ChapMoto Race Recap Week 17: What Went Down In Vegas
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:
What are your thoughts on your night in Las Vegas?
CW: The heat race went well. I felt good and was
looking forward to a solid main event. I didn't get that start that
I needed, which seemed to be a recurring problem for me this
season. From there, I tried as hard as I could, but I struggled
quite badly on the slick, blue-grooved dirt. Vegas wasn't the way I
wanted to go out in my rookie 450SX season but, on the bright side,
I'm healthy, I learned a lot, and I'll be ready for the start of
the outdoor season coming up here in a couple of weeks.
What is the most important thing you learned or your biggest
takeaway from your first season in 450SX?
CW: I think the biggest thing I learned is that
these guys are no joke! This isn't the 250SX class anymore. I'm
racing with a gate full of well-respected Champions, and you have
to be on your "A" game each and every time to try to beat these
guys. It would be easy to just say the season didn't go as planned,
but from where I started at Anaheim 1, I've made huge strides. I
had momentum on my side before I got hurt, and I felt a win was
right around the corner. The shoulder injury took a little bit of
wind out of my sails, and it was hard to get any momentum rolling
after that. But, like I said earlier, I've been working hard, and I
can't wait to see how this summer goes.
Reed:
Man, what a night! It looked like things were really clicking
for you. You looked really comfortable and completely dialed in on
that track. How do you feel about your night?
CR: I knew, going into the weekend that Vegas
would be a more favorable situation for me. Seeing the end-result
definitely made me believe that I had a shot at being the winner.
But, I made a mistake in thinking that I had more room, and I
totally underestimated (Jason) Anderson's position in the race.
What is the most positive thing you'll take away from this
season?
CR: Even though it was the most frustrating year
of my career, it failed to break my beliefs.
What We Saw
Dave is out of town this week so we will leave him out of the
questions/answers.
Who had the best night?
https://youtu.be/L08ECaPfalc
TS: The best night has to go to Zach Osborne! What
a race!!
MM: The best night had to go to the sold out Las
Vegas crowd in Sam Boyd Stadium. They were electric and loud the
whole night and got the show they came to see and more. This was
definitely one of the most action packed final rounds I have ever
had the pleasure of witnessing.
EE: Osborne hands down. His performance Saturday
night is exactly what Supercross is about, putting every ounce of
your blood, sweat, and tears into it, and leaving nothing on the
table.
TO: KTM- winning the 450 Supercoss championship
and their sister brand Husqvarna winning the 250 east championship
both coming down to the last lap.
Who had the toughest night?
TS: Joey Savatgy losing the championship on second
to last lap, or Jordon Smith losing the championship and getting
hurt. Both riders had a tough night.
MM: The toughest night is
split between two brothers in the 450 class, the Seven Deuce Deuce
Adam Enticknap and the Seven Deuce Tres of Tyler Enticknap. Tyler
was in a qualifying position in his semi race when he came up short
in the rhythm section leading to Monster Alley casing his bike
which resulted in a broken tib / fib in his left leg. Another one
that just got away from him trying to qualify for his first 450
main event. Adam was battling with Alex Ray #314 for the 16th place
spot when he nose picked the last whoop and was sent over the
handlebars to the ground and being ran over by the oncoming Jake
Weimer. He suffered a fractured collar bone, broken rib, and a
collapsed lung. Both of them are out of the hospital and are
expected to make full recoveries. On the plus side, this was the
best season both of them had making it all the way through 17
rounds of Supercross. Plenty of positives to take into next
season.
EE: It's a tie between Savatgy and the Enticknap
boys. I don't know what got into Savatgy the last two races but he
really struggled and then he had to watch a title slip out of his
fingertips as his bike launched out of his hands. The Enticknap
brothers are always fun to watch and root for but man, both of them
ended their night with some gnarly injuries. I guess if you were to
try and find a bright side at least it was the last race of the
season.
TO: Kawasaki- it was looking like a Green Sweep
for a while.
What was the best pass of the night?
TS: Of course ZachO passing Savagty with a
statement on the last lap with two corners to go! Not to mention
Osborne passed 14 other riders before that.
MM: The best pass of the night had to go to the
Rockstar Husqvarna's Wacko Osborne #16 for making the pass of the
century on Pro Circuits Joey Savatgy to win the 250E title.
EE: This will probably be
unanimous, Osborne passing Savatgy. Was Savatgy not aware of what
was going on? How did he leave that door so wide open? Whatever the
reason, Osborne saw Savatgy lay out the welcome mat and then
slammed it shut!
