Colorado’s Eli Tomac extended his US championship lead after grabbing his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross win of 2022 at the fourth round of 17 at Anaheim, California, at the weekend.
Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson led early and was close at the end but settled for the runner up spot at the chequered flag.
Honda’s Chase Sexton, a 450SX Class rookie, backed up his career first 450SX Class win with a podium finish at the series’ second visit to Anaheim.
Germany’s Ken Roczen (Honda) rocketed off the gate in the 450SX Class Main Event, exiting the first corner neck and neck with Shane McElrath.
Malcolm Stewart pushed into second place just 30 seconds into the race as behind him Anderson was on the move from fourth place and Tomac was pushing forward from a seventh-place start.
Anderson took second place from Stewart just three and a half minutes into the 20-minute plus one lap race.
He reeled in Roczen and made an aggressive move in the sand section where two lines came together.
The riders collided in a spray of sand (pictured above). Roczen’s bike flipped sideways off the track while Anderson managed to stay on two wheels. Anderson took over the lead but had Tomac charging hard to steal the top spot.
Just before the race’s midpoint Anderson took a risky triple-triple rhythm line into an elevated berm and nearly high-sided off the track. The bobble allowed Tomac to cut under.
From there he held the lead until the finish. Sexton kept the two riders in sight but never closed enough to challenge Anderson for the second-place spot.
“It feels great to get this win. It also feels good to get this win for everyone behind me,” Tomac said.
“The team has been working so hard, and what we’ve been able to do and how we’ve been able to improve each weekend is awesome. We’ve just been inching our way forward and fine-tuning every week, so it feels so good to get everyone that result that we all work for.
“The track was so cool, with really technical rhythm sections, and my motorcycle was so good tonight. I could put it wherever I wanted to – inside, outside – and it was good for the distance, so that’s exciting for us.”
Western Regional 250SX Class
In the Western Regional 250SX Class, New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh (Kawasaki) finished runner-up in the Last Chance Qualifier and then 11th in the main event at Anaheim 2. He’s now 15th in the series standings.
It was Vince Friese who grabbed the holeshot in the Main Event as the previous round winner, Michael Mosiman, jockeyed with Christian Craig for the runner-up position.
Jo Shimoda got past Craig momentarily in the early going, but Craig regained third place as Mosiman took over the lead spot – all within the first minute and a half of the 15-minute plus one lap race.
Craig got past Friese a few laps later and started chipping away at the gap to Mosiman. Behind them, Australian Hunter Lawrence got around Shimoda and set his sights on Friese in third.
Friese took a nasty crash in the whoops that allowed Lawrence past. While getting up Friese was hit in the head by Shimoda, who also went down in the incident.
Mosiman and Craig separated from the pack with less than one second separating them for several laps. With four and half minutes on the clock, Craig made a clean move and took over the top spot.
Mosiman retaliated immediately but did not get back around. One lap later Mosiman put on another pass attempt but it lost him time and put him just outside of striking distance.
Anaheim 2 also marked the fourth time in Monster Energy Supercross history that the first four rounds in the 450SX Class have been won by four different riders.
The racers will line up for Round 5 this coming Saturday night (Sunday NZ time) inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Arizona race is the first of three Triple Crown events on the 2022 schedule.
Qualifying heats are replaced with a three-Main Event format for each class, leading to intense racing action with the overall tally paying title points at the end of the night.
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450SX Class Results:
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha
2 Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki
3 Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda
4 Dylan Ferrandis, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha
5 Malcolm Stewart, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
6 Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
7 Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS
8 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM
9 Dean Wilson, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
10 Shane McElrath, Oakland, Fla., KTM
450SX Class Championship Standings:
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (85)
2 Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (79)
3 Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki (77)
4 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (73)
5 Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS (72)
6 Malcolm Stewart, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna (70)
7 Dylan Ferrandis, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha (64)
8 Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM (64)
9 Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (62)
10 Aaron Plessinger, Leesburg, Fla., KTM (55)
Western Regional 250SX Class Results:
1 Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha
2 Michael Mosiman, Minneaola, Fla., GASGAS
3 Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda
4 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha
5 Jalek Swoll, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
6 Carson Brown, Ravensdale, Wash., KTM
7 Jo Shimoda, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
8 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Suzuki
9 Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Yamaha
10 Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings:
1 Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (99)
2 Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda (88)
3 Michael Mosiman, Minneaola, Fla., GASGAS (85)
4 Jo Shimoda, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki (66)
5 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (63)
6 Vince Friese, Menifee, Calif., Honda (58)
7 Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Suzuki (54)
8 Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Yamaha (51)
9 Cole Thompson, Brigden, ON, Yamaha (45)
10 Seth Hammaker, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (44)