The supercross fight has intensified as KTM’s Cooper Webb closes in tight on the rear wheel of Honda’s Ken Roczen.
It was a successful night of racing for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, who topped the 450SX class at round eight of the 2021 AMA Supercross Championship with powerful 1-2 performances by team-mates Webb and Marvin Musquin.
For Webb, Saturday’s triumph was in the form of explosive back-to-back victories in Orlando, giving him a substantial boost in the championship chase.
Webb is now just six points behind the championship leader, German Honda star Roczen, who managed fourth in the main event at Orlando.
Meanwhile, Musquin, who has battled up and down this season, took one step closer to the centre of the podium with a season-best finish of second.
Webb came into the first Orlando round 16-points down in the 450SX Championship but two big wins in the sunshine state have propelled the 2019 champ to within striking distance of the title as he now sits only half a dozen points behind.
Webb, the second-place qualifier, put himself into third off the start of 450SX heat one, but he clipped a tuff block on the second lap and went down. Dropping back to sixth early on, Webb was able to battle his way back to finish fourth in the heat.
In the main event, Webb powered his KTM to another third-place start and he quickly jumped into second on lap two. About halfway through, Webb turned up the pressure on race leader Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki) and he made his move into the lead on lap 11. With quite a bit of action taking place behind him, Webb maintained his focus ahead to nail down win number three of the season.
Webb: “This one is huge, back-to-back wins is amazing! It was a great race battling with AC [Cianciarulo] and great points for tonight. Marvin was riding great. I knew he was coming there at the end and I know how strong he is because we ride and train together every day. I felt like start to finish I was in my comfort zone just clicking laps away and it felt really good. KTM going one and two is incredible, this is an awesome feeling.”
For Musquin, the end result was worth the fight as he earned his third podium finish of the season in the main event. Qualifying seventh, he powered his KTM into second off the start of 450SX heat two and he quickly moved into the lead on the first lap. He led the first eight laps of the heat until another rider came into contact with him on the last lap. Despite going down just before the finish, Musquin was able to remount and salvage a second-place transfer into the Main Event.
In the main, Musquin put himself into a great position off the start as he settled into fourth on the opening lap. He battled inside a group of front-runners early on before setting himself up for a sole push to the front.
Applying increasing pressure on Cianciarulo in second, Musquin set himself up to capitalise on any mistakes and it wasn’t long before the French rider went on to join his team-mate in the lead battle. Musquin continued to charge into the final laps, finishing only three seconds behind his teammate Webb for second overall.
Next Race: Daytona, Florida – March 6, 2021
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Results & Standings:
450SX Class Results:
- Cooper Webb, KTM
- Marvin Musquin KTM
- Justin Barcia, GASGAS
- Ken Roczen, Honda
- Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
- Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
- Malcolm Stewart, Yamaha
- Zach Osborne, Husqvarna
- Aaron Plessinger Yamaha
- Justin Bogle, KTM
450SX Class Championship Standings after 8 of 17 rounds:
- Ken Roczen, Honda (180)
- Cooper Webb, KTM (174)
- Eli Tomac, Kawasaki (149)
- Justin Barcia, GASGAS (136)
- Marvin Musquin KTM (133)
- Malcolm Stewart, Yamaha (125)
- Zach Osborne, Husqvarna (123)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki (120)
- Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha (113)
- Dylan Ferrandis, Yamaha (109)
250SX Class Results (Western Regional):
- Justin Cooper, Yamaha
- Cameron McAdoo, Kawasaki
- Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha
- Jalek Swoll, Husqvarna
- Hunter Lawrence,Honda
- Seth Hammaker,Kawasaki
- Kyle Peters, Honda
- Chris Blose, GASGAS
- Robbie Wageman, Yamaha
- Jace Owen, Yamaha
250SX Class Championship Standings (Western Regional):
- Justin Cooper Yamaha (26)
- Cameron McAdoo, Kawasaki (23)
- Garrett Marchbanks, Yamaha (21)
- Jalek Swoll, Husqvarna (19)
- Hunter Lawrence Honda (18)
- Seth Hammaker, Kawasaki (17)
- Kyle Peters, Honda (16)
- Chris Blose, GASGAS (15)
- Robbie Wageman, Yamaha (14)
- Jace Owen, Yamaha (13)
