Rockstar Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson has increased his point’s lead after a dramatic last lap at fifth round of the 2018 Monster Energy-backed United States Supercross Championships in Oakland at the weekend.

It was Factory Honda’s Cole Seely who grabbed the early race lead and looked in control of the race with team-mate Ken Roczen sitting in second place as the riders behind fought for position.

As the laps unfolded, the championship recovery for Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac hit another hurdle, as the winner of the last two main events hit the deck with a helping hand from Monster Energy Factory Yamaha’s Justin Barcia.

Up front the technical track caught out Seely, allowing Roczen to take the race lead, while championship leader Anderson put a pass on Factory KTM’s Marvin Musquin for third place that left the Frenchman on the ground.

Anderson then moved into second place passing Blake Bagget and set his sights on race leader Roczen.

With two laps to go, Anderson locked on to Roczen rear wheel and the two riders battled with Anderson moving into the lead through the whoops before Roczen quick re-took the lead.

On the final lap, Roczen held Anderson out through the whoops, but miss timed the jump out of the next corner. Anderson took full advantage, re taking the lead and racing to a narrow victory from Roczen with Bagget in third.

Musquin crossed the line in 4th, while Barcia moved by Seely to finish 5th.

Cooper Webb had his best round of the season in 7th ahead of Broc Tickle in 8th, Justin Brayton in 9th with Josh Grant recovering to 10th after an early race crash.

Eli Tomac after his crash rounded out the night in 13th one position ahead of Australia’s Chad Reed who continues to improve weekly and early in the night won the LCQ to progress to night’s final.

In the championship standings Anderson now holds a 15 point lead from  Roczen, with Barcia a further two points back in third.

When the gates dropped on the 250 main event it was Alex Martin who grabbed the holeshot aboard his Troy Lee Designs KTM holding the lead for the opening laps before Geiko Honda’s Christian Craig took the lead with an impressive pass through the whoops.

Plessinger who finished the opening lap in 6th position, worked his way into second place, dispatching of championship rival Joey Savatgy in the process.

Race leader Craig made a big mistake at the midway point of the 15 minute plus one lap race, cross rutting on a jump face and launching off the track allowing Plessinger to move into the lead.

In the dying stages of the race, Plessinger who was fighting a cold, came under pressure from both Savatgy and JGR Suzuki rider Justin Hill.

However with Hill and Savatgy holding each other up in their battle for second spot, Plessinger crossed the line to take his second straight round win ahead of Savatgy in second and last year’s 250 west champion Hill in third.

Craig came back to finish fourth, ahead of Martin who finished his first race after retruning form injury in 5th.

Geiko’s Chase Sexton made the best of a bad start to finish the night in 6th.

It was a tough night for championship contenders Adam Cianciarulo and Shane McElrath, who both suffered incidents in the opening corners of the race.

Cianciarulo was able to climb back to 7th while McElrath who took a trip to the mechanics area finished the night out in 15th, putting a huge dent in his championship aspirations.

In the championship standings Plessinger holds a 8 point lead over Savatgy. Despite the bad night, McElrath sits in third position 19 points down on Plessinger.

Photo courtesy Simon Cudby

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450SX Class Results

1. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda
3. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrance, Calif., KTM
4. Marvin Musquin, Clermont, Fla., KTM
5. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
6. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda
7. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha
8. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., KTM
9. Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., Honda
10. Joshua Grant, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki

450SX Class Championship Standings

1. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna (115)
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (100)
3. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha (98)
4. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (87)
5. Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., Honda (82)
6. Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Suzuki (82)
7. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrance, Calif., KTM (78)
8. Marvin Musquin, Clermont, Fla., KTM (73)
9. Joshua Grant, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki (71)
10. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (68)

Western Regional 250SX Class Results

1. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
2. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki
3. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki
4. Christian Craig, Orange, Calif. Honda
5. Alex Martin, Millville, Minne., KTM
6. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
7. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna, Fla., Kawasaki
8. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha
9. Mitchell Harrison, Tallahassee, Fla., Husqvarna
10. Hayden Mellross, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha

Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings

1. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (118)
2. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (110)
3. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (99)
4. Adam Cianciarulo, New Smyrna, Fla., Kawasaki (93)
5. Christian Craig, Orange, Calif. Honda (89)
6. Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (86)
7. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki (79)
8. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha (68)
9. Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, Yamaha (58)
10. Mitchell Harrison, Tallahassee, Fla., Husqvarna (58)

The 2018 Monster Energy Supercross season continues next Saturday, February 10, with Round 6 from San Diego.