Five Takeaways From Supercross A1 2019
In years past we've recapped each Supercross race with a series of
questions posed to several of our Chaparral Motorsports employees
and industry insiders. This year we've decided to change things up
a bit and will be posing questions to you guys via our Facebook and Instagram pages, so
be sure to head over and give us your thoughts on our
questions.
For our blog we are going to give our insight on the Top Five
Takeaways from each race. A mix of highlights, lowlights, or just
random observations you'll get to read what we saw, or what we
thought we saw.
The Season Opener Was a Sopping Wet and Muddy
Banger
View this post on Instagram
Your 450SX podium from the season opener! 🟠#DropTheGate #SupercrossLIVE
It had been 245 days since the 2018 Supercross season wrapped up in
Las Vegas with its first Champion not named Ryan in almost a
decade. Fans were itching for the bar banging excitement that tight
quarter racing Supercross racing brings and Saturday's opener
delivered in spades. As expected, the Pit party was bumping, fans
were huddled around barriers at the big rigs trying to catch a
glimpse of their favorite riders. Rain had been threatening to come
down most of the day but it wasn't until around 5 p.m. when we
started getting hint of what was to really come later.
Due to the wet conditions and to help preserve the track, instead
of the traditional ride in announcements of the top 450 riders
during the opening ceremonies, the riders were raised from under
the center of the main stage like a sci-fi soda machine presenting
your selection. Not as fun as the wheelies and transfer jumps we
typically see, the crowd was still stoked for the start of the
season and cheerer their favorite riders as their names were
called. As you might expect, Chad Reed was by far the crowd
favorite with Angels stadium erupting in excitement as his name was
called.
Light on and off rain early in the night program led to a slippery
first turn that only got worse once the drops became heavier and
more persistent leading into the 450 main. It hadn't rained at A1
in quite a few years so it made the start of the season much more
unpredictable and thrilling to watch. It was well worth the eight
month-long wait.
Barcia's Back on Top
While it had been eight months since the last Supercross race of
the 2018 season, it had been even longer since Justin Barcia took
the top spot on the podium-a lot longer, like 5 years 8 months and
16 days since he'd won a SX race. Barcia wowed the crowd with a
steady and consistent main event ride that allowed him to
methodically reel in race leader Dean Wilson and then make a clean
pass for the front spot. In fact Barcia was nearly flawless all
night on his Factory Yamaha
YZ450F. He qualified first, won his heat race and then after
starting 4th in the main got around reigning Champion
Jason Anderson by the third lap and began to chop away at the lead
Malcolm Stewart had on him.
By lap 12 Mookie slipped going into a turn and briefly went down
which left the door open for Barcia to pass and focus on Wilson.
After watching the 15 number plate of Dean Wilson's Husky lead the
entire race, fans saw the numbers transpose when with 4:40 left on
the clock the lead 15 number plate became 51 as Barcia passed Deano
in corner. As slippery as the track was, Barcia whose nickname is
Bam Bam, made a nice clean pass on Wilson without can contact and
was gone. At one point Barcia had a nearly 8 second lead on Roczen
who had taken over the number two spot. When he crossed the finish
line Barcia had a 3 second lead on Roczen.
As mentioned in our
Five Things To Watch article leading in to the race, Barcia was
a fill in rider at this same time last season, so this first place
finish was a great way to start off his season and reassure the
Yamaha factory team that they made the right decision in giving him
a full time ride.
Don't Doubt Deano
Dean Wilson stunned and pleased a lot of people by getting a great
jump at the start and was able to navigate the slick first turn in
to the holeshot. With the pack behind him Deano had a clear path
ahead that enabled him to focus ahead and run his race. He managed
to lead for 3/4's of the race first holding off Mookie and then
Barcia for a time. As the lappers started to stack up his clear
path became cluttered with obstacles and the lines he had been
nailing alone now had to be carefully navigated or ditched all
together.
Not only was his path a murky mess, it appears his vision wasn't so
clear anymore either as he finished the race with no goggles. Even
though he didn't get the W or a podium spot it was a great night
for Dean as he logged 2nd in qualifying, 2nd
in his heat race and finished it all up with a 4th
overall.
There was a lot of speculation that he'd pick up a full factory
spot from Husqvarna after Zach Osborne went out with a collar bone
injury. While it was offered, Dean made it clear that he's happy
with the collective of sponsors he's put together and is sticking
with the "privateer" route. The Rockstar Husqvarna team is helping
him though with parts, some travel money, and working on his
bike-so he's living the best of both worlds and if he keep
performing like he did Saturday night everyone should be happy.
Anderson's Backward Slide
By the time the 450 main started the rain had picked up and made
for much slicker conditions but no one seemed to slip more than the
reigning champion, Jason Anderson. He looked good at the start
of the 450 main taking the inside on the first turn and coming out
right behind Deano and then settling into third for the first two
laps. But then things went south as he began a backward slide,
slowly slipping further and behind the pack ending with a
14th overall.
I'm not sure if it was the mud or nerves but the Champ just didn't
look like his smooth and consistent self. There's still a ton of
racing left in the season and as we know anything can happen but,
it's a little nerve wracking to realize that Anderson beat out
Musquin for the title last year by only 9 points and he's currently
17 points behind Barica. It's probably better to get the bad one
out of the way early, he's got plenty of opportunities to make up
the points.
Colt Nichols Blew The Doors Off the 250 Class
After chasing Shane Mcelrath out of the first turn, Colt quickly
jumped into the lead and locked it down. The Star Racing Yamaha
rider not only led the pack for all 16 laps but maintained a large
lead that allowed him to fly across the finish line 16 seconds
ahead of his teammate Dylan Ferrandis. I'm sure Nichols felt a ton
of pressure leading the field and was probably sweating each turn
and whoop section, but he handled himself calm and collectively
without a hiccup. Most people most probably didn't have Nichols on
their radar for the win at A1, but after that spectacular
performance in less than ideal conditions, things just might change
and if they do, this could be a very interesting 250 West
battle.
