Photo by: Hoppenworld
Heading into round four of the Western Regional 250SX Supercross Championship in Oakland, Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb was undefeated. He had an eighteen-point lead over Rockstar/Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne and a twenty-two-point lead over Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy, but as per usual in Monster Energy Supercross, anything can and will happen. After a bike problem by Webb in Oakland combined with a crash by Osborne and Savatgy’s first-ever main event win, Savatgy now has the red plate with a two-point lead over Webb and a five-point lead over Osborne. It’s never over until it’s over in Monster Energy Supercross.
In Oakland, Savatgy qualified in fourth and went on to win his third heat race of the four tries in 2016. In the main event, it was obvious Savatgy was tired of watching Webb run away, and after GEICO/Honda’s Christian Craig hit the deck while leading, the #1 and the #37 were 1st and 2nd and running away from the field. Midway through the main event, Webb started to get away, but on lap thirteen disaster struck for the defending Champ. His Yamaha stalled and would not ignite back to life. With that, Savatgy ran away with his first-ever main event win, while Webb—after finally firing his Yamaha back to life—crossed the finish line in 21st with just one point scored.
After Savatgy flipped the script in Oakland with the win, we caught up with the Kawasaki rider in the pits to get his take on the night.
Joey, not only did you get your first-ever win tonight, but it’s a whole new Championship with Cooper Webb’s bike issues and 21st place finish. You’re the points leader now by two points. How’s that feel to hear?
It’s good, man. It’s starting to settle in a little bit. A lot of it for me feels overdue. We’ve had the speed for a while; it’s just I haven’t put it together. We put ourselves in good positions. Last weekend we were in a good position, but I went down, and you can’t win them when you’re on the ground.
Talk about your main event tonight.
I had another good start tonight. I put myself in another good position tonight with the start. I was in the position to possibly win. Overall, I felt good. We were riding good. We were right there on Cooper’s [Cooper Webb] rear wheel and tried to stay there. He got away there in the middle of the race; I had a shifter problem from when I hit the hay bale, and I was stuck in second gear.
Really? Did that last the whole race, or were you able to get it working later in the main?
No, that was from lap six until the end. I couldn’t shift and that was a bummer, but overall I can’t complain about anything. The man up above had this plan for me. We got the win and the red plate which is always a bonus (laughs). I have nothing to say; I’m ecstatic and happy.
Yeah, you now have a two-point lead in the Championship. Does that fact change anything in your mind heading to Phoenix?
No, nothing. If anything, it’s just more confidence. I’ve felt like we had the speed all year—won three of four heat races—and was on the box one other time. We had a rough A1, and last weekend we got a fourth, but it was a good fourth. We had the speed to win. It’s nice to get the ball rolling, getting the confidence, and I know we can win. I mean, he [Cooper Webb] wasn’t fifteen seconds ahead of me and his bike broke. I was on his rear wheel within a second and he had a bike problem. Anything can happen. We’re going to take it from here. We have a two-point lead. It doesn’t change anything, so we’ll come out next weekend and do the same thing we did this weekend—have some good practices, get off the gate good and put myself in good positions.
What was going through your mind when you saw the #1 come to a complete stop in that corner?
When I saw him in the turn, I was wasn’t sure if he maybe jammed the rear brake too hard and stalled it. Then, after I went around that right into that 3-3-3 section back the other way, I looked over and saw that he was still there. I knew something was up, but on the night, it’s good.
At what point did it start to sink in that you have your first-ever Supercross win on lock?
With two laps to go. (laughs) I was coming around the mechanics’ area, and he said +11 [11 second lead over 2nd place]. A smile broke out on my face; this just feels overdue. We’ve had this speed for a while, and it’s just finally me putting everything together and sealing the deal.
Do you normally like the softer dirt and ruts like we saw on tonight’s track?
Yeah, I’m from the East Coast, so I ride ruts quite a bit. The track tonight was challenging in a way. It broke down a lot. The whoops obviously weren’t too big of a factor, but the track was gnarly. It had a lot of ruts in between and it broke down quite a bit.
New stadium next week. Good luck, and we’ll see you there.
Thank you.
