Round two of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series is in the books and will be remembered as a night of loss in the 450SX class. Three top five 450SX guys, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin and Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson—two of which were major title threats—were all put on the injured list with shoulder injuries and all three were missing from the 2018 Houston SX main event.
With some major star power absent from the 450SX class and Musquin’s red plate up for grabs, Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, Team HRC’s Ken Roczen and Monster Energy / Knich / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia picked up the slack and put on an incredible race for the podium spots. The race started with Roczen taking the lead away from BamBam and leading his first 13-laps of the season, but it was Anderson’s night in Houston to win. The #21 came from behind to pass all the top guys and run away with his first win of 2018 and the red plate. Roczen crossed the line with the first podium of the season, and Barcia locked down his second straight podium of the year.
In the 250SX class, Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy led the first twelve laps of the main event, but Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger led the most important ones: the last six. The rutted out Houston soil played right into the #23’s wheelhouse, and he came from outside the top ten to steal his first win of ’18 away from Savatgy and the red plate away from Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Shane McElrath—who finished 4th. Aaron was flanked on the podium by Savatgy (2nd) and the GEICO / Honda rookie, Chase Sexton. For Chase, it was the first podium of his very young career.
After the racing was over inside Houston’s NRG Stadium, we gathered some quotes from riders to get their thoughts on the 2018 Houston SX.
Jason Anderson: (1st in 450) Houston was probably the most perfect day I’ve ever had in my career. I won every time I was on the track – both practices, heat race and main. It was a battle, but it was awesome. I’m in the zone but, at the same time, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I feel good and I’m in a good spot.
Aaron Plessinger: (1st in 250) The first few laps were pretty crazy. I’m not real sure how I managed to get all the way up through there. On lap three, the only thing I knew was I was in like 5th or 6th place and I was catching those guys pretty significantly. I just put my head down and charged forward. This track was really really sketchy. I made some good passes and had some good lines. These guys were riding great, it was just my kind of track.
Ken Roczen: (2nd in 450)I wasn’t that happy with it [4th at A1]. It was okay last weekend. But no, this was a really good weekend for us. I think where I have the most fun is just rolling out here with the HRC team. They’re excited I’m back, I’m excited I’m back and then obviously with Cole [Seely] too. Just having two riders on the track and to be able to deliver them a podium in just our second race back feels great. I had a good start in the heat—rode smart there—and had a good start in the main event. Justin [Barcia] and I had some good battles. It was clean. It was fun. In the first couple of laps, I had to protect my inside a little bit, and I noticed I couldn’t really separate myself at all. If anything they were kind of gaining on me. I was kind of thinking because we were so close, if I took a regular line somebody was going to come up the inside. From lap two or three, I started opening up my turns a little bit and I could inch away a little bit.
Joey Savatgy: (2nd in 250) I’ve made mistakes in the past maybe doing doing obstacles or doing things I didn’t necessarily need to do, and tonight was one of them. I felt like I was riding as fast as I could comfortably and Aaron was obviously faster. Once he caught up and made the pass, I tried to stick with him for a little bit. I caught lappers at a bad spot and then he got away from me. I’m learning from mistakes in the past. I could of tried to go after him, but the track was brutal tonight. I tried to minimize the mistakes, come out of here with good points and keep moving.
Justin Barcia: (3rd in 450) I was having a good ride. I was just watching Kenny and seeing what he was doing and trying to adapt to the track. It was changing every lap. I just made a little mistake, a big mistake actually (laughs). I struggled a little bit in the middle, and then regrouped at the end and made a decent charge to get back up to 3rd.
Chase Sexton: (3rd in 250) To be honest, no [I didn’t think I would get podiums this early in season]. Last weekend I got an 8th. I wasn’t really happy with that. I was shooting tonight for a top five. I was riding in 6th the whole moto, made two passes—I was in 4th—and then Adam [Cianciarulo] ended up crashing. That was with two laps to go and I was set up for a podium. I was just trying to get through those two laps and I’m really happy to be on the podium.
Cole Seely: (4th in 450) It’s great to see improvement from the first round, especially on a track that seemed to change every lap. I really thought I could have had my first podium of the year, but I know I have the speed to be up there so we’ll keep pushing.
Weston Peick: (5th in 450) This weekend went well for me. The goal was to back-up my top-five finish from Anaheim 1, and I succeeded. The track was technical and constantly breaking down, with big whoops and lots of ruts. Houston proved that I can handle the ever-changing conditions. I’m excited for Anaheim 2. My next target is to get on the podium. With good starts and consistent lap times I should be able to achieve that. I’m really gelling with the RM-Z450 and I like the progress that we’re making.
Shane McElrath: (4th in 250)The track was very challenging as it changed every lap we rode,” said McElrath. “Lots of riders were having trouble so I wanted to make sure we kept it off the ground and stayed in the hunt. This is only the second race so we can’t throw it away with a track as tough as we saw tonight. I am really looking towards the long term goal as well as winning races, so we’ll be back strong next week.”
Marvin Musquin: (DNQ in 450) After qualifying 3rd today, I went down hard in the whoops in my heat race. I landed on my left shoulder and felt really beat up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to line up for the rest of night. I’m really disappointed about that given the team and I were in a good place after our win last weekend. But I will get checked up as soon as I get home and will know more in the next few days. Supercross is a longer season so I’m hopeful I will be able to line up in Anaheim 2.
Mitchell Harrison: (12th in 250) I felt really good in practice. The bike was great. I got the holeshot in the heat then crashed, but I was able to come back to ninth and qualify for the main. I got a decent start in the main, but I rode tight. I have some things to work on, and I hope to do better next week at Anaheim.