TO: Osborne. When he crashed in the first corner,
I thought it was over for him.
Which was the more exciting race, the 250 or the 450
final?
TS: 250 was a little more exciting than the 450,
not by much though.
MM: It's a coin flip for me. The excitement was
there to see if Wacko could come back from dead last in the 250
race but the 450 race had everyone on edge to see if Tomac could
pull the championship off and if Dungey would crack.
EE: The 250 main by far was THE most exciting race
I've ever seen. There were so many twists, turns, crashes and
possible story lines it was insane. A group of us were watching the
races in Travis' garage and my biggest regret was not capturing the
vibe in the room as that last lap unfolded and Osborne tucked
Savatgy away for the night. The room exploded with people screaming
and yelling!!! It was awesome.
TO: Both races were unbelievable!
Thoughts on Osborne's final lap pass on Savatgy?
https://youtu.be/O4Sf04i-D1s
TS: It was the Pass of the Year! Savagty didn't
even see him coming. He didn't deserve that championship
anyways.
MM: Wacko's pass on Savatgy was the pass of the
century. He did exactly what needed to be done if he wanted the
title. Savatgy would have done the same thing if the script was
flipped. Savatgy can only be mad at himself for letting Osborne
close the gap on him and not being aware of how close he was.
Myself and the Seven Deuce Deuce saw the whole thing unfold at the
starting line waiting for our main event and wondered, "How the
hell are we supposed to follow that?" LOL! Like when the Rolling
Stones had to follow James Brown at a couple of shows.
EE: A lot of people didn't like it, I loved it. He
didn't spear him, it wasn't malicious, and it was a clean pass-as
evidenced by the fact that the AMA didn't feel the need to say or
do anything. I feel like all those people who disagreed with it
would rather watch the guys simply run solo timed laps where
there's no possibility for passing or contact.
TO: Super aggressive. Joey shouldn't have been
that far back to begin with. Zach just wanted it more.
Quite a few people didn't like Tomac's strategy in the 450
final, what do you think?
https://youtu.be/OEbt8xEEhBM
TS: It was the last race of the year. That's what
made it exciting and Tomac had to do what he had to do.
Unfortunately it didn't work out into his favor.
MM: ET3 could have approached the race in two
different ways. I would have been fine if he just told himself to
get to the front and don't look back and smoke everyone and pray
RD5 finishes outside of 4th place. Or he could have done what he
did by trying to make things happen in his way by getting in the
Diesel's head and try to ruffle feathers. The first hit that pushed
Dungey on top of the berm would have worked better if he went down.
The second pass was another hit Dungey took with a grain of salt.
The final hit or push to get Dungey off of the track almost worked
because ET3 layed up to let Dungey get close enough to him to make
another aggressive move with the top five guys all bunched
together. If Dungey went down, he may have lost the championship
considering the top five were all within bike lengths of each
other. I wouldn't say they were so much as cheap shots since he
needed Dungey to have a bad night and wanted to help the cause, but
Eli may have lost some fans by taking this approach to the race.
Eli will go 24 for 24 in the Outdoor season, write it down.
EE: There was strategy on
both parts. Dungey knee all he had to do was stay up on two wheels
and shadow Tomac. Tomac knew what needed to happen in order for him
to win the championship and I think the strategy he used was
perfect, it left open a wide range of possibilities for things to
unfold the way then needed to for him. By controlling the pace and
letting the lead pack bunch up it created a situation to where
Dungey could get mixed up with or passed by a couple riders. Also
by baiting Dungey to pass it created situations where Tomac could
put a forceful pass on him and maybe either force a Dungey mistake
or rattle his nerves. Tomac did everything he could and still ran a
clean but calculated race.
TO: Tomac did the only thing he could do to try
and win the Championship. By controlling the pace and letting other
riders catch Dungey and hopefully pass him. Tomac knew if he ran
away Dungey would do consistent laps and bring home another Title.
It's interesting how the Championship ended this year with Musquin
pulling over at the previous round and Tomac ramming Dungey in
Vegas and trying to slow him down. It was an exciting finish
compared to a rider clinching the Title with a race or two to
go.
Any predictions on which (if any) 250 riders might get a 450
ride next year?
TS: Justin Hill. Jeremy Martin possibly.
MM: Well, we know Justin Hill has to move up to the 450 field now.
