Photography by Hoppenworld.com
They say patience is a virtue and Jason Anderson showed that the long layoff didn’t dull his race toughness. For nearly two months Anderson sat and watched as many of his top 250 West rivals raced in 450 Supercross events back East. The Rockstar Energy KTM rider was flawless in his victorious run at the Houston round of the 250 West Supercross Series. Anderson bolted out to an early lead, got as much as 2.4 seconds ahead six laps into the 15-lap race and then held off a determined charge by Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson on the final lap to win by 0.797 seconds.
Malcolm Stewart scored his third podium finish of the season, taking third on his Troy Lee Designs Honda, seven seconds back from the leading pair.
The victory was the fourth of the season for Anderson in seven rounds and extended his lead to 11-points over fourth-place finisher Cole Seely with just two 250 West rounds to go.
For Anderson there was no question in the final that he was in control. He shot out front early getting past holeshot winner Jessy Nelson and ending the first lap over Wilson and Justin Hill. Anderson had a two-second gap on the field by the second lap. From there he continued to monitor his lead, keeping it at around two seconds most of the race until Wilson’s late surge.
“I feel good,” Anderson said. “I feel like I used my brain really well and picked up on some things that I’ve been watching those guys do during the races and everything’s good with my whole Rockstar Energy racing team. Hashtag Joe Alessi if you’re watching, you know who you are. Thanks for the start, check it out on Instagram. It’s been a good day and I can’t thank my team enough.”
It was Wilson who came seemingly out of nowhere on the final lap to make a race of it, but in the end he came up just short. He looked nauseated after the race and explained it was the lingering effects of crash earlier in the evening.
“I’m actually in a lot of pain,” said Wilson, who with his runner-up finish moved past Justin Hill to third in the standings. “That race was really difficult for me. My crash through the whoops, it’s like I almost had it saved, but it just slammed me into the ground. When I got going again something felt funny in my shoulder so I went to Asterisk. Thank you to Doc Bodnar and the Asterisk crew. They took care of me and Doctor G, he taped me up. I gave it my best go. It was pretty painful. Just a little bit of a shoulder separation, but I’ll be OK. It was pretty disappointing because I really wanted that win.”
Stewart also moved up a spot in the standings, getting past Cooper Webb for fifth.
“I’m definitely happy with the way I rode,” Stewart said. “This track’s been beating me around. I had a couple of pretty bad crashes in practice. I’m just so glad it ended for me on the podium.”
Seely narrowly missed getting caught up in a first-lap crash and after the race his crew was examining his rear wheel, indicating it might have been damaged early on.
The series picks up again next week in Seattle.
Western Regional 250SX Class Results: Houston
1. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., KTM
2. Dean Wilson, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Kawasaki
3. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
4. Cole Seely, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
5. Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda
6. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha
7. Shane McElrath, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda
8. Jake Canada, Sun City, Calif., Honda
9. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki
10. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda
Western Regional 250SX Class Season Standings
1. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., KTM, 156
2. Cole Seely, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 145
3. Dean Wilson, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Kawasaki, 120
4. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 119
5. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda, 109
6. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha, 107
7. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 87
8. Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda, 85
9. Shane McElrath, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda, 85
10. Dean Ferris, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 63
