Round nine of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and round three of the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship in Toronto, Canada was dominated by the Monster Energy / Kawasaki of Eli Tomac. The #3 grabbed his fourth win of 2017 in the 450SX class while Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne made it two wins in a row in the 250SX class.
In the 450SX class, Eli was accompanied on the podium by Red Bull / KTM’s Ryan Dungey in second and RCH / Yoshimura / Suzuki’s Broc Tickle in third—the first 450SX podium of Broc’s career. In the 250SX class, Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo (2nd) and GEICO / Honda’s Christian Craig (3rd) grabbed podiums along side Osborne in the third 250SX East main event of 2017.
After the podium celebrations were over and the points were tallied, some of the top riders talked about their nights inside Toronto’s Rogers Centre. Check out the riders post race comments below. Click here for all 2017 Monster Energy Supercross results.
Eli Tomac: (1st in 450SX) “Tonight was great. Obviously this is the result we want and the points we need. I felt really strong in the race, I’d look back here and there to see if I needed to pick up the pace or stay consistent and to have that control is a great feeling. The track was, once again, really tough and I’m really happy to come away with the win.”
Zach Osborne: (1st in 250SX) “Collectively, it was a great day for us. I was fastest in every session. I didn’t get a great start in my heat race. I spun a little bit behind the gate and ended up third. I got off to a good start in the main and was right in the mix, around third or fourth, and just kind of let the race play out in front of me. I took the lead and never looked back. It’s pretty unreal.”
Ryan Dungey: (2nd in 450SX) “I just tried to not get ahead of myself and pick off as many guys as I could. I just tried to keep hitting my marks, not make any big mistakes – and I didn’t – for the most part. I hit my lines good and the bike felt good as well. The track deteriorated fast but before I knew it I found myself in 5th. I was really happy with the night and the ride but it would have been better with a start.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (2nd in 250SX) “The podium feels good. I’ve had almost three years off the supercross track and I’ve been focused on getting my strength and speed back, and it’s starting to show. I don’t feel as if my riding was where it needs to be just yet, but this is the first step and I’m happy with it.”
Josh Grant: (11th in 450SX) “Tonight was intense. The track really broke down throughout the main, so it was important to try and stay as consistent lap by lap. I had some ups and downs tonight but I moved forward from where I started in the Main Event and I’ll take that and build off it for the next one.
Christian Craig: (3rd in 250SX) “My heat was good. I started in like fifth or so and made my way to second. I almost took the lead in the last turn but I didn’t want to take either of us out. The main was pretty bad, actually. I tightened up on about lap eight and was riding too cautious because of the track conditions. I was in fifth for a while then [Colt] Nichols and [Joey] Savatgy went down. After they both went down I knew I needed to get focused to stay in third. I rode my best after those guys crashed to hold onto third—I wanted to hold onto that spot. I got kinda lucky with a podium but it’s where I belong so it felt good to be there after the first two rounds I had.”
Dean Wilson: (8th in 450SX) “I got another top-10. That’s where I’m supposed to be. The day was OK. I’m just not really stoked on my riding. My qualifying time was good – I was fourth. I mean my speed is good, but doing it in the race is what counts. I just got really tight out there and was in survival mode. It’s a little disappointing because I’ve beat guys that have already gotten podiums, and I want to be up there. It’s just a building season for me, so I’ve just got to learn from it and have a good week.”
Joey Savatgy: “We need to eliminate mistakes. It’s a bit frustrating to put in all the work during the week, prepare correctly and then have an issue in the race. It’s little stuff, so it can be fixed, we just need to get it done. Now I’m just looking forward to getting some redemption.”
Jason Anderson: (19th in 450SX) “My night was going pretty well. My heat race was good, and I was riding fast. I was in third at the start of the main, but another rider’s foot peg got stuck in my spokes and ripped them all out and bent my rotor. I swapped my front wheel after that, but then I got hit again and it messed my bike up even more. I’m just going to focus on next week’s race in Daytona.”
Jordon Smith: (7th in 250SX) “It was definitely a crazy main event. Having a bad start didn’t help me and really put me in the middle of a lot of chaos. I eventually went down but knew I had to make up as many points as possible. We’ll get it back next week. Should be fun in Daytona.”
Cole Seely: (6th in 450SX) “I didn’t get the greatest start tonight and it was tough for me to get in the groove. I’m thankful that we are safe and still came away with a sixth-place finish. I’d really like to move up into third in the standings, but we have a long way to go still.”
RJ Hampshire: (14th in 250SX) “This weekend was for sure not my best. The track got really beat down and it was hard for me to find a flow all day. In the heat I was running in second and felt the best I had all day then I tucked the front end and went down. I was able to work my way back up to eighth. My start in the main wasn’t the best so as always, it makes everything more challenging. I think I was seventh on the last lap when I came up short on the rhythm section and went down. I knew something had happened to my leg but didn’t know how bad so I got up and was able to finish in 14th. I went to the doctor today and found out I fractured my lower tib and fib [tibia and fibula]. Looks like I won’t need surgery and should hopefully be back within eight weeks or so.”
Broc Tickle: (3rd in 450SX) “Yeah, I needed to focus on myself, and I knew that. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I got off to a good start and knew I just needed to put in the laps I needed to. The track was tough tonight. It was all about hitting your lines, jumping the jumps, staying smooth and not panicking. For me, that’s all I tried to focus on and it worked out. Ryan got around me with five or six laps to go, and that honestly helped me a little bit to get back in a little groove. Because I kind of tightened up there at the end.”
