Cycle News Staff | May 31, 2020
It was a historic day for the sport of Supercross, with racing resuming after an 85-day stoppage because of, of course, the Coronavirus pandemic. Nothing was hardly normal, however, as the race played out in front of an empty stadium, with everyone, including track personal, race-team members and the riders themselves, required to wear protective masks while maintaining six-feet physical distancing on the infield and in the paddock. Each team was allocated just 10 members, only 400 people total were permitted inside the stadium, and mechanics weren’t allowed to join their rider on the start line and had to stand on designated areas on the infield as the race played out in front of them. It was all weird to say the least. However, there was a feeling of some normalcy and that was between the green and checkered flags.
Most of the attention going into the race was focused on two riders–Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Ken Roczen (Honda HRC). Tomac, who won the last Supercross race at Daytona nearly three months ago, came into “part two” of the championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, holding a narrow three-point lead over Roczen with seven rounds left on the updated Supercross calendar. The race, held in the bright afternoon sunshine, ran its course on an ultra-dry, slick and even dusty track that rewarded those with delicate and precise throttle control. Most of the riders agreed that the track was their biggest challenge of the day.
Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain/WPS/KTM) got things started with the holeshot and quickly opened up a sizable gap over a handful of riders that included championship contenders Tomac, Roczen and defending champ Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM). Before the halfway point, Tomac had taken clear control of second place with Webb and Roczen not far behind. Tomac eventually reeled in and passed Baggett (on lap 12 of what would be a 29-lap race). Once Tomac cleared Baggett, the Kawasaki rider took command of the race and eased away from the rest of the pack for the win, the sixth of the season.
Meanwhile, Baggett drifted backward, while Roczen continued to chase Webb for second.
Roczen pursued Webb for the rest of the race but couldn’t catch the KTM rider and had to settle for third, which meant he’d have to give up five valuable points to the winner Tomac. Roczen now trails Tomac by eight points in the championship with six race (all to be held at Rice-Eccles Stadium) left to go.
Webb needed more than a second place to help his cause, losing another three points to Tomac. Webb, who is third in the championship, now trails Tomac by 32 points.
It was a battle between Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates Zach Osborne and Jason Anderson for fourth place, which ended up going to Anderson. However, he still finished a full 20 seconds behind Roczen.
Team Tedder/Monster Energy’s Martin Davalos had a solid ride, taking the checkered flag in sixth after passing early leader Baggett, who finished a disappointing seventh after such a promising start.
Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha), one of four riders still in title contention going into the race, just couldn’t get going on the slick track and finished eighth, seriously jeopardizing his chance for his first SX title.
Justin Brayton (Honda HRC), who started off the race strongly, slipped back to ninth, with Dean Wilson (Rockstar Husqvarna) rounding out the top 10.
Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) also got off to a fast start but crashed on the second lap and retired back to the pits under his own power.
Other non-finishes included Chad Reed (now riding a KTM) and Fredrik Noren (JGRMX/Suzuki).
The 250SX East Championship resumed, as well. Championship rivals Shane McElrath (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha) and Chase Sexton (Geico Honda) raced 1-2 through out the 22-lap final. McElrath got out in front right from the get-go and never let go of the top spot.
Sexton gave chase the whole way but couldn’t find that extra boost he needed to really challenge McElrath for the win. Sexton crossed the finish line nearly three seconds behind the Yamaha rider, McElrath, who chopped three points off Sexton’s lead. Sexton goes into the next round just seven points ahead of McElrath.
Third in the race went to previous-round winner Garrett Marchbanks (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki). Marchbanks is third in the championship, trailing McElrath by 14 points.
Jeremy Martin (Geico Honda) and Pierce Brown (Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM) rounded out the top five.
