Taking home the win at Round 5 of the AMA Supercross Championship was Kawasaki's Eli Tomac.
The Kawasaki rider started up near the front, but it was Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen who was in the lead coming out of the first turn. Tomac’s teammate Adam Cianciarulo was also in the mix early, as was defending champion Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb.
The racing was fierce and physical at round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship inside Oakland Coliseum in Oakland.
Seven minutes into the 20-minute plus one lap Main Event, Webb had dropped back but the top three remained within 1.6 seconds of each other. On the eighth lap Tomac got around his teammate, and on the eleventh he moved past Roczen and into the lead. Tomac pulled out some breathing room, but a big mistake on Lap 15 sent him over a berm and Roczen was once again in front. Three laps later, Tomac made the same pass on the Honda rider to get back into the top spot and remained mistake free until the checkered flag.
On the final lap while running in third place, Webb put in a burst of speed and moved up to Roczen; in the final turn Webb cut under and nabbed the position – a last-corner pass reminiscent of the Arlington finish between the two riders in 2019.
On the podium, race winner Eli Tomac said, “Once I got to the front, after the sand, I lifted a wheelie, and missed my rear brake when I set the front end down. That’s why I rode over that berm. Luckily, I was able to hop right back on. That was a gnarly fight, I was like, ‘Gosh dang it I just blew it’ but I had enough time to get back to the front. So frickin’ awesome night.”
Webb was asked if he had thought he had a shot at second place on the final lap, “Honestly I thought I was a little far back. I went over the finish and it seemed like a pretty big gap. So I was going for it and I killed the last lap, honestly, and made a run in the whoops. I kinda missed the only passing point on the track. Man, we were so close going back and forth there, and unfortunately made contact in that last turn, but I was really trying to square him up and get underneath. You know I’m sorry for, obviously, the contact but we were going for it, and like you said I really need to kinda claw my way back into this championship and every point counts. But it was a good fight.”
Roczen made it up onto the podium with his right foot hurting, “I gave it my all. I didn’t have it today. Even in practice I was just off speed-wise and everything, so I’m glad my starts have been really good. I’ve been putting in a lot of focus on that. And actually, I rode really well, I thought, just towards the end [it got bad], like just bouncing off some of the bumps, you know? I really noticed I left some time on the track and then I made a couple of big mistakes with a couple of laps to go. Then Cooper came in on that last lap, which is fine, we’re fighting for the championship and it’s a last turn pass. I don’t know if it was from the slam or my foot got wedged somewhere but definitely [I got] a stinger to my foot, I can feel it swelling up in my boot right now. So I’ll take a look at that later. Overall, you know, I got a podium finish.”
In the Western Regional 250SX Class the racing produced series points changes for the top four positions. Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis found himself in third place just after the holeshot. Ten minutes into the race Ferrandis put a move on race leader Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner in a 180 degree turn; Forkner ran wide and off the track, reentering in second position where he remained until the finish. The points leader heading into this round, Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper nearly grabbed the holeshot but got shuffled back early, then made his way back to a podium position.
Penrite Honda’s Luke Clout secured his best result of the season, placing fifth in the Main. The rider from New South Wales is eighth in the West Coast 250SX Championship point standings.
“I felt better, testing had gone well and working with Buddy Antunez has clearly helped. It was a positive step forward but we have a lot of work in front of us. I really hope I can stay and complete the championship” said Clout.
Yamaha’s Aaron Tanti also had a great night on the bike finishing ninth overall. It is the New South Welshman’s best finish of the season so far and puts him in 15th in the championship standings.
Queenslander Jay Wilson finished 16th in the Main Event and is 17th in points.
The race results impacted the series points standings; Ferrandis now leads, Cooper dropped to second, and Forkner moved up to third. Both classes are close, with only fifteen points separating the top three 450SX Class racers, and just ten separating the top three in the Western Regional 250SX Class as the series heads to PETCO Park in San Diego next weekend.
450SX Class Results
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
2. Cooper Webb, Clermont, Fla., KTM
3. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda
4. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki
5. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
6. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
7. Dean Wilson, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
8. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Honda
9. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM
10. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (113)
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (110)
3. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha (98)
4. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna (96)
5. Cooper Webb, Clermont, Fla., KTM (95)
6. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Kawasaki (90)
7. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda (75)
8. Justin Brayton, Charlotte, N.C., Honda (73)
9. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (69)
10. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (63)
Western Regional 250SX Class Results
1. Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha
2. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki
3. Justin Cooper, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha
4. Alex Martin, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
5. Luke Clout, Hemet, Calif., Honda
6. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godly, Tex., Honda
7. Derek Drake, Corona, Calif., KTM
8. Brandon Hartranft, Corona, Calif., KTM
9. Aaron Tanti, Silverdale, NSW, Yamaha
10. Martin Castelo, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1. Dylan Ferrandis, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha (109)
2. Justin Cooper, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (107)
3. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (99)
4. Brandon Hartranft, Corona, Calif., KTM (92)
5. Alex Martin, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki (85)
6. Jacob Hayes, Lodi, Calif., Husqvarna (73)
7. Mitchell Oldenburg, Godly, Tex., Honda (72)
8. Luke Clout, Hemet, Calif., Honda (66)
9. Derek Drake, Corona, Calif., KTM (64)
10. Michael Mosiman, Menifee, Calif., Husqvarna (63)