The Monster Energy AMA West Region heads to beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah to Rice-Eccles Stadium for the penultimate round of the nine-race series. The first eight rounds of this incredible championship have been won by four different riders, three of which find themselves in a heated battle for the 2011 championship. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki pilots Broc Tickle and Josh Hansen lead the way holding on to the top two spots. The only man with a shot of stealing Pro Circuit’s 2011 glory is the GEICO Powersport/Honda rookie sensation Eli Tomac.
Photo by Brian Robinette.
Eli Tomac has mounted a serious charge at the 2011 crown over the last five weeks using his consistency and has shown his all-out speed over the last two rounds. Since Eli’s first podium at round three in Los Angeles, he has been a man on a mission. He steadily built speed and momentum until round six in San Diego, where he flat out whooped the field for his first-ever SX win. At the last stop in Seattle, Tomac got a mediocre start and shuffled backwards over the first couple of laps, but by race end, he had passed each and every West Region title contender to finish second behind Troy Lee Designs Cole Seely. Now as we head into the home stretch, Eli finds himself within serious striking distance of his first title in his first-ever SX campaign. Only seven points out of the points-lead, expect Eli to come out with all guns blazing in Salt Lake.
Photo by Brian Robinette.
Second place and only two points back in the Lites West region points race is Josh Hansen. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit pilot has two races, one title and total redemption on his mind. Hampered by a mangled hand and fingers, Josh has toughed it out since A2 and endured extreme pain in the quest to finally win the title that has eluded him since his first shot at one back in 2005. Back in 2005, Josh went head to head for the East Lites SX crown with then Pro Circuit rider Grant Langston, but in the end, they tied in points and Hanny lost the title in the tie-breaker system. Since that title, his career faded to obscurity. But the nine-year veteran was given a second chance that most are never lucky enough to get when he cashed in two X-Games gold medals for a shot with Pro Circuit. Josh is a fighter, and you better believe Josh will do anything in his power to win this.
Photo by Brian Robinette.
Leading the Pro Circuit charge for a 2011 championship is Broc Tickle. The fifth-year pro enters the home stretch of his first-ever title fight with a two-point advantage over Hanny and a seven-point lead over the kid with all the momentum, Tomac. This time last year, Broc was just a podium contender who had recently banked his first win. Now one year later, he is on the most powerful Lites team in the business with a shot at a title. Broc has fought for and earned everything that has ever come his way in this sport, so we see no reason why he wouldn’t do the same in the battle for the 2011 SX crown. Just two weeks ago, he showed us how much this title means to him. Ten days after having surgery to repair his broken collarbone, Broc showed up in Seattle, landed on the podium and wrestled the points-lead away from Hanny. Now four weeks into his recovery, expect to see a healthy Tickle in the last two rounds.
What makes this West title so exciting is not just the three guys fighting for the title. Even more exciting is the fact that there are quite possibly three or four guys—that are out of the championship—that can play the spoilers and still win races. Troy Lee Designs’ Cole Seely—winner of two—Red Bull/KTM’s Ken Roczen, Star Racing’s Kyle Cunningham, Pro Circuits Tyla Rattray and even Ryan Morais could steal a win in either of these last two races. All of these riders have the tools to win races, and each and every one of them wants a win just as much as the top three want this title.
250/Lites West region title contenders:
Broc Tickle 145
Josh Hansen 143
Eli Tomac 138
Cole Seely 113
Ryan Morais 110
