With round two of Monster Energy AMA Supercross series being postponed and the series moving on to what was supposed to be the round three in San Diego, Calif., the opportunity was rife for riders to start anew.
But what came to be at SnapDragon Stadium was a near-repeat of the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., two weeks prior.
Star Racing Yamaha’s Eli Tomac went two-for-two with a second consecutive victory. He is the first rider to open a 450cc class season with two wins since Ken Roczen did so in 2017. Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb stole another second-place finish on the No. 2 machine, matching his Anaheim result. TLD/Red Bull/GAS GAS rider Justin Barcia was the new addition to the podium, as he successfully kept H.E.P. Motorsports’ Roczen at bay during the final minutes of the race.
And yet, even with the developing pattern — Tomac wins, Webb finishes second — there were several unexpected takeaways.
Malcolm Stewart Swings And Misses
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Malcolm Stewart enjoyed a hot start in San Diego. He scored the fast-qualifier award and picked up his fifth heat race win, but Saturday night’s main event summoned trouble for the No. 27 rider.
Stewart got sideways in the rhythm section and hit the dirt on his Husqvarna on the opening lap of the main event. Though he quickly got back in the race, he found himself on the ground a second time in one of the whoop sections. In light of his crashes in Anaheim and San Diego, Stewart has yet to finish in the top 10 this season.
While disappointed in the end results, Stewart remains patient and knows he has time to make up for his mistakes.
“I always just want to look forward to the next one and take it race by race. Don’t try to look what’s going to happen at round 14 or 15,” Stewart said. “Slow it down and just enjoy the process, because you never know when you’ll get another shot.”
Cooper Webb (2) quickly took the lead, but Anaheim winner Eli Tomac (1) was hot on his tail. (Mark Munoz photo)
Tomac secured the lead four minutes into the main event. (Mark Munoz photo)
Ken Roczen Makes Steady Progress With Suzuki
It was no secret that Roczen only spent a month on his Suzuki RM-Z450 leading up to the Supercross opener on Jan. 7.
Pre-Anaheim, both he and Suzuki team manager Larry Brooks were cautious about stating their goals for the year. Roczen expressed his desire to “reestablish himself” with Suzuki, while Brooks was anxious to go racing and see where the team stacked up against the competition.
Two races later, Roczen has a fifth and a fourth-place finishes — results he is content with.
“We were testing all day to narrow the window of what works and what doesn’t,” Roczen wrote on Instagram. “It is not easy to go out and figure out how the bike reacts and what it needs on race day with very limited amount of time on the track … Nonetheless, we made all the right calls when it came down to the wire and that’s what matters.”
His season outlook has remained positive, as it appears he feels the team is moving in the right direction. Roczen’s strong showing in the final laps of the race, featuring a tight battle with Barcia for a podium finish, also seemed to bolster his optimism.
“Hard work really does pay off,” Roczen wrote.
Twitter: A New Playing Field For Supercross Riders
After logging a third-place result in Anaheim, Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton finished fifth in San Diego. He collided with Barcia in one of the track’s many bowl turns and fell back in the pack due to the time lost in the crash.
It was one of two incidents that Barcia was involved in during the event.
“Wild night for me in San Diego,” Sexton wrote on Twitter. “Not happy with fifth, but I’m stoked with the fight I had considering everything that went down.”
Wild night for me in San Diego… Not happy with 5th, but I’m stoked with the fight I had considering everything that went down. See y’all back in Anaheim 🤙🏻#CS23 pic.twitter.com/WwKgQrO2tP
— Chase Sexton (@_chasesexton) January 23, 2023
Another rider took to Twitter with harsher criticism of Barcia. Following a pass he made on Barcia during the heat race, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson tweeted about the No. 51 rider, referencing Barcia’s aggressive riding style.
While the tweet was given irreversible airtime during the NBC Sports broadcast, Anderson had taken it down by the end of the night. Still, Barcia addressed the controversy during the post-race press conference.
“I didn’t have a problem with the pass,” Barcia said. “I’m not going to get into a Twitter fight … Just move on from it and let’s go racing.”
Keyword: SX Notes: Stewart Tries Again, Roczen Creeps Up & Tweets Arise