While Ken Roczen was cruising to his second Monster Energy Supercross victory in the first three races, everyone’s attention at the series’ return to Anaheim was diverted to the on-track incident between Trey Canard and Chad Reed, and its subsequent aftermath.
While the drama and fallout surrounding Reed and Canard took center stage, another dominant effort by Roczen got somewhat lost in the shuffle. Because his win was so convincing and uneventful, the significance of the German’s triumph was a bit minimized, but the sophomore rider is off to a very impressive start that has officially put the entire 450SX Class field on alert. If his rivals don’t act quickly, Roczen could potentially answer #WhosNext pretty soon.
Here are some of my biggest takeaways from the weekend:
450SX Class
- The key to Roczen’s success thus far in 2015 can be attributed to one thing: starts. We’ve beaten the importance of starts in this sport like a dead horse, but it is undoubtedly truer this season than ever before. With so much talent on the gate, it is virtually impossible to overcome any issues on the opening lap and still walk away with a top result. Just ask Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia. Where Roczen is even more impressive is that he hasn’t been bullet proof out of the gate by any means, but he’s getting his bad starts out of the way in the heats. In the main event he’s been dialed in. Like really dialed in. Last weekend was the first time he didn’t lead the opening lap this season, but he was up front by Lap 2 and has now led 52 of 60 laps in 2015. It’s easy to see why Roczen has a 12-point leading heading into Oakland.
- While he wasn’t able to challenge Roczen for the win, Ryan Dungey and KTM are starting to get the new bike dialed in. It was by far the best effort out of the former champ this season. He was able to close in a little on Roczen and was never challenged by Tomac in third, even though Tomac looked to be faster initially. There’s no flash, there’s no flair; it’s just solid as a rock racing from arguably the most reliable rider in the sport. Dungey’s not worried about the deficit he’s facing right now because he knows his team is moving forward and he knows there’s still 14 races left. Things had a similar feel last summer between Roczen and Dungey, but Dungey made his run towards the end of the season and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that happen again.
Ryan Dungey (5) got his best finish of 2015 with a second place at the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross at Angel Stadium on Jan. 17, 2015 in Anaheim, Calif.
- The wrench in Dungey’s approach will be Tomac. While he wasn’t as strong as we’ve seen, it was still an impressive ride, especially after starting seventh. The standard of performance for guys like Tomac these days is so high that a quiet third place effort is considered an off night. From a big picture standpoint, Tomac moved from seventh to fourth in the standings, and that equals progress. Considering where he started the season, that’s all Tomac is looking for right now.
- All the attention that should be given to the Reed and Canard incident has happened, so I’m not going to dive in any deeper. At the end of the day it was a racing incident all around. It wasn’t anything we’ve ever seen in the sport before, which is why the penalty was so surprising. The biggest and most unfortunate takeaway from it is that you can now pretty much write Reed off for contending for the 2015 title. We’ve lost arguably the most recognizable contender in the battle for the vacant championship, and that’s a heartbreaking blow to the fans that enjoy the sport.
- It’s taken longer than I think many of us expected, but Barcia and the JGR team are getting close to being frontrunners. It’s been nothing but ups and downs, but in Anaheim Barcia topped the practice charts and just missed out on the podium in fourth. He was putting on a charge to catch Tomac at the end and here’s to hoping he keeps the ball rolling into Oakland. It’d be great to see another rider in the mix for the win.
- There were a slew of season-best efforts at Anaheim – Broc Tickle in fifth, Cole Seely in sixth, Dean Wilson in eighth, and Blake Baggett in 10th. It was awesome to see each of these riders find their groove because all four have the speed to do some things this season and shake things up. Tickle has been stellar in his comeback from a broken back and you could argue he’s faster than he’s ever been before. The rookie trio has been overshadowed by the incredible start Jason Anderson has had thus far, but we all know how fast they can be and it had to be a huge shot in the arm for all of them to finish inside the top 10 and overcome some of the early hiccups they’ve faced.
- The BTO Sports KTM squad watched both of its riders go down hard in Anaheim. Justin Brayton didn’t even make it to the Main Event following a crash in the whoops that reportedly left him with a broken collarbone. Andrew Short got another strong start in the Main Event and was challenging for the lead when he went down hard in a corner. Short took his time walking off the track and recorded a DNF, but nothing seems to be serious enough to keep him out of action this weekend. These are two of the most likeable guys in the sport and its always a bummer to see them hit with hard luck.
- Another rider many were pulling for this season will be forced to miss some extended time despite his best intentions. Weston Peick’s broken foot that he suffered while running third in Phoenix was simply too much to overcome in Anaheim. Peick had surgery to stabilize the break heading into Anaheim and came out for first practice, but it wasn’t long before he made the long, hard ride back to the pits. It surely meant bad things for Peick and it sounds like he re-broke the foot in getting back out there. As a result, JGR’s bullpen rider Phil Nicoletti will be back on a supercross track for the time being.
250SX Class
(From left) The 250cc podium of Tyler Bowers (second place), Cooper Webb (winner) and Justin Hill (third place) at the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross at Angel Stadium on Jan. 17, 2015 in Anaheim, Calif.
- Cooper Webb is officially the rider to beat in the West Region. His come-from-behind win in Anaheim was even more impressive than his dominant ride in Phoenix. Webb is able to attack the track unlike anyone else out there and as a result he’s taken control of the championship. The one thing keeping Webb from the potential to run away with things is his inconsistency out of the gate. He’s really only got one good start in three tries and that kind of approach isn’t going to continue to work out.
- With the last lap pass on Tyler Bowers, hopefully we have a new rivalry between two of the most exciting personalities in the 250SX Class with Bowers and Webb. Neither rider is worried about making friends out on the track and they ride with somewhat of a no-holds-barred attitude. Winning is everything and both of these riders are willing to do what it takes to grab the checkered flag.
- Bowers no doubt let a win slip away, but he’ll be better for it. Many thought Bowers would have a strong opinion to share about Webb’s pass, but he ultimately put the onus on himself. He held a multiple second lead and gave it up with a collection of small mistakes. He doesn’t think he should have put himself in the position he did on the final lap and I’d be willing to bet you won’t see him do that again. I think Bowers is somewhat of a sleeping giant in this championship that is still finding his way in adjusting to full time supercross competition, and if there was ever a moment to wake him up it was Webb’s pass on him. It will be interesting to see if Bowers is better than ever in Oakland. He’s definitely got a chip on his shoulder.
- While Jessy Nelson may have given up his second win of the season and the points lead by crashing out of first in Anaheim, he’s not one to count out yet. Given his inexperience in battling for a championship it might be easy to associate his mistake with the pressure of the red plate, but with that one exception Nelson has taken advantage of every opportunity that’s been presented to him this season. He’s got serious speed and its obvious he’s feeling confident, so I think he’ll come back strong in Oakland in hopes of getting the red plate back. This battle out west is shaping up to be a good one.
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