Cycle News Staff | June 10, 2020
Despite finishing third, Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) still managed to pad his 450SX points lead by another point in the race for the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, but it’s no longer Ken Roczen who is chasing the Kawasaki rider but tonight’s winner Cooper Webb.
Cooper Webb and his mechanic celebrate their third win of the season. Photo: Simon Cudby
For the second Wednesday in a row, Webb, on the Red Bull KTM, came away with the victory, his third of the season, and, with it, overtook Roczen for second place in the championship. Webb seemed to be the rider to beat all night, as he out-dueled Roczen earlier in the evening in a heat race, then out-dueled Roczen again for over half the race in the main event before the Honda rider began to again fade. This gave Webb a comfortable lead for the latter portion of the race, and he held on to for the victory, taking the checkered flag more than five seconds ahead of Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), who again put in a solid ride.
“It was a great race, I almost got the holeshot and led every lap, which is the first time I’ve been able to do that this year,” Webb said. “Kenny was riding really well at the beginning. I made a few mistakes and we battled there for a second but I regained focus, and I was able to ride my laps and ended up getting a decent lead, which is nice. I feel like the first three [rounds] we’ve been battling down to the last lap so it was cool to be able to enjoy that one a little bit more, not so stressful.”
Tomac’s chances of winning went out the window just a few feet into the race. He got pinched off right at the start and came out of the first turn deep in the field, around 15th place. He slowly and methodically worked his way up through the field, while Webb and Roczen battled up front. By the 20th lap of what would be a 26-lap race, he had caught Roczen, who was obviously struggling with his breathing. (He’s been struggling with a respiratory issue ever since arriving in Utah.) Tomac passed Roczen for fourth, then reeled in and passed Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain/WPS/KTM) for third, landing on the podium after his terrible start. He now has a 27-point lead over Webb, which is, still, a full race lead with three to go. Roczen, now third, is two points behind Webb.
There was another shake-up in the points. Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha) surrendered fourth in the championship to Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) after crashing out of the race and carding a DNF. He was credited with 21st, which pays just two points. Barcia now trails Anderson, who was seventh on the night, by four points in fifth.
Malcolm Stewart didn’t fare any better. He dropped out with a mechanical and earned just one point on the night, allowing Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), seventh on the night, to gain big points on him in their battle for sixth in the series.
Osborne was happy with his runner-up. “I feel like we’re building some momentum here,” Osborne said. “I’ve been enjoying this Salt Lake trip, and I feel like I’m in a good headspace, which is good. I managed two good starts tonight and was able to come away with my second podium of the stretch here. I really felt like I was in a good position tonight and we had a good result so I’m pretty happy with it.”
Earlier in the evening, Austin Forkner led all 20 laps of the 250SX West main event. He grabbed the holeshot and never planted a knobby wrong the whole way. But he couldn’t let down his guard too much.
After some jostling for position for nearly the entire first half of the race, points leader Dylan Ferrandis got into second place and made sure he was ready to pounce in case Forkner made a slight mistake, which, unfortunately for him, never came. Ferrandis rode well, however, as he closed in to within a few laps of the Kawasaki ride, taking the checkered flag 3.109 seconds behind Forkner.
Cameron McAdoo made it two Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasakis on the podium with third, finishing just two seconds ahead of Ferrandis’ teammate Justin Cooper, who was the rider closest to Ferrandis in the points race going into the third-to-last round of the 250SX West Championship.
Despite finishing second, Ferrandis actually extended his points lead to 10, but now he has Forkner in his rear-view mirror instead of Cooper. Both Ferrandis and Forkner have three wins on the season.
Cooper, who finished fourth, is now third in the championship but trails Forkner by just one point.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Michael Mosiman finished fifth, well ahead of JGRMX/Yoshimura Factory Suzuki Racing’s Alex Martin.
Brandon Hartranft, Christian Craig, Derek Drake and Mitchell Oldenburg completed the top 10.
The Australian brothers, Jeff and Hunter Lawrence, we victims of crashes. Jett took 11th and Hunter 13th.