I am wondering if he will take Josh Grant's spot alongside ET3 with
Monster Energy Kawasaki.
EE: Hill, maybe Osborne or Jeremy Martin?
TO: Justin Hill will probably end up as Tomac's
new teammate.
Thoughts on Ryan Dungey's next move: Retirement or
resign?
TS: Finish outdoors, then retire. Possibly resign
as KTM
manager?
MM: I will be fine if the Diesel decides to retire
and move on to focus on family life. He has done plenty to get
himself into the Hall of Fame as one of the best in the game and an
ambassador for the sport. But, there was a moment I captured when
he and his mechanic Carlos Rivera were congratulating each other on
the toughest season of his life that would lead me to believe he is
not done yet. He strives under pressure situations and embraces
challenges. I think he will want to do it again with a healthy Ken
Roczen expected to be back for 2018 and to try and join the king
Jeremy McGrath and Ryan Villapoto to be 1 of 3 riders to win 4 in a
row.
EE: I think he'll retire. It's known he wants to
start a family. You always want to go out on top and this season
was a close to almost losing a title as you can get; I don't think
he wants to go through a season like this again. Let's face it,
next year Tomac and Musquin probably won't be any slower, and IF by
some miracle Roczen can rehab and get back into close form as to
when he went out, I don't think Dungey will be able to do it
again.
TO: 50/50. I thought he was going to announce his
retirement on the podium.
Webb
Thoughts on Webb's night?
TS: Webb rode a decent race.
I'm glad he kept it on two wheels being that Hangtown is in two
weeks.
MM: Coops night was shaping up to be a good one
when he was 9th fastest in qualifying and was 3rd in his heat race,
one spot ahead of his team mate Chad Reed, to go straight to the
main event. He finished in 10th place for the night and is now
looking forward to the outdoor season.
EE: He had a good heat race. It would have been so
great if he could have got up in mix with Reed and Anderson and
given Anderson some gruff after he knocked Reed off the track. I'm
looking forward to watching how he does at Hangtown.
T0: I'm sure he's looking forward to outdoors.
What did you think of Webb's rookie season in the 450
class?
TS: He learned a lot. Knowing Webb, he'll do his
homework and come back next year smarter and stronger.
MM: Coops rookie season did not go as well as I
had hoped for him. There were more downs than ups in my opinion but
he will learn from this season and iron out any wrinkles there was
to make the 2018 season more consistent and solid. He ended up 13th
overall for the season being top rookie ahead of Mookie and Bogey.
Now its time to take it outside and get dirty.
EE: I'm sure it wasn't what he wanted but after
missing five rounds due to that shoulder injury he still just
barely finished outside top 10 overall. Not too bad and he'll
definitely go up from here.
TO: He has work to do. I think the 450 class is a
lot tougher then he originally thought.
Reed
Thoughts on Reed's night?
TS: The way Reed was riding, I
thought he was going to make it to the front of the pack. Until
Dungey's bodyguard Anderson had something to do with it.
MM: Reedy was having a good start to his night as
to his teammate Cooper Webb. He finished 4th in his heat race to
transfer to the 450 main event. He had a mediocre start to the main
event but was getting it figured out as the main event went on.
Reed would eventually finish the race in 6th place and ended his
season 9th in points. I had Reed figured around where he ended up
inside of the top 10.
EE: Good heat race and looked rather comfortable
with the track. He had a fairly good start in the main and was
right up near the lead pack, but between Dungey and Tomac we didn't
get to see much of what else was going on behind that. It was great
to see him make that charge and get past Anderson-even if it was
only for a second.
TO: I thought Reed was going to be the spoiler to
Dungey until Anderson parked Reed for his buddy Dungey.
How about the quick back and forth between Reed and
Anderson?
TS: Dungey had a lot help from Anderson behind
him. Defending anyone that wanted to get involved with the
Championship.
MM: With some strong lap times and sheer
determination, Reed made his way through the field up to the top 5
with a couple of laps to go until he ran into to a hard charging
Husky rider by the name of El Hombre and got served like John
McEnroe when he was punted off of the track before the finish line
jump. It was an aggressive pass for sure, but El Hombre wanted it
more and ended up winning the race for his first 450 win of the
2017 season.
EE: It was awesome! I just wish Reed could have
made the pass on Anderson stick, or at least like I said earlier,
if only Webb was there to give Anderson some attention.
TO: Reed looked good, But Anderson definitely had
Dungey's back!
