Photo by: Hoppenworld
The 2016 Anaheim 2 Supercross and round three of the Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series is officially is in our rear-view-mirror. After the race, we gathered quotes from a myriad of riders in the pits and from around the world wide web. Check out what they all said about their third main event of ’16 below.
Chad Reed: “The night itself wasn’t bad, but the day time showed the struggles I was having. I just didn’t get the most out of the track, I guess. I just felt a little off today. I would have some good laps, some good turns and I would back it up with not the greatest best feeling. I was fighting that all day. From practice to the heat, to the main, so to come out and put myself in a good position—finish 2nd—I’m proud. Of course I wanted my ninth win [Chad is tied with McGrath, Carmichael and Stewart with 8 wins in Anaheim] here.”
Cooper Webb: “Honestly, it was a rough day. We struggled with getting comfortable all day. The track was a lot different than anything I’ve raced, probably ever. Like I said, I kind of struggled with the bike all the way through the first practice wasn’t really good. The second practice was better, but we were still looking for improvements. In the heat race, we tried something different and it didn’t work out well. In the main, we basically switched the whole bike. We changed suspension three times today. We changed two forks and a shock, flywheel and all kinds of stuff. We were just trying to get it right. It was good, though. We got the main event win, it was badass.”
Ken Roczen: ““The good thing is that we’re making steps forward. I practiced a lot of starts (last week) and feel pretty comfortable. Obviously, it didn’t happen in the main but we’re going to keep working on that because I think that’s what is holding me back from being at the very top. Second half of the race, I feel like I put in a strong ride. I made a little mistake with about a lap to go. Otherwise, I think I could have brought the heat a little bit with Chad (Reed). It’s hard coming from the back. That’s the bottom line. The track was tough out there. The whoops were something else so you really had to keep your focus. We’re going to come back and we’re going to keep trying. That’s for sure.”
”
Zach Osborne: “I ended up getting a podium with a second-place finish and also pulled the pole position so it was a really good day. I rode a little tight tonight but it’s still a solid result considering I threw a second place away last week with a lap and a half to go. It was a solid and consistent ride. I saw the battle in front of me and knew it was going to tighten up quick. I got to the back of them and there was a three-second space, then all of a sudden I was right on them like three or four corners later. I didn’t attack quick enough to give myself a shot at anything but we’ll come out swinging next week in Oakland.”
Jason Anderson: “I got fifth, which is nothing to be bummed about. It’s not the greatest, but it’s not the worst. I still pulled through, and now need to focus on coming back next week and getting on the podium again. There seemed to be a lot of lappers out there, and I think it’s because there’s a lot of guys that are currently out, so a majority of riders who usually don’t make the mains are sneaking in and it seems to be causing a lot of traffic.”
Christian Craig: “I just clicked those laps off, the first ten laps went quick. My last five laps were slow—but we know what we need to work on. This is my first podium ever, something to build on, and I’m happy. There’s no better feeling—it’s all learning for me,” he said to the live television audience. “I got to battle with the number one. I got tight, never been up there for that long. It’s good, it’s coming together now, all my hard work. I definitely do this for my son. He’s the reason I came back to racing. When he was born, I looked at him and said, ‘I don’t want him to grow up knowing his dad gave up on his dream.’ I’m back and I’m showing him that his dad can do it.”
Christophe Pourcel: “I have the speed and I feel comfortable,” said Pourcel. “It feels good to go fast and be out there with all those guys. I just have to bring the speed from practice into the night show. Tonight was pretty good. I almost qualified through the heat. I was a little stuck with the big set of whoops. I was fast in them in the morning, but they changed them for the night. It was a little sketchy, and I was losing too much speed in them. I ended up 12th, which is still progress from last week. I just have to keep charging. It’s good. I’m just doing my thing.”
Jimmy Decotis: ” Beginning of the day was bad, I struggled in practice, but we made a bike change and I felt awesome for the night show. My heat race was great, and then I got the holeshot in the main event. I’m struggling with the first few laps. I’m just getting eaten up, I have to work on that. My last lap was a bad lap and Joey Savatgy got me. Fifth place is okay, but not great because it should have been fourth. I’m a little bummed on it.”
Ryan Dungey: “I was really happy to get into the lead early. I just wanted to get out front, ride my own race and pull away. It’s a lot easier when you can get out front and focus on your own rhythm. I’m really glad to get this win and hope to keep this momentum going next weekend.”
Chris Alldredge: “I made a lot of small improvements tonight. I had the starts I needed, and felt good in practice. My pace was pretty good, and I carried the momentum into my heat were I came home in fourth. I made a few mistakes in the main, and didn’t end up where I wanted to be. I have the team and the bike to be up at the front and I won’t stop pushing until I’m there.”
Marvin Musquin: “I felt good today. The track was difficult but I felt strong. Unfortunately, I just had some bad mistakes on the starts that cost me. I am happy to have worked my way into the top ten and will continue to improve from there.”
Mitchell Oldenburg: “The day started great qualifying fifth. I felt really good and thought I could be a contender for the podium. I got off rhythm in the whoops after riders started piling up and ended up going down. It was such a bummer because I had a good start, but I think I was able to show the improvements we’ve made and hopefully I can show off that speed next week.”
Cole Seely: “It’s such a bummer because I knew I had the speed to be back on the podium again. It’s a long season so I knew I had to make the best of a bad situation and thankfully came away with some good points. We’ll look to get back on the podium next week.”
Eli Tomac: “We improved tremendously tonight and were fighting for second. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake on the last lap, which resulted in a fourth place finish again. I know I have the speed to win, I just need to stay focused.”
Joey Savatgy: “Overall it was an up and down day. I was fast qualifier in first practice and ended third overall heading into the night show. My heat race went well, though I didn’t quite get the holeshot, I pushed into the lead right away and ended up taking the win in the second heat. In the Main Event I had another good start and was in the lead for a brief period, but made a small mistake and dropped back to second. Over the next couple laps I started to reel in first place, and was closing the gap well enough to where I knew in the next couple laps I’d be able to make the pass. I ended up having to change my line in the whoops because of a downed rider, I caught an edge, lost control and went down. I quickly got back up and was able to minimize the damage, then made a few passes back to fourth. All in all it isn’t the result I want, but we’ll get it. We’re getting faster, qualifying better, and we’re closer to the Main Event race pace.”
Wil Hahn: “I had huge improvements throughout the day. The team and I are making big leaps forward every race. Results take time, but I feel we’re on the right track for success. I’m looking forward to Oakland and building on tonight’s race.”
Jordon Smith: “The day for me was a little rough. I felt good but I was just struggling a little bit in the big whoops. I crashed there in practice and kind of hurt my wrist a little bit. Overall I got out of it pretty safe and scored some points, it’s a long season and we’re all right there still. Just want to be consistent every week and put ourselves in a good position at the end of the year.”