Eli Tomac: (DNS in 450) We did everything we could this week to work through the injury but I didn’t feel right on the bike and I wasn’t able to ride at race speed. We have to think about the rest of the season so we’re going to take it day-by-day and focus on getting healthy for Anaheim 2.
Chad Reed: (16th in 450) Ended up 16th. Obviously, you always want better but there were some real good positives on the day. I felt good on the bike. My riding is starting to feel more natural, and my starts were much improved over last week. My ankle still hurts a little bit, but we’re trying to tough it out. We had a tough track tonight, really rutty. Tough whoops, which made it really challenging. Onwards and upwards! We’ll try to improve and try to ride a time or two this week and get after it in Anaheim again.
Christian Craig: (5th in 250) I’m pumped I was able to gut it out last night with how bad my ankle was on Wednesday. But disappointed with my main event. I put myself in a really good position off the start and just couldn’t do anything. No disrespect to the other guys—they are all flying—but I feel I am more prepared then ever and should be fighting for podiums and wins on Saturdays. I’m going to keep working my butt off. Huge thanks to Dr G. Without him I don’t think I would have been able to race! We will get there. It felt fine and then in the main my foot slipped out third lap and it hit the ground. That one kind of spooked me,” said Craig. “That kind of made me tense up a little bit, but I’m not going to blame my ride on my ankle. I finished fifth and I had a podium position right in front of me. I was stuck with those guys all race and I’m pretty frustrated of how I finished. At least the ankle injury is out of the way. It’s just going to get better, so I don’t need to worry about it anymore
Broc Tickle: (8th in 450) I was really looking forward to Houston this weekend, I had a really good week of riding and I felt really comfortable coming into this round. Overall, it was a decent night, I’m not pumped with where I finished but I am better than what I was last year. With that being said, that’s showing progress for myself but I’m not okay with 8th, I feel like I should be fighting for podiums and inside the top five each and every weekend so I’ll keep working this week, ride with the boys and put in another showing at Anaheim.
Adam Cianciarulo: (7th in 250) I expect to be on the podium. I came in prepared this season. I have the best team in the business and they set me up to win every single week. We felt great all day, but I made a couple of mistakes in the Main Event that cost me. We’re going to learn from this and come back strong next week.
Malcolm Stewart: (11th in 450) I tell you, going eight months without a gate drop feels like forever! It’s great to be back doing what I love to do. I have to give a huge shout out to the Autotrader/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing Team for giving me the opportunity to race. I appreciate the fans for sticking by me through thick and thin. The Houston fans made me feel like I was home again, so thanks! I’m looking forward to getting more time on the bike and making a big impact at Anaheim 2.
Josh Grant: (9th in 450) There are a lot of positives we can build on. Taking the holeshot in my Heat race showed our hard work on my starts is paying off. We’re in the hunt, I’m feeling confident and we’ll continue to put in the work so we can be on the podium.
Justin Hill: (10th in 250) I struggled all day and felt off. I’ve never had an entire day where I made zero progress. From the very first time my wheels touched the track, all of the way until the checkered flag flew in the Main Event, I didn’t get any better. My comfort level was off. We had a few minor tweaks that needed to be made to the rear suspension on my bike, but I didn’t ride the RM-Z250 for what it was worth. I was in a funk. It’s difficult, because I had the speed at Anaheim 1, but bad starts kept me from running towards the front. At Houston, the speed was not there. It was a total 180-degree turn from the opening round. I’m definitely disappointed in myself. Everyone on the team wants to help, and I’m grateful for their support. I will be working with a few members of the team this week to try some different settings. I’ve never wanted to win so badly
Cooper Webb: (12th in 450) Another shit night in Houston. Crashed in first corner onto the pavement and broke my clutch lever off. Managed a 12th. Time to sink or swim
Hayden Mellross: (15th in 250) I felt good all night and was having a blast out there. I was up there during my heat race battling and felt that I really had something for those guys during the main. It’s a bummer to go down early like that but I’m glad I was able to get back up and get after it. A 15th doesn’t always look good on paper, but I feel good after the effort we put in this weekend.
Henry Miller: (19th in 450) Houston is in the books. I started the day off with a bad crash in practice 1, but we made the best of it, put it in the main and ended up 19th in my first 450 main event!
Phil Nicoletti: (12th in 250) The track was very demanding. I struggled to find a flow after not riding all week. I had to take time off after my Anaheim 1 crash in order to let my body heal, so I knew it would be challenging to find a good feeling in Houston. I went to the doctor after the Anaheim opener. It was discovered that I had a few cracked and misplaced ribs. I’m looking forward to having a bit more time to let my body heal before coming back strong at Anaheim 2.
Dakota Tedder: (21st in 450) That was a wild race! So Stoked I was ok after that crash! I couldn’t be happier I was able to get up and still make the main. Just to be clear why I crashed, I have a bad right wrist with weak hand strength so my hand got ripped off the bars.
Jeremy Martin: (10th in 450) Felt good all day on a very tough technical track that became very rutty. Qualified sixth fastest in practice. Got out of the gate good in my heat race but made a couple rookie moves in the next two sections to slide back to tenth before settling in sixth spot when the checkered flag flew. Got a great jump from the outside on the main but [Cooper] Webb bashed the side of me and we both went flying off the track in the first turn. Came from last to tenth place for the main.
Kyle Chisholm: (9th in 250) I’m glad I was able to better my results, from a 10th to a 9th this week. I’m still adapting to the Yamaha and tonight with the deep ruts I was somewhat cautious and played it smart until I learned more how this bike reacts in those situations. I’ll keep chipping away and know a Top 5 is around the corner.
