Jason Anderson goes 2-1-4 to top Atlanta Triple Crown
AMA Supercross competitors faced the elusive Triple Crown format at the Atlanta Supercross, the ninth round of the series, held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday.
Three 250SX East Main Events and three 450 Main Events proved to be a grueling task for riders.
Jason Anderson pulled a fourth at the start of the first 450 Main Event and was on the tail of Baggett in third. He made a quick inside pass in the third lap to overtake the third-place spot then started battling.. He made the pass stick the following lap and sat solidly in third. He inched closer to the top-two with three and a half minutes to go and got aggressive as he made the pass for second. He swapped positions with the leader in a spectacular battle amongst the top-six riders, then held his ground to finish second.
He pulled his first holeshot of 2018 in the second 450 Main Event, rode his own race out front, and held his ground to the very end to take the win.
He was fourth at the start of the third and final 450 Main Event and inherited third after Blake Baggett went down in the rhythm section in the second lap. He stayed focused and made the pass for second a few laps later, then went back to third after battling with Eli Tomac with just over seven minutes remaining in the race. Still holding the points lead on the night, he rode a smart race to finish fourth. The 2-1-4 finish gave him his first Triple Crown victory of the season and maintains his lead in the 450 championship.
Jason Anderson 2-1-4
“I was really able to pull through for the races,” said Anderson. “Practice didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but I pulled through. I was consistent during the races—that’s what helped the most. The whoops were sketchy, but I had enough of a cushion in the last main to not have to push it so hard and still come out with the overall.”
Marvin Musquin 4-5-1
“It was a great track; the dirt was amazing and they made it super technical. I had the fastest qualifying time in the afternoon, which is awesome but my starts were not so good tonight. It’s really frustrating when you know you have the speed and you’re behind those guys. Luckily, I was able to regroup for the last moto and we put ourselves in a better position off the start, I was more outside and I was top three right away. I was really happy about my riding tonight except for the starts in the first two motos. It was great to put myself on the 2nd overall, which is good considering my first two results of the night. I’m losing points on the championship [to Jason Anderson] – that is the bad point of today – but the riding is good.”
Eli Tomac – 5-3-2
“These triple-crown races are very intense and at times dangerous,” said Tomac. “So, to make it out of here healthy and on the box is a positive. We’ll keep moving on to next weekend.”
Atlanta Triple Crown – 450 Overall Results
- Jason Anderson – (2-1-4)
2. Marvin Musquin (4-5-1)
3. Eli Tomac (5-3-2)
4. Justin Brayton (1-6-6)
5. Christian Craig (6-7-5)
6. Cooper Webb (14-2-3)
7. Blake Baggett (3-4-18)
8. Dean Wilson – (9-10-10)
9. Malcolm Stewart (8-9-12)
10. Chad Reed (7-15-9)
Jason Anderson – (2-1-4)
2. Marvin Musquin (4-5-1)
3. Eli Tomac (5-3-2)
450 Rider Point Standings
- Jason Anderson – 207 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 165 points
3. Blake Baggett – 150 points
4. Justin Brayton – 144 points
5. Eli Tomac – 137 points
6. Weston Peick – 136 points
7. Cooper Webb – 125 points
8. Cole Seely – 124 points
9. Broc Tickle – 118 points
10. Justin Barcia – 113 points
250 SX
Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner made a last lap pass in the final main event race to win his first triple crown and take back-to-back wins at the first-ever supercross inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The three-race format meant that starts would be critical and Forkner was able to lock down three good starts to put himself in contention. In Main Event 1, he got a decent start but was forced to push his way through the pack from sixth to finish fourth.
He really took charge of the start in Main Event 2 when he got out front early and led nearly every lap before finishing second.
With the overall on the line, Main Event 3 was chaotic after Forkner got a mid-pack start but was quickly pushing his way to the front. He had time on his side with the final race being the longest. As he entered the final lap, Forkner sat second overall but a last-lap pass pushed him into a tie for the overall with Forkner winning the tie breaker and taking the win.
Forkner now sits just two points back of the championship leader, Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne.
Austin Forkner 4-2-3
“The format is really fast and it makes that final race pretty crazy,” said Forkner. “We did know where we needed to be in that final race to end up on the podium or get a win, but I saw my mechanics’ pit board with two laps to go and knew I needed to get by the rider in front of me. It’s really cool to take the win and make up even more points. There is a lot of racing left and I think I’m really going to like Daytona.”
Zach Osborne 1-3-5
“It was a decent night,” said Osborne. “I missed out on the overall in the last main – it is what it is – but I’m still happy with the night. I had a great ride in the first main, and two strong rides after that. I hit my nose and my face pretty hard in the second main when I crashed, but I’m going to keep fighting.”
Atlanta Triple Crown – 250SX Class Results
- Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), 4-2-3
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 1-3-5
- Jordon Smith (KTM), 3-4-6
- RJ Hampshire (Honda), 7-5-4
- Jeremy Martin (Honda), 6-10-1
- Colt Nichols (Yamaha), 5-11-2
- Kyle Peters (Suzuki), 11-7-7
- Martin Davalos (Kawasaki), 8-1-17
- Brandon Hartranft (Yamaha), 12-8-9
- Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 9-14-8
Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), 4-2-3
Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 1-3-5
Jordon Smith (KTM), 3-4-6
250SX Class Eastern Region Points Standings
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 70
- Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), 68
- RJ Hampshire (Honda), 57
- Jordon Smith (KTM), 55
- Colt Nichols (Yamaha), 54
- Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 47
- Jeremy Martin (Honda), 47
- Luke Renzland (Yamaha), 42
- Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha), 34
- Martin Davalos (Kawasaki), 34
Images by Hoppenworld
