ChapMoto Supercross Race Recap Week 5: What We Saw At Oakland
This is a
new series in which we will look back at the past weekend's
Supercross race and give you our thoughts and perspectives on what
we saw. We've posed several questions based on the evening's events
to a motley crew of Chaparral Motorsports staff (and one outsider)
and provided you with their answers and insights.
A little background on the respondents in this series:
Dave Damron (DD): Chaparral Motorsports founder. Racer, team owner,
manufacturer, retailer. Dave has seen it all and done it all on two
wheels.
Travis Snyder (TS): Chaparral Motorsports Offroad Products and
Apparel Manager. Travis is one of our in-house moto racers. A Honda
guy, Travis is either at one of the local tracks or prepping his
bike for his next event.
Mike Medina (MM): Chaparral Motorsports Technical
Advisor/Communications Specialist. When Mike's not at the office
he's in the pits spinning wrenches for the Enticknap brothers, #722
Adam (The Seven Deuce Deuce) and #723 Tyler.
Eric Ellis (EE): Chaparral Motorsports Marketing/Social Media. Eric
is just a Harley guy who likes to watch Supercross.
The Outsider (TO): N/A. The outsider is not a Chaparral employee
but he is an industry veteran with a good perspective on the
inside.
Being that Chaparral Motorsport is part of the Monster Energy|
Yamalube| Yamaha Financial Services|
Yamaha Factory Racing team with two-time Supercross Champion
Chad Reed and two-time 250SX West Region Champion Cooper Webb
(making his debut in the 450 class this season) we focused a few
questions on the their performance. Also, we had the opportunity to
toss Reed and Webb a few questions in between their busy schedules
so you could get some perspective on the races directly from the
riders.
Let's start off with the questions we sent to Reed and Webb
first:
Webb:
Congratulations on an incredible night with some great
achievements. You've been having some good starts. What's been the
key to getting out of the gate quickly and moving to the front of
the pack?
CW:"Really, just my mindset, I am gaining more and
more confidence every week, and it's showing in my starts and my
riding."
Being from North Carolina, are you excited for the series to
head east? Is there a city/track that you look forward to the
most?
CW:"I am really excited. I have spent all three of
my Supercross seasons on the West Coast, so this will be my first
time racing Supercross on the East Coast. I would say that Atlanta
should be really good. It's the closest to my hometown and there is
always a big crowd there."
Reed:
You did a great job of maintaining your transfer spot into the
main event. When the track breaks down and gets as tough as
it did in Oakland, how do you keep your composure, stay
relaxed, and not tense up?
CR: "Transferring out of the heat is ideal for
best gate pick. The track was actually really awesome. I love those
conditions but, unfortunately, I fought the setup a little up until
the main events. Ruts are either your best friend or your worse
enemy."
As the series heads east, does anything change for you or the
bike? Is there a city/track that you look forward to the
most?
CR: "With all the rain out west, we've basically
been racing east coast track conditions already. I'm hopeful that
the changes we've made will help me transition smoothly to the east
coast rounds. I really enjoy Toronto because I love having to pack
a passport and race out of the country. I also enjoy Daytona and
Indy a lot."
What We Saw
General questions: ED Note: We won't see any
responses from DD in this installment as he was off the grid this
past weekend and didn't catch any of the racing.
Which rider impressed you most on Saturday?
TS: Cooper Webb, He finally stepped onto the
podium in the big boy class. Go Coop!
MM: Our own Cooper Webb impressed me the most in
Raider Nation. He was the top qualifier for the day being 1.5
seconds faster than Marvin Musquin, grabbed the holeshot in his
heat race which he won, and finished on the podium for the first
time in his 450 career. If not for some mud getting stuck in his
rear brake lever for a half a lap, he may have contended for the
win. He also posted the fastest lap time of the night in the main
event. This young buck is finding his groove.
EE: There were a couple of riders that impressed
me. Tomac's comeback from an 8th place start in the main
to pass the Diesel for the win really made a statement. Cooper Webb
had an awesome night. But man, Shane McElrath, that kid has grit!
He led his heat race for three laps (had the fastest lap with a
59.171) and after getting passed was poised to transfer into the
main but then he and Decotis got too close together and connected
elbows at the end of the race and they both went down and lost
their transfer spots. It looked like McElrath took a peg to the rib
or arm and he pulled out and went back the pits. Then again like
last week he won the LCQ to make the main. Although he took third
in the main and lost his lead in the series by 1 point to Hill, he
battled hard all night and is making that KTM team
proud.
TO: Eli Tomac. Coming from 8th to catch Dungey and
winning. Very impressive!
