Top Five Takeaways From Supercross A2
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
(@chaparralMoto) 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.
Editor's note: I have never raced dirt bikes, so I have no
personal experience as to the grit and grind these guys sacrifice
their bodies to week in and week out. But I love watching the races
and respect the hell out of each and every one of them for putting
their lives and livelihood on the line each and every time they
roll up to the starting line.
Three In a Row
Three weeks in a row now we have had three different 450 winners
and while that's not all that surprising, what is surprising is
that none of them are named Eli, Ken, Jason, or Marvin-you know the
guys most of us expect to be on top of the podium. We've also had
back-to-back first time 450SX winners with Blake Baggett last week
and Cooper Webb this week, pretty awesome! This season really is up
for grabs and we could see one of the guys that have been flying
under the radar reach out and snatch the crown.
Webb's First Win
[caption id="attachment_71938" align="aligncenter"
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Photo: Cudby[/caption]
Webb's first SX 450 victory of his career was nearly perfect and
ticked off several milestones in his racing career! He not only won
but he essentially won three times in one night. He won two out of
the three Main Events and took home the first triple crown of the
season. Incredible! Webb's first two seasons in the 450 didn't
really deliver the results many had expected-partly because he
never raced a full season due to injuries. Granted he was a top 10
overall finisher last season with a 9th place but in his
first two years he had only made it to the podium twice. His third
place finish in the final main on Saturday night put him on the
podium at the end of all three races. He now sits in third place
overall trailing behind point's leader Ken Roczen by only 6
points.
Webb spent his first two seasons aboard the Factory
Yamaha YZ450 and this year he's riding the
450 SX-F for the Factory Red Bull KTM team. So the question is,
is he better suited for and more comfortable aboard the KTM, or is
it the infamous Baker Factory training regimen that's helping
deliver the positive results? It's most likely a combination of the
two as it's been proven multiple times that the Baker and KTM
deliver championships. Webb is probably in a different mindset this
season as well which is attributing to his success. A fresh reset,
another year matured, healthy, and focused-definitely a recipe for
success.
Two Race Bikes For Three Races
Now into the second season, the Triple Crown events have proven to
deliver some exceptionally exciting racing for the fans and a
grueling race format for the riders. With limited time between
races to address any issues with their bikes, this year race
organizers have allowed the riders to tech two bikes. That means if
something goes wrong with the first bike in the first main, the
riders can opt for their other bike for the second and third mains.
The only catch is, whatever bike they ride in the sight lap ahead
of each main is the bike they have to ride for that main. Makes
perfect sense and is quite a relief for the team, especially the
mechanics who often have to scramble between motos to diagnose and
repair any issues that arise.
Even with this two race-bike format for the Triple Crown events
there's still the chance that some kind of mechanical problem may
arise. This apparently happened to fan favorite Chad Reed ahead of
the second Main as he opted to pull out just before the gate drop
due to a problem with his Suzuki and ended up watching the race
from behind the start gate. Reed made up for it though by putting
in a really exciting third main. He get off to a great start and
was right in the money for the holeshot but got beat out by Tomac.
From there he settled into 4th and was mixing it up with
Musquin and then holding off Roczen for the first seven laps.
Ultimately he finished with a 5th place for the race and
13th overall for the night.
El Chupacabra Chews Up a Tuff Block Cover
Man, sitting up in the stands watching Blake Baggett go from
12th to 21st in the first Main due to a tuff
block cover getting caught up in his rear wheel was tough,
especially after he pulled down his first ever 450 win last week.
Reviewing the highlights video it doesn't even look like that cover
was over an actual tuff block. You can briefly see it at the 22
second mark of the video above, the right side corner is totally
crushed in and as soon as Baggett puts his left foot on the "block"
for support as he gets pinched in the inside corner by Friese, the
block completely disappears and the cover latches onto his rear
wheel. It appears as though the block that cover was supposed to be
on was sitting behind the cover. Was it a false block? Looks like
it to me.
Even 250 points leader Colt Nichols nearly got caught up with a
tuff block while leading the first main event (30 second mark in
video below). Just after taking over the lead from Cianciarulo,
Nichols clipped a tuff block at speed and lost control for a split
second. Luckily he was able to get through without incident and
ride to the win.
Actually, if I'm not mistaken I think one of the
Suzuki 250 riders clipped a tuff block (in the same area as
Baggett) and spent a ton of time with the track crew pulling,
twisting, and turning every which way to get the cover out from the
rear wheel. I looked through the highlights and couldn't find it. I
can't remember if it was a Suzuki rider or if it was Baggett's
scenario ingrained into my head. I just remember cringing as they
struggled to get bike free as racer after racer passed by.
I know the tuff blocks are there for the rider's protection but it
seems once they start causing problems in a race they continue to
cause problems. I remember watching a race last year where multiple
riders kept getting tangled up with the same tuff block and the
track crew just kept putting it right back in the same spot.
Serious Colt Action
I'll be honest, Colt Nichols wasn't on my radar as a contender for
a 250 title; my money is on Cianciarulo. Thankfully that bet is
imaginary because if Colt keeps riding the way he has been this
season I'd lose. Nichols only has a two point lead over Shane
McElrath for the overall lead in the West Coast 250 championship
but he just keeps riding so smooth and with such determination that
he just might surprise everyone. He's been on the podium at every
single race so far and nearly took a podium spot in all three
Triple Crown Races except he missed the 3rd place spot
by a couple tenths of a second behind his Yamaha teammate Dylan
Ferrandis in the final main.
Nichols has led 32 laps this season. That's 24 more than McElrath,
27 more than third place Ferrandis, and nine more than
4th place Cianciarulo. Granted, laps led don't
necessarily always equate to race wins or championships, but it
does show what a force Nichols has been so far this season. I
didn't go back through the records but I would bet that those 32
laps are more than he's ever led in his entire professional 250
Supercross career. I'm sure he's going to add to that lap total and
more than likely make a few more podium appearances as well.
