terrace, CA 66
8. Cole Seely Sherman Oaks, CA 56
9. Justin Brayton Mint Hill, NC 52
10. Aaron Plessinger Hamilton, OH 49

AMA Supercross 2019
250 Western Round Four

Colt Nichols scorched off the line only to be gazumped exiting the first turn by Adam Cianciarulo and Cameron McAdoo. RJ Hampshire was right there too but the #31 Honda went down late on the opening lap as Colt Nichols went past McAdoo and up to second place.

Colt Nichols was piling the pressure on Cianciarulo and looked to have enough speed to take the Kawasaki man as soon as a clear and safe opportunity presented itself. Nichols could not afford to bide his time too long though as closing in on him from behind was Shane McElrath and Dylan Ferrandis.

Cianciarulo made a few small mistakes under pressure from Nichols but then the Kawasaki man regathered himself, got smooth again and started to eke away from Nichols a little as the race approached the halfway mark.

It was at that middle stage of the race where they started to encounter a lot of lapped traffic and Dylan Ferrandis moves past Shane McElrath to move up to third place. The track was getting more chopped and the whoop sections were becoming more technical with every lap.

Dylan Ferrandis bushwhacked his team-mate Colt Nichols with five-minutes remaining in the Main and then broke away from the series leader and set out after race leader Cianciarulo. With three-minutes remaining the gap Ferrandis had to close down was 2.3-seconds. As they got the final lap board Ferrandis had the gap down to eight-tenths but Cianciarulo held on to take the win by 2.5-seconds.

Late in the race Colt Nichols had to fend off a determined challenge from Shane McElrath. There was nothing between them at the last lap board but Nichols got the better run through the lapped traffic to claim the final step on the rostrum.

Victorian racer Tomas Ravenhorst recorded the fastest lap in the LCQ but finished only seventh at the flag and thus missed out on starting the 250 Main.

Adam Cianciarulo – P1

“We got it done tonight and it feels so good. I wasn’t feeling the best throughout the day, but I was able to turn it around for the main and make it a solid night. I’m so grateful and proud of the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and we’re all looking forward to keeping this momentum going.”

Dylan Ferrandis – P2

“The YZ250F was awesome as always this season. It was also another demanding track this weekend, but I was feeling really good, really comfortable. My speed was great, but for sure with better starts it will be easier to win. I want more than second place, and that has had me frustrated, but I had some issues this week and didn’t train a lot. So, I’m happy to be on the box here in Oakland.”

Colt Nichols – P3

“The track was just really rutty and really demanding. The heart rate was really high, so that’s what made it tough to do consistent laps. A solid podium though, can’t ever complain about that, but of course always want more. Once you’ve won that’s all you want to do, but I’ll take a third for tonight, that’s all I had and move on to the next weekend.”

250SX Main Event Results

1. Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki 17 Laps
2. Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha +02.570
3. Colt Nichols – Yamaha +04.609
4. Shane Mcelrath – KTM +06.271
5. Jacob Hayes – Yamaha +22.486
6. Cameron Mcadoo – Honda +27.474
7. Michael Mosiman – Husqvarna +29.637
8. Garrett Marchbanks – Kawasaki +39.955
9. Chris Blose – Husqvarna +43.159
10. Sean Cantrell – KTM +1:05.526

250SX West Standings

1. Colt Nichols Muskogee, OK 91
2. Adam Cianciarulo New Smyrna Beach, FL 88
3. Shane Mcelrath Canton, NC 87
4. Dylan Ferrandis Murrieta, CA 86
5. Rj Hampshire Wesley Chapel, FL 67
6. Cameron Mcadoo Chesterfield, SC 58
7. Chris Blose Phoenix, AZ 58
8. Jacob Hayes Greensboro, NC 55
9. Michael Mosiman Menifee, CA 55
10. James Decotis Peabody, MA 52