ChapMoto SX Race Recap Week 7: What We Saw In Minnie
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:
Editor's note, after going down during his heat race and sitting
out the rest of the night with a
shoulder injury we opted to pass on Cooper's questions this
week and let him focus on recuperating.
Cooper Webb:
Chad Reed
:
We heard some riders say that they didn't quite expect the dirt
conditions to be what they were. What did you think? Did you and
your crew have to make any adjustments to the setup of the
bike?
CR: For me, the dirt was as expected from my past
years' experiences in Minneapolis. We didn't tweak too much on the
bike this weekend, but we did make a few setup changes to the bike
during the week leading up to Minneapolis.
What will you be focusing on this week as you look towards
Atlanta?
CR: I haven't been 100% myself for the past
three races, and I'm hoping that I'm now over that hump and ready
to go full steam ahead. I've never gone two seasons in a row
without a win, and I don't plan on letting that happen now. I've
always enjoyed Atlanta, and it's where I got my last win. My plan
is to get the 'W' on Saturday night and shut the door for good on
the Georgia Dome.
What We Saw
General questions:
What did you think of the 250 East Class?
DD: Some pretty good racing. Osborne hit the
ground but set the fastest lap, typical. Pro Circuit team looks
good this year. What happened to Christian Craig?
TS: It's a nice change of pace. It's almost as if
the East coast riders get way more anxious waiting around watching
the West Coast kids bang bars for six weeks. I'd have to say, a few
riders surprised me!
MM: The 250 East Class will be an exciting one for
sure with multiple riders who can score wins at any moment. I had
two outta three riders as my picks for the podium which won me
dinner Saturday night, thanks to my TPJ/Fly Racing fellow
mechanics. I had Joey Savatgy for the win and the Pro Circuit train is
still chugging along with the momentum coming from the West. I
believe Pro Circuit will claim both the 250 West and East titles by
seasons end with Justin Hill and Joey Savatgy. It's about time.
EE: I was pretty interested in this, mostly
because I wanted to see how Adam Cianciarulo performed. I had a lot
of hope for the kid when he last raced SX three years ago, but he
had to bow out of the 2014 series after a shoulder injury which
continued to plagued him. So it was great to see him back on an SX
track. I think he was battling some nerves but all in all he did
fairly well taking 2nd in his heat race and then battling in the
main with some good passes from a 9th place start to
finish in 5th. I don't think it will be too long before
he's on the podium and if he can stay healthy he has a good shot at
a tittle. Savatgy was looking good too, so it'll be interesting to
watch the two teammates battle it out.
TO: A few surprises. Jordan Smith 2nd and R.J.
Hampshire 4th? I thought Christian Craig would have finished better
also.
Did anyone surprise you Saturday night?
DD: Marvin Musquin passing Ryan Dungey in the main
event.
TS: Jordon Smith
surprised me in the 250 class by finishing 2nd on the podium. Let's
see how many times he can make that happen. I honestly thought that
Dungey was going to give Tomac a run for his money being that
Dungey was in his hometown. To see Musquin pass Dungey and hold it
down for 2nd place. That surprised me!
MM: I would say the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM #18
David Millsaps was the surprise of Saturday night. Davi won his
heat race and led the opening lap of the 450 main event for a bit.
He finished his night with a 6th place finish. I am going to add
another rider to the surprise of the night and that rider is #44
Jordan Smith of the TLD/KTM team. Jordan had a horrible gate pick
for the 250 main event and pulled a nasty holeshot from the outside
to lead the race for a few laps. He held strong and finished his
night with a 2nd place finish on the podium. I do not think anyone
was picking this kid to even top 5, including myself. Bravo
Jordan.
EE: No, nobody really surprised me, but Dungey
does have me raising an eyebrow. I mean I still think he the
favorite to win the title but it might not be as easy as I was
expecting after Roczen went out. Musquin and Tomac have proven that
they are going to make him fight for it.
TO: Marvin Musquin surprised me reeling in Dungey
and making the pass stick. Broc Tickle is starting to look good the
last two weeks also.
Tomac now has three wins and Dungey only has one so far this
season, do you think Dungey is bothered by the fact that he doesn't
have more wins at this point?
DD: Dungey doesn't get rattled, he'll ride his own
race and that's what he does.
TS: It's not so much the fact that he's "bothered." It's more so
that he's frustrated trying to figure out what to do to get another
win. When the Diesel is frustrated, it can lead into some good
racing. We've got 10 rounds a head of us, I'm sure he's going to
make something happen if he sees the points lead slip away.
MM: I would think RD is a bit frustrated that he
is tied with his counterpart Marvin Musquin with one win each so
far after seven races in. I think Marvin is going to be more of a
problem for RD than I thought since Marvin has found enough speed
to catch and pass the defending 450 champion as we saw in
Minneapolis. I think if Marvin was ever told he was going to be the
second string rider under the KTM tent, he certainly is not riding
that way. RD has to be feeling some pressure now.
EE: He's a champion. Champion's like to win and he
definitely wanted to win it in his home town. So yeah I think he
definitely has some thoughts going on in his head about not
performing better but he's a true professional and doesn't let his
emotions or frustrations show. This can be a good and bad thing.
Obviously it's a good face to show for the younger fans because
they can learn from him on how to conduct themselves. But on the
other end we want to see some fire and desire both on and off the
track. It helps establish a better connection, and lets people know
that he really is human and not just the "Diesel."
