Photo by: Octopi
Round eleven of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and round five of the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship went to St Louis’ The Dome at America’s Center.
In the 450SX class, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac won his fifth main event of the year. Eli was absolutely untouchable and checked out for a twenty-second win over Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson–who finished 2nd and still has a 60 point advantage over the #3 in the 450SX Championship standings. Finishing on the box in third was Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin.
In the fifth 250SX East main event of the season Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne and Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner both had the red background, but Osborne took the win and the red plate with it. Austin led early in the main, but handed the lead to Zach—who was right behind him—with a crash. Austin went on to finish fifth, while GEICO / Honda’s Jeremy Martin and Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Jordon Smith grabbed the last two podium spots.
After the racing was over, we grabbed some quotes from some of the top finishing riders in St Louey.
Eli Tomac: (1st in 450SX) “I didn’t really change anything [after the heat race] Staring out front, it’s amazing what clean air can do sometimes. I felt like that’s where I kind of should have been all day, and we brought it to the main. It was a fun track. I think the dirt is the best on the circuit so I just had a good time on my dirt bike tonight.
Zach Osborne: (1st in 250SX) “Big win tonight in St. Louis. I feel good about the way I rode. I came out with some good speed in practice and found my feet today. I was able to get a gap in the end and managed the race from the front. It’s an incredible feeling when you can do that. I’m happy to leave St. Louis with a little gap in the points. I’m just going to keep working.”
Jason Anderson: (2nd in 450SX) “I’m good with second. My heat race was a little rocky, but I made it up in the Main Event. I’m glad I was able to extend my points lead and I’m looking forward to next week.”
Jeremy Martin: (2nd in 250SX) “Yeah, we’re here fighting for it. These guys are good. I felt really good in practice and I was 5th fastest. I felt like I was going like David Huckerchief, and these guys were still faster than me. I just put my head down, and every time I go out there I just try to fight the boys.”
Marvin Musquin: (3rd in 450SX) “I’m a little bit disappointed with the performance tonight, I finished pretty far off the leaders. Riding by myself the whole Main Event was not easy but I gave my best the whole time. I still got a 3rd place on the podium but I wish I could have battled more with the 2nd place. I thought the riding was okay but I was just missing a little bit of rhythm.”
Jordon Smith: (3rd in 250SX) “I got off to a pretty good start and was able to salvage what I could from an outside start,” said Smith. “When I got into third, I settled in a little more than I think I should have and wish I would have pushed a little more to see if I could have challenged for second. I am happy with my result though and it’s put me in position to see the top two guys in the points. There is still a lot of racing left and we’ll see how the showdown comes into play next week.”
Weston Peick: (5th in 450SX) “St. Louis went much better for me than the week before in Daytona, where I dealt with sickness and the crash in Atlanta. I rode well in practice. I came from 10th to 5th in the heat race. In the main event I wanted to be safe and stay on the inside, so I chose a gate that had a big pot hole in front of it. I didn’t get the best drive, but I made some good passes and fought my way up. I held strong through the main event and ended the night in fifth. I felt strong and am back in the right direction to where I was in the early part of the series. Before the night show we stiffened up the suspension, because there were some deep ruts. That worked in my favor. As for the quad jump, I didn’t think anyone would do it. Then Malcolm did it, so that encouraged me to go for it. It was an easy jump. I just had to make sure I gave it enough gas to get over it. The rhythm three-three-three jump section before the finish line was more difficult than the quad.”
Kyle Peters: (4th in 250SX) “Overall, it was a great weekend. I made a lot of improvements in bringing a typical practice day to a race day situation. I qualified well and my times were close. Heading into the night show Buddy Antunez helped me with a few things, which really helped. I holeshot my heat race, which was great, but I rode a little tight and finished second. I worked hard in the main event and came away with fourth. My riding was so much better than it has been. I’m riding more like myself. It was a confidence booster to get that monkey off my back. The quad was possibly the biggest jump I’ve ever hit on a Supercross track. Stewart was the first guy to do it. Jeremy Albrecht and Buddy told me that there were going to be 250 guys doing it, and that I should go for it. I sized it up a few times, but I never even hit it until the heat race. That was the first time I sent it. The transition got a little choppy in the main event. Halfway through the race I did it, and there was a rider down on the landing. I landed just as a track worker was picking up the rider’s bike and I clipped his handlebars. That was a scary moment!”
