Photos by: Doc Weedon
It’s that time: time to kick off the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM SX World Championship series, with the most talked about Anaheim 1 in decades. The music has finally stopped in the Supercross industry’s crazy game of musical chairs known as Silly Season, and today it is time for one the deepest groups of talent the sport has ever seen to start it all at the big A.
There have been years in the past where the hype has far outdone the actual racing, but with the three-time defending 450SX champ, Ryan Dungey, retiring the #1 plate and a group of hungry young riders looking to go after that vacated title, this year should live up to that hype.
Free practice was very muddy and not really a determining factor as to who will be fast tonight, but here are a few things I noticed. Marvin Musquin looks incredible. Jason Anderson and Blake Baggett were the only two to hit a triple out of the rhythm section on the second straight. Ken Roczen seemed smooth and cautious while the track was muddy. Chad Reed looked like a guy who hasn’t ridden in months, and if I had to guess, I wouldn’t expect him to race tonight.
In the 250 untimed sessions Tallon Lafountaine and Brandan Leith looked good as they were in the very muddy first session. Phil Nicoletti went “bad news Phil” and crashed hard his first time through the whoops. Adam Cianciarulo looked fast and smooth. Justin Hill looks like he is agreeing with the RMZ250. The riders were cautious and making sure to learn the track and clear the jumps. On another note, Trey Canard is working as safety advisor. His first act was getting better dirt, and it looks much better.
In first 250 B qualifying session, Bracken Hall from Rock Springs, WY had the fastest time. The track is really coming together good. I’m not sure if Trey gets all the credit, but it looks tacky. The disappointment of the session was IB Corp rider Martin Castelo who is struggling. In the “A” group Adam Cianciarulo is breathing fire and looking like the guy to beat tonight. Mitchell Oldenburg looks really good on his new Star Yamaha and will definitely be in the mix tonight. Noah Mcconahy is fighting through a chipped femur and didn’t help things by going over the bars through the whoop section.
In the 450 “A” session, Eli Tomac looked a lot like the guy who won nine races last year. Rival Ken Roczen still seems to be shaking off the rust. While looking smooth, he is lacking his trademark aggression. Jason Anderson isn’t lacking in aggression as he seems mad at the track. Anderson tucked his front end after the triple jump twisting his front end pretty badly. After getting it fixed, he promptly threw in a heater that moved him to the top of the board. Marvin seems good, but is clearly not laying it all out in the first qualifier. In 450 “B”, Dakota Tedder looks comfortable on his new KTM. It’s weird seeing the longtime Kawasaki rider on an orange bike, but clearly it is working for him. On a side note “Two Stroke Guy” Ronnie Ford looks vastly improved from last year. I don’t expect him to make the fast 40, but at least I am not scared for his life. Keep the dream alive, Ronnie!
450SX & 250SX West 1st Qualifying Sessions
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Final 250 “C” qualifier is dominated by Utah rider Brandan Leith and Killian Auberson from Sweden. Fantasy players take note, both have big handicap numbers and I bet they are both in the Main event tonight. If you want to take a flier, Tallon Lafountaine also looks quick. Now on to the final 250 “B” qualifier where Bracken Hall from Wyoming has been the top guy all day. Last year Bracken tried the 450 class but he is much better suited for the 250 class. Carlen Gardner from Paso Robles looked fast, he suffered some pretty serious injuries in SLC in 2017. Nice to see Carlen all healed up and hauling ass. Once again Martin Castelo was less than impressive. The reality TV personality just doesn’t look comfortable yet.
Now onto 250 “A” where Shane McElrath took a nasty spill at the end of the rhythm section to start it off (but got up and looks alright). The intensity has clearly ratcheted up and the 250 West is stacked with potential contenders. Adam Cianciarulo has been consistently fast all day, but Hill bested his time at the last second. Going to be interesting to see if Hill can repeat the speed as he only did one fast lap, fortunately it was fast enough. Joey Savatgy has looked smooth and calculated all day and ended up close to AC and Hill. The top 7 riders are separated by less than a second, the start will be more
Wow the final 450 “A” session intensity has been raised. Ken Roczen after using the earlier sessions to get comfortable, drops the hammer and is fastest qualifier. His style has changed a little, he seems to move less on the bike which clearly works. The surprise of the session was Justin Barcia as Bam Bam clearly knows this season is make or break for his career. Barcia showed flashes of his old speed, his teammate Cooper Webb on the other hand is struggling. Not sure why, but the bike looks big when he is riding. This is strange because the 250 and 450 Yamaha’s use the same chassis. Both Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac will be contenders as they showed flashes all session. I know it’s the easiest analysis ever but with this many fast riders the start is more important that ever.
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