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 11 Results 450SX Main Results (Top 10)
1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
29 Laps |
2. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
+03.771 |
3. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
+13.542 |
4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
+20.519 |
5. |
Zach Osborne |
(Hus) |
+22.619 |
6. |
Martin Davalos |
(KTM) |
+24.870 |
7. |
Blake Baggett |
(KTM) |
+27.174 |
8. |
Justin Barcia |
(Yam) |
+30.318 |
9. |
Justin Brayton |
(Hon) |
+32.215 |
10. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
+33.664 |
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 11 Results 250SX East Main Results (Top 10)
1. |
Shane McElrath |
(Yam) |
22 Laps |
2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
+02.949 |
3. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Kaw) |
+28.628 |
4. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Hon) |
+42.086 |
5. |
Pierce Brown |
(KTM) |
21 laps |
6. |
Kyle Peters |
(Hon) |
+05.891 |
7. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
+08.826 |
8. |
Enzo Lopes |
(Yam) |
+11.587 |
9. |
Jace Owen |
(Hon) |
+13.405 |
10. |
John Short |
(Hon) |
+15.583 |
450SX Point Standings
1. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
252 |
2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
244 |
3. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
220 |
4. |
Justin Barcia |
(Yam) |
210 |
5. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
189 |
6. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hon) |
164 |
7. |
Justin Hill |
(Hon) |
148 |
8. |
Justin Brayton |
(Hon) |
143 |
9. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
142 |
10. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(Yam) |
136 |
250SX East Point Standings
1. |
Chase Sexton |
(Hon) |
121 |
2. |
Shane McElrath |
(Yam) |
114 |
3. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Kaw) |
100 |
4. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Hon) |
84 |
5. |
RJ Hampshire |
(Hus) |
80 |
6. |
Enzo Lopes |
(Yam) |
66 |
7. |
Jo Shimoda |
(Hon) |
62 |
8. |
Jalek Swoll |
(Hus) |
58 |
9. |
Jordan Bailey |
(Hon) |
53 |
10. |
Jordon Smith |
(Kaw) |
48 |
2020 Salt Lake City Rnd 11 Qualifying
The 2020 Salt Lake City Supercross, round 11 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, is, once again, up and running. Despite the long layoff and the many restrictions related to Cover-19 (empty stadium, physical distancing and fewer race personal, just to name a few), things are pretty much the same as usual down on the track inside Rice-Eccles Stadium in Utah.
The top two riders in the championship–Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen–are on top of the leaderboard after the completion of timed qualifying, with Roczen posting the quickest time on the last lap to bump Tomac off the top. Only three riders have cracked the 41-second mark: Roczen (41.66), Tomac (41.733) and Adam Cianciarulo (41.842). Of the three, Tomac is the most consistent, as he is the only rider to break that 41-second mark more than once.
Overall, though, times are extremely close. The top seven riders are all within a second of each other, and there are 13 riders all in the 42-second range.
Defending champion Cooper Webb, who is in a must-win situation for the remaining seven rounds if he hopes to retain the number-one plate, is fourth-quickest just ahead of Dean Wilson, who is showing plenty of speed now that he’s fully healed from an early-season injury. One one point, he owned the quickest lap time until the four riders ahead of him finally found their groove.
Surprisingly, well off the pace are the factory Yamaha riders, Justin Barcia and Aaron Plessinger. Both of them were barely able to crack the top 15, with Plessinger recording the 14th-quickest time and Barcia the 15th.
In the 250SX East division, Shan McElrath came out of chute flying. He registered a time that would’ve put him sixth in the 450SX class. His best lap (42.173) was more than a half-second quicker that the next-best rider, defending champ and season leader Chase Sexton. Sexton leads McElrath by 10 points in the championship.
Colt Nichols, Jeremy Martin and Garrett Marchbanks round out the top 250SX East qualifiers.
Weather conditions in Utah are good but a little on the warm side, resulting in a relatively slick and hard-packed track, hard enough to destroy Cianciarulo’s front wheel. He had to replace the wheel after a lap in the final qualifying session.
The afternoon’s racing program gets underway at 2:04 p.m. local (MT) with the first 250SX heat race.
450SX Combined Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
41.666 |
2. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
41.733 |
3. |
Adam Cianciarulo |
(Kaw) |
41.842 |
4. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
42.092 |
5. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
42.095 |
6. |
Blake Baggett |
(KTM) |
42.259 |
7. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
42.287 |
8. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hon) |
42.347 |
9. |
Justin Hill |
(Hon) |
42.352 |
10. |
Zach Osborne |
(Hus) |
42.435 |
250SX East Combined Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1. |
Shane McElrath |
(Yam) |
42.173 |
2. |
Chase Sexton |
(Yam) |
42.592 |
3. |
Colt Nichols |
(Yam) |
42.806 |
4. |
Jeremy Martin |
(Hon) |
43.371 |
5. |
Garrett Marchbanks |
(Kaw) |
43.522 |
6. |
Pierce Brown |
(KTM) |
43.577 |
7. |
Enzo Lopes |
(Yam) |
44.004 |
8. |
Kyle Peters |
(Hon) |
44.005 |
9. |
Chris Blose |
(Hon) |
44.094 |
10. |
Jace Owen |
(Hon) |
44.094 |
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Updated 2020 Schedule
Round 1 |
January 4 |
Anaheim, California |
Round 2 |
January 11 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Round 3 |
January 18 |
Anaheim, California |
Round 4 |
January 25 |
Glendale, Arizona |
Round 5 |
February 1 |
Oakland, California |
Round 6 |
February 8 |
San Diego, California |
Round 7 |
February 15 |
Tampa, Florida |
Round 8 |
February 22 |
Arlington (Dallas), Texas |
Round 9 |
February 29 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
Round 10 |
March 7 |
Daytona, Florida |
Round 11 |
May 31 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 12 |
June 3 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 13 |
June 7 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 14 |
June 10 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 15 |
June 14 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 16 |
June 17 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |
Round 17 |
June 21 |
Salt Lake City, Utah |