Who had the pass of the night?
TS: Tomac passed Dungey with 3 min to go for the
lead on the most technical track they've experienced so far. Not to
mention, it was through the whoops!
MM: The pass of the night award goes to Eli Tomac.
He had carved his way through the 450 field and blitzed the whoop
section passing the Diesel with 3 minutes to go in the main event
like he was standing still. ET3 was skimming the whoops, the way
God intended when he created whoop sections, but most like Dungey
were taking the safe route by doubling and tripling through them,
which was the slower line. ET3 wanted it more than everyone
else.
EE: Pass of the night goes to Webb. Although he
didn't maintain the position for too long afterward, that move he
made airing it out and going triple-quad into the turn to retake
second place from Tomac was pretty sweet.
TO: Eli Tomac on the 7 riders in front of him.
Who had the toughest day on Saturday?
TS: This question is always hard for me,
especially when you factor how gnarly the track was this past
weekend. Just to mention a few riders who had a TOUGH Saturday;
Forkner got his head ran over by Hansen off the start of the 250
main. That wasn't it for Hansen as he later landed on AJ Catanzaro
which ended the #100's night. McElrath qualified 19th which is
unusual... He's lucky he wasn't involved in the 1st corner Forkner
pile-up. Plessinger seems to have a curse for getting a good start.
-Geez! That was only the lites class... Next question.
https://youtu.be/r5ZH5uT4cvk
MM: I think Austin Forkner of the Monster Energy
Pro Circuit
Kawasaki team had the toughest night. He cased a rhythm section
ejecting himself over the handlebars and getting run over by the
#100 of Josh Hansen in the process in the opening lap of the 250
main event. He logged a DNF for the evening netting 22nd place.
Hopefully Austin is just really sore and no major injuries came of
this accident.
EE: That's a toss-up between either Forkner or
Hansen. Forkner was coming off his best rookie finish with a third
in AZ, but that didn't last long. First he went down in his heat
race with a pretty odd crash and although he was able to recover
and get the fifth spot for a transfer into the main, that wouldn't
be the only time he was in the dirt that day. He had a great start
in the 250 and was at the front with Davalos, but then he came up
short on the last landing in the opening rhythm section and took a
hard digger. Then to cap it off he was immediately run over by
Hansen who then dump over the tuff blocks in the turn. That was the
end of Forkner's night. Hansen on the other hand was able to get
back on his bike and was making some passes from 19th
place only to then land on top of Cantanzaro in a pretty gnarly
crash. So yeah both those guys had pretty rough nights.
https://youtu.be/d6rPi7oinyc
TO: 450's - Musquin. Going from a Podium finisher
to 9th. 250's- Forkner, from showing promise to hitting the
deck.
What did you think of Dean Wilson's debut on the
Husky?
TS: In my opinion, He's a more talented rider than
10th. He needs to focus. He had plenty of time on a KTM, which
means those settings should some-what transition to the Husky being
that the bike is a white KTM with dinosaur shaped plastics.
MM: Deano had a good evening aboard his new
Rockstar Husky ride netting a top ten finish. The important thing
was to get in the main event, which he had to transfer through the
LCQ for, but not bad for two days on a completely different bike
from what he has been riding the first four rounds. Deano is in a
happier place right now and is going to be enjoying his time on the
Husky, if he can keep it on two wheels.
EE: Wilson looked great on the new ride. He almost
made it into the main from his semi race but had a little bobble
with two laps to go that cost him his transfer spot. He did blast
out in the LCQ and led the whole race for the win though. He made
his way up to 7th within the first few minutes of the
main and ended with a 10th place finish, so I'm sure
Husky is pretty happy with him right now-especially having less
than a week to get prepared for this race on the new ride.
TO: Wilson looked good for no time to set the bike
up. I think he will improve as he gets more seat time
How about the two 450 rookies Webb and Stewart going 1 and 2 in
their heat race against the likes of Tomac and Dungey?
TS: They both got a good start in the heat race.
Since the heat race is a quick sprint, they didn't have an issue
holding those two champs back. It sounded link Dungey and Tomac
utilized the additional time on the track since they mentioned they
both made bike changes after the semi. *Side note: Mookie 47 has a
qualifying average of 3rd since he's been back racing. He's placed
18th, 14th, & 17th in the main events.
MM: Coop looked fantastic all day and Mookie was
not too far back with the way his day was shaping up. Mookie made a
couple of mistakes in the main event which cost him a ton of
positions finishing 17th for the night. Mookie will clean it up and
get it figured out soon enough to stir the 450 field up.