TO: No, Dungey always looks at the big picture-
Championship!
Who had the best pass?
DD: Savatgy closed the door on Jordon Smith before
the triple to take the lead.
TS: Marvin Musquin passed Davi Millsaps like a slithering snake and
then did it to Dungey before the finish a few laps later. MM25 has
been lookin' confident.
MM: I think the winner for best pass or passes of
the night goes to the #25 Marvin Musquin of the Red Bull KTM team.
Marvin had a good exchange with Dungey with five minutes to go in
the 450 main event through the sand section, whoops, and finish
line turn exchanging lines inside and outside making it stick
across the finish line. Marvin was all over RD and it was just a
matter of time when the pass would take place.
EE: Musquin times two. First he cut in on Millsaps
and then he cut in on Dungey. That pass he put on Dungey with 4:18
left was kinda of weird though. I almost think Dungey came into the
corner too fast and overshot his line, because he was way on the
outside of the turn and almost came to a stop. Musquin saw what was
going on, took the hard inside line and just swept right past him.
Musquin was definitely showing more eagerness out there.
https://youtu.be/IAkij6qCjO8
TO: Marvin Musquin. Passing the team captain
Dungey. Marvin is no longer second fiddle!
Dungey's gear on Saturday night: yay or nay?
DD: Nay, it was purple.
TS: NAY. Unless you're a Vikings fan or Prince
himself.
MM: The Diesels kit was horrific which led to some
gnarly nightmares in my sleep later that evening, or it could have
been the spicy as hell hot wings I ate for dinner. His kit was
definitely not " Lit Kit Award " worthy. Justin Barcia's
Alpinestars kit was outta site, color coordinated from head to toe,
well done.
EE: NAY!!! I get that Fox was giving him some
hometown love with the jersey and pants, but the violet Viking
colorway was just off the mark. Was it a retro Vikings theme and I
just missed it? At least he was easy to spot on the track.
TO: Nay. Fox isn't selling the gear, it was a
one-off for that night only.
With 10 races left, what are your predictions for the 450
class?
DD: It's hard to predict with 10 races left and
the top five are close in points.
TS: The 450 class this year is hard to predict. That's a good thing
though, because four different racers have won within seven rounds.
My prediction is the 450 points race is going to go down to the
wire. Keep the elbows up in Vegas for the final round, because the
bar bangin' will be at its finest! The top four are within 26
points of each other (Dungey, Musquin, Tomac, Seely). When you have
10 races left in the series, the championship can go anywhere.
MM: Mark my words boys and girls. Eli Tomac is
going to go on a Jeremy McGrath like streak and take this
championship to Las Vegas. Now that Marvin Musquin can get in
between ET3 and the Diesel nightly, it only helps ET3's chances.
Dungey needs to finish 2nd or better to make ET3 push his limits if
he wants to take this championship away from him. ET3 will catch
Marvin within a couple of races and then set his sites on the
Diesel.
EE: If Dungey, Musquin, Tomac, and Seely continue
down the same path we just might see one of the most exciting
battles at the end of this series and quite possibly a first time
Champion.
TO: Will Eli's speed be able to overcome Dungey's
consistency? It's going to take a bad race by Dungey (flat
tire,etc.) for Eli to win the championship.
Reed/Webb questions
Thoughts on Reed's night?
DD: Another bad
start, then he crashed after the whoops. Not a good night for the
veteran.
TS: He got another bad start. If you noticed, Reed
decided to take the far inside gate and got tangled with a teflon
block at the end of the start (dead last). Then he got a little
huck-a-buck coming out of the whoops and took a digger. My point
is... When Chad Reed gets a good start, he is more focused to stay
up front and keep that top position.
MM: Reedy had a night he would like to forget I
think. He qualified 9th and was about 1.5 seconds slower than the
leaders in the main event. He got a horrible start in the main
event and again crashed coming out of the whoop section by getting
cross rutted. He finished with an "also ran" 16th place. Not
good.
EE: He had a good heat race, taking second place,
but man that start in the main was rough to watch. He started all
the way on the inside and then ran out of track, and as the camera
followed the main group around the first turn you could see Reed
still fighting with the last tuff block on the opening straight and
it kind of went downhill from there. He's got some kind of funk
going on, but he's been doing this so long he knows how to deal
with it and work on out. I just hope he can shake it off in
ATL.
TO: Chad just had a night to forget. He didn't
look that great before the crash. Here's hoping to better
nights.
Thoughts on Webb's night?
DD: Unpromising night for Webb. He's a tough kid,
he will be back soon.
TS: Bummed. Unlucky. Part of the sport. I don't know what else to
say... It's unfortunate because he was really starting to look good
on the 450.
MM: Coop would
also like to forget Minneapolis. Coop was 7th in qualifying and was
looking to have a strong night. His night made an ugly turn when
his handlebars got clipped by Dean Wilson coming down from a jump
and sending him into a high side crash into the oncoming turn
hurting his shoulder in his heat race ending his night. More tests
with doctors to come but it did not look good for Coop. This was
another weekend the Yamaha boys would like to have back.
EE: I really expected to see him on the podium
again so it was hard seeing him go down and then not return. Other
than the post he put up on his Instagram page on Sunday where he
stated it was nothing major but that he would be going to the
doctors later to confirm, we haven't heard anything. I really hope
it's nothing other than some bruising.
TO: Copper's crash looked really bad. Hopefully
his shoulder isn't too bad and he comes back quick.
