Eli Tomac was the man in Glendale, but Justin Barcia was always lurking. Photo by: Ryne Swanberg / Garth Milan
The 2018 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, headed to Glendale, Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium for round 4 of the 450SX Championship and round 4 of the 250SX Western Regional Championship—the Glendale SX.
In the 450SX main event, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac took his second-straight victory of 2018 and showed everyone that he is still a viable contender for the title. Monster Energy / Knich / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia kept the #3 honest for the entire main event, but never quite got close enough to make a run at the win. Filling out the podium in third was Team HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen, with the red plate holder Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson finishing fourth on the night—his first main event podium of 2018.
In the battle for the fastest lap in the 450SX class, Eli Tomac (55.679) was on another level and was the only rider to break the 56-second mark. Eli used two 55-second lap times and a bunch of low 56’s to sprint out to an early eight-second lead, and from there, he managed his gap over Barcia—who had the second fastest lap time (56.076)—from the front. Barcia closed on Eli late in the race with consistency, but Eli’s early race pace was too much for Bam Bam to overcome.
The third, fourth and fifth fastest lap times were clocked by Roczen (56.271), Monster Energy/ Kawasaki’s Josh Grant (56.651) and Team HRC / Honda’s Cole Seely (56.678). While Kenny’s speed was combined with consistency and a podium finish, both Grant and Seely’s speed was combined with a myriad of small mistakes. Grant finished back in tenth and Seely way back in 12th on the night.
The top three fastest 450 average lap times were separated by nothing. In the end, the start was everything for Tomac, Barcia and Roczen. Tomac’s average was 57.125, with Barcia (57.135) and Roczen (57.151) just a tick off. Both showed a holeshot would have likely meant their first win of the year in Glendale.
450SX Main Event Lap Time Graph. Click the riders name in the graph to add and remove them from the graph.
| Top 20 450SX Times | Top 20 250SX Times |
|---|---|
|
1. E. Tomac – 0:55.679 2. J. Barcia – 0:56.076 3. K. Roczen – 0:56.271 4. J. Grant – 0:56.651 5. C. Seely – 0:56.678 6. J. Anderson – 0:56.764 7. B. Baggett – 0:56.840 8. W. Peick – 0:56.877 9. M. Musquin – 0:56.937 10. J. Brayton – 0:56.939 11. C. Webb – 0:56.989 12. B. Tickle – 0:57.076 13. M. Stewart – 0:57.464 14. V. Friese – 0:57.655 15. T. Bowers – 0:58.094 16. C. Reed – 0:58.433 17. D. Wilson – 0:58.477 18. J. Bogle – 0:58.592 19. B. Bloss – 0:58.816 20. J. Weimer – 0:59.