EE: Webb was extremely impressive all night. He
had a few hiccups here and there but he remained calm and pushed
through. A lot of the fans are rooting for him and I think he's
quickly proven to the more experienced 450 riders that he's not to
be messed with. Mookie is looking pretty good as well, especially
since the series started with uncertainty for when or if he was
gonna ride. He's shown to be extremely fast on the 450, but maybe
just trying too hard to and thus riding too close to the edge as
we've seen with a couple of crashes.
TO: Webb and Stewart both looked fast in the heat
race. Webb was able to carry the momentum into the main,
unfortunately Malcolm is still searching for a top finish in the
main.
What did you think of Dungey's night?
TS: He's a tough cookie to read. I know mentally
and physically he's tough, but maybe Aldon Baker needs to switch
the program around to keep these kids on their toes. Dungey seemed
flat all night. He knows it's going to be a long season tho!
MM: Dungey had a very un-Dungey type night.
Qualifying was a struggle and he needed to go through the semi race
to earn his ticket to the main event after getting passed by his
brand teammate Blake Baggett for the final transfer spot to the
main event out of the heat race. Once ET3 passed him for the lead
position in the main event, there was no fight to try and get it
back. The track was a monster and there were quite a few riders in
survival mode trying to get through it and get to the next round in
Dallas, TX safely.
EE: He was still second on the podium but it
probably wasn't the night he was hoping for. He missed a transfer
spot directly into the main which is a rarity for him and there
were a couple sections where he just wasn't as fast. He took that
different line in the whoops section and Tomac stayed on the same
path and was able to gain momentum to swoop right past him. With
Tomac's performance tonight and with him now in second place, 17
points behind Dungey, the series could get really interesting.
TO: Not taking anything away from Tomac's great
ride, but Dungey just doesn't look 100 %. Phoenix was the only race
where Dungey looked like he was really pushing.
Reed/Webb questions
Cooper had the best night of his 450 career so far, what did
you think of his races?
TS: Go Coop go! Keep the momentum going and climb
to the top of that podium! His mental strength is back and like D.
Damron mentioned last week, "he's finally racing the bike, rather
than riding it." Both Factory Yamaha boys have been looking good
lately.
MM: Coop is finding his niche in this 450 field
and is looking like the Cooper Webb that dominated for two years in
the 250 class. If not for the first three rounds of so-so finishes,
he definitely would be in the title contender discussions at the
water cooler on Monday mornings.
EE: Loved everything about his day. Great starts,
a heat win, and his first 450 podium. It almost can't get any
better, but I bet it will.
TO: Webb looked very confident and fast all night.
I think he is getting comfortable in the 450 class.
Thoughts on Reed's night?
TS: Main Event - Bad Start.
MM: Reedy did not have the best of qualifying
days, which he is not known for anyway, better racer than
qualifier. What was troubling is Reed was a whole 2 seconds behind
the leaders lap times which was not going to put him in a position
to contend for the win, even with a better start than what he had
in the main event. The track was challenging for everyone. He will
have better results on the red Dallas clay this coming weekend for
sure.
EE: I thought with the two whoops sections and the
condition they were in he would do much better, but everyone seemed
to be struggling with that track in some form or another. It's the
same thing we all keep saying, if he can get starts he will get
podiums.
TO: Chad is much better then 8th place rider,
after last week I thought he would be in the top 5 thru out the
rest of the series.
Webb and Reed now have only two points separating them and are
sitting in 7th and 8th
place respectively in the overall standings. Five weeks in did
you think the rookie and veteran teammates would be so close in
points?
TS: I had a good feeling they'd be close, but not
a position apart. I think their relationship works well. They
accommodate each other in a positive way since Chad knows so much,
yet Cooper is the young Gun!
MM: I figured Coop and Reed would be where they
are at right now. I just figured Coop would have come out blazing
hot in the first few rounds and have a couple of rookie mishaps but
it happened the other way around. Reed will have his flashes of
brilliance when the stars align just right, but he is where I
figured he would be in the points standing.
EE: No, by this time last season Reed had already
scored two second place finishes and was sitting 4th in
points with 90, so I kinda expected him to be more in line with
those results. He's within the top ten so that's still really good.
As for Webb, it was expected that he might be nervous and tense the
first couple of rounds and he's really starting to fall into place
and get comfortable. So while he's in 7th right now I
expect he'll continue to climb. Actually I think both riders will
finish ahead of where they are now.
TO: It's interesting to see them so close. One vet
rider with so much experience to draw from and the rookie with raw
speed.