Broc Tickle: (7th in 450SX) “Overall I would say it was a positive weekend from the last couple I’ve had. It’s definitely a step in the right direction. I had two good starts and I put myself in a good place to get good results. I felt like I was just a little off speed-wise today on the track but all-in-all it was a positive weekend.”
Austin Forkner: (5th in 250SX) “It was great to ride in The Dome for the first time, especially in front of all my family and friends. The track was a lot of fun and I felt confident all day. Unfortunately, I made a couple of errors in the main, but we’ll work on it this week and get ready to suit up for the shootout next weekend.”
Dean Wilson: (8th in 450SX) “This was another positive good day. I was close to winning my heat race so that was good. I’ve been working hard on my starts. I was 11th in the main and got up to 8th. I’m going to get back to work on Monday and will try to improve.”
Michael Mosiman: (8th in 250SX) “St. Louis was good. I had a good day in practice. My starts were good all day. I had a little trouble in the heat race but was able to get back into qualifying position by the end. I had another good start in the main and I’m so happy to get my first top-10 in Supercross. I’m excited to head to Indianapolis and race with all the West Coast guys in the Shootout.”
Christian Craig: (9th in 450SX) “Today started off decent, but I struggled a lot with the track. I was pretty frustrated throughout the day, so just reset for the heat race, where I finished fourth, which was okay. I went into the main and was focused on trying to have fun but I just couldn’t get a flow. I was just riding around–couldn’t push and didn’t have any intensity. Overall I was a little off today and it was frustrating, especially after two really good weekends. I wanted to keep the ball rolling, but a ninth place isn’t the best. It’s also not the worst though, so I’ll just learn from this and regroup for next weekend.”
Sean Cantrell: (9th in 250SX) “It’s really tough to know you have an uphill battle from the very start of the race, but all I could do is try and pick off as many riders as I possibly could. Working hard to push forward paid off and I was able to get inside the top 10. I’ve been able to get a couple of top 10 finishes and would really like to break into the top five. Next week will be my first showdown race so we’ll see what I can do with the different format.”
Malcolm Stewart: (1oth in 450SX) “I was riding well all day long. Unfortunately, I had a bad jump off the gate in the heat race and came together with another rider. I crashed and messed up my shoulder. I ended up with 10th in the main event. I can’t complain. I’m just glad that I’m safe. Later in the week I should have an update on my shoulder. Thanks to the fans for being there for me, as well as the medical group for helping me out!”
Martin Davalos: (22nd in 250SX) “I have the most supportive team in my corner. It has been really tough riding these past few weeks due to injuries and I couldn’t do it without their help. I continue to give it my all out on the track and I hope to rest this week, allow my body to heal and get back to what I love doing, riding.”
Tyler Bowers: (14th in 450SX) “We felt really good in qualifying today and hoped that would transfer to the night show. Unfortunately, I got behind the pack in the main and wasn’t able to catch up, but I’m hoping to come back strong next week and fight for that win.”
Cooper Webb: (DNQ / Crash in 450SX) “Just want to give everyone a heads up. I had a practice crash on Tuesday resulting in a shoulder injury/dislocation due to a freak bike problem out of anyone’s hands. I rehabbed all week to try to race today in St. Louis. Unfortunately my shoulder isn’t good enough to race today which resulted in a Free Practice crash in practice 1. Extremely bummed but I will do everything in my power to be back as soon as I can. I’d like to thank all my sponsors and fans for understanding.”
