Steve Cox | April 6, 2019
Some racers suffer under pressure, while others thrive. Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb thrives under pressure. Tonight, in Nashville, Webb came off of a poor qualifying result of 10th place, then got exactly the start he needed in his heat race, only to get clipped by Mike Alessi in a scary crash that put Webb on the ground. Things were not going well.
But there was a red flag for another incident, and Webb got to line back up. He got another great start and ended up second in the heat, behind Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy. Savatgy’s teammate Eli Tomac’s motorcycle broke while he was leading and he was forced into the LCQ (which he won).
Tomac Captures Nashville Supercross Win
In Nashville, Eli Tomac became the first racer since 2014 to win the LCQ and the 450cc main event. He’s now tied for second in points with Marvin Musquin, who finished sixth. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
Then, in the main event, Webb grabbed the holeshot, and was immediately under pressure from his teammate and closest points rival Marvin Musquin, but Musquin went down in the whoops on the second lap and remounted nearly last. Webb then came under pressure from Savatgy, who had Honda’s Ken Roczen hot on his heels, but then Savatgy lost the front end going into a corner, taking Roczen down with him.
Webb eventually succumbed to pressure from LCQ winner Tomac, who went on to win the main event, while Webb seemed content to let Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Blake Baggett by for second and settle for third place on what could have been a disastrous day for his championship hopes.
Baggett Runner-Up In Nashville SX
Blake Baggett came through for a strong second place. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
Tomac is the first racer to win a 450cc main event after winning the LCQ since Ryan Dungey did it in 2014. Musquin recovered for sixth, but lost even more ground to his young teammate in the championship chase. Tomac and Musquin are now tied for second in the championship, 21 points behind Webb, with three races left to run, which means that Webb only needs to finish fourth place or better in the final three races to clinch his first ever 450cc championship.
Webb Extends Supercross Points Lead
Cooper Webb made the absolute best of his night despite qualifying poorly and having a scary crash in his heat race. He finished third and extended his points lead to 21. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
And in the 250cc East, there was a massive championship shake-up, as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner had a big crash in practice and couldn’t put weight on his knee for the rest of the night. He didn’t line up in Nashville, but thanks in part to his winning five of the first six rounds of the series, and help from his teammate Martin Davalos in Nashville, he still holds a slim three-point lead in the championship with two rounds left to run.
Davalos Wins 250SX West Nashville Win
Martin Davalos stepped up to win the 250cc East main event in the absence of his injured teammate and points leader Austin Forkner. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
Davalos did his part by going out and winning his first main event in three years, and Davalos was assisted on his way to his win by Forkner’s two chief championship rivals—GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper—crashing together in the main event while running up front, when Cooper took Sexton and himself out exiting a left-hand turn.
Forkner carries a three-point lead and has three weeks to heal his knee before he has to hit the track in New Jersey at the penultimate round of the series. Next weekend’s race will see a return to action for the 250cc West in Denver’s Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Nashville Supercross 450SX Video Highlights
Nashville Supercross 250SX West Video Highlights
Nashville Supercross Results 2019
Nashville Supercross Results 2019
Nashville Supercross Results 2019
Nashville Supercross Results 2019
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Qualifying is over at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, where tonight’s first-ever Nashville Supercross is set to kick off at 8 p.m. EST, and if qualifying is any indication, things could get shaken up a bit. In the 450cc class, Ken Roczen set the fastest time of the day, which could mean that his runaway win in the opening main event of last weekend’s Triple Crown was just the beginning for the Honda pilot. Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin was less than a tenth of a second behind Roczen on the charts, while both Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy also landed themselves in the 48-second lap-time range in third and fourth. Fifth was a bit of a surprise with Triggr Racing/Blud Lubricants/AHM Factory Services Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers taking the qualifying spot just in front of Savatgy’s teammate Eli Tomac.
Nashville Supercross Qualifying 2019
Marvin Musquin qualified a strong second in Nashville, which could set him up for a night where he may make up points on Cooper Webb. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
The big news is that Red Bull KTM’s points leader Cooper Webb sat 10th after daytime qualifying, falling from 7th during the opening qualifying session. Between Tomac in sixth and Webb in 10th came Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Blake Baggett, his teammate Justin Bogle, and Honda’s Cole Seely.
Nashville Supercross Qualifying 2019
Cooper Webb could only muster 10th in qualifying. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
And in the 250cc class, the East returns to action, but Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s points leader Austin Forkner didn’t top the charts in qualifying. That honor went to GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton, who was the only 250cc pilot to land himself in the 48-second range along with the top-four 450cc qualifiers. Forkner ended up qualifying third, but a big crash left him with an injured knee and the points leader is actually sitting out the heat races in Nashville in the hopes that his knee will be strong enough to race the LCQ, get into the main, and then salvage as many points as he can before the 250cc East gets two weekends off.
Nashville Supercross Qualifying 2019
Chase Sexton topped 250cc qualifying. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
Forkner’s teammate Martin Davalos wrapped up qualifying in second. The Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha duo of Justin Cooper and Mitchell Oldenburg came home fourth and fifth, followed by JGR/Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Alex Martin, CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha’s Brandon Hartranft, Martin’s teammate Kyle Peters, and then Kentucky’s own Ryan Sipes on his Red Bull/Leatt-backed KTM, who qualified ninth out of the B group.
Nashville Supercross Qualifying 2019
Ryan Sipes qualified 9th in the 250cc class, out of the B group, despite being a full-time off-road racer now. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KOY
The racing will be kicking off shortly, so stay tuned here for updates.