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship
Round 14 of 17
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Salt Lake City, Utah
Results: June 10, 2020
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 14 450SX Results
| 1. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
26 laps |
| 2. |
Zach Osborne |
(Hus) |
05.091 |
| 3. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
08.683 |
| 4. |
Blake Baggett |
(KTM) |
09.622 |
| 5. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
16.618 |
| 6. |
Martin Davalos |
(KTM) |
20.255 |
| 7. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
25.011 |
| 8. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
38.322 |
| 9. |
Aaron Plessinger |
(Yam) |
43.141 |
| 10. |
Benny Bloss |
(KTM) |
49.391 |
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 7 250SX West Results
| 1. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
20 laps |
| 2. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
03.109 |
| 3. |
Cameron McAdoo |
(Kaw) |
14.151 |
| 4. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
16.300 |
| 5. |
Michael Mosiman |
(Hus) |
17.315 |
| 6. |
Alex Martin |
(Suz) |
31.222 |
| 7. |
Brandon Hartranft |
(KTM) |
33.615 |
| 8. |
Michael Craig |
(Hon) |
35.687 |
| 9. |
Derek Drake |
(KTM) |
35.687 |
| 10. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
45.173 |
450SX Point Standings After 14 of 17 Rounds
| 1. |
Eli Tomac |
(KTM) |
322/7 wins |
| 2. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
295/3 wins |
| 3. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
293/3 wins |
| 4. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
245 |
| 5. |
Justin Barcia |
(Yam) |
241/1 win |
| 6. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hon) |
199 |
| 7. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
191 |
| 8. |
Zach Osborne |
(Hus) |
186 |
| 9. |
Justin Brayton |
(Hon) |
184 |
| 10. |
Justin Hill |
(Hon) |
179 |
250SX West Point Standings After 7 of 9 Rounds
| 1. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
158/3 wins |
| 2. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
148/3 wins |
| 3. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
147/1 win |
| 4. |
Brandon Hartranft |
(KTM) |
126 |
| 5. |
Alex Martin |
(Suz) |
115 |
| 6. |
Michael Mosiman |
(Hus) |
100 |
| 7. |
Luke Clout |
(Hon) |
94 |
| 8. |
Derek Drake |
(KTM) |
92 |
| 9. |
Jacob Hayes |
(Hus) |
89 |
| 10. |
Mitchell Oldenburg |
(Hon) |
85 |
QUALIFYING
Another Supercross round is already here and qualifying for the 2020 Salt Lake City Supercross round 14 is complete. The sun is out and the track is, at the moment, hard-packed, but that should change later when the sun starts to set and cooler temperatures prevail for tonight’s 7:00 p.m. (East) start.
The 250SX West Championship is back and Cooper Webb is the top qualifier. Photos: Feld
Topping the charts for the second time during this seven-round stretch in Salt Lake was Blake Baggett. The Rocky Mountain/WPS/KTM Team rider was also the top qualifier at the last Wednesday race here. Baggett has been riding well in Utah. Remember, he led a bunch of laps at the first SLC race a little over a week ago. However, he has yet been able to put it all together in the main events. After today’s timed qualifying, he mentioned he is still getting used to the stadium’s 4000-plus-foot elevation but has another week under his belt here now, so could this be his night?
Baggett and Ken Roczen (Honda HRC) are the only riders to break into the 44-second range, but less than a half-second behind them is championship leader Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki). Defending champ Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) and Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) round out the top five.
Round 14 marks the return of the 250SX West Championship. Their last race was way back in early February in San Diego and Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha), the defending champ, took the win. Ferrandis leads his teammate Justin Cooper in the championship going into this race but by only eight points. And the two are already going at it with Cooper edging out Ferrandis by a 10th of a second for top qualifer honors.
Third in the championship is Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki) who six points behind Cooper. Forkner is the fifth-best qualifier but only a half-second off the pace.
Sixteen-year-old Jett Lawrence is back in action after getting injured at the Anaheim 2 Supercross in January. He hasn’t lost his speed and clicked off the third-quickest time, edging out his Geico Honda teammate Christian Craig.
Keep an eye on Forkner and Hunter Lawrence, Jett’s brother, tonight because there was already some fireworks between these two young stars. At slow speed, Forkner appeared to purposefully brush up alongside Lawrence on the track; Lawrence took exception and immediately retaliated in the next turn with both riders going down. They weren’t going fast and neither were injured but obviously there is some bad blood between the two. We’re guessing the AMA saw the incident and will keep an eye on them, as well.
Only three rounds remain in the 250SX West Series, including tonight’s race, Sunday’s race, and the final East/West Shootout. CN
For the second time in Utah, Blake Baggett is the top 450SX qualifier.
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 14 450SX Qualifying Results
| 1. |
Blake Baggett |
(KTM) |
44.704 |
| 2. |
Ken Roczen |
(Hon) |
44.975 |
| 3. |
Eli Tomac |
(Kaw) |
45.088 |
| 4. |
Cooper Webb |
(KTM) |
45.431 |
| 5. |
Dean Wilson |
(Hus) |
45.545 |
| 6. |
Jason Anderson |
(Hus) |
45.726 |
| 7. |
Benny Bloss |
(KTM) |
45.761 |
| 8. |
Malcolm Stewart |
(Hon) |
46.073 |
| 9. |
Martin Davalos |
(KTM) |
46.113 |
| 10. |
Zach Osborne |
(Hus) |
46.149 |
2020 Salt Lake City Supercross Rnd 14 250SX West Qualifying Results
| 1. |
Justin Cooper |
(Yam) |
45.705 |
| 2. |
Dylan Ferrandis |
(Yam) |
45.806 |
| 3. |
Jett Lawrence |
(Hon) |
45.891 |
| 4. |
Christian Craig |
(Hon) |
46.030 |
| 5. |
Austin Forkner |
(Kaw) |
46.113 |
| 6. |
Cameron McAdoo |
(Hon) |
46.448 |
| 7. |
Brandon Hartranft |
(KTM) |
46.511 |
| 8. |
Michael Mosiman |
(Hus) |
46.795 |
| 9. |
Hunter Lawrence |
(Hon) |
47.199 |
| 10. |
Alex Martin |
(Suz) |
47.494 |
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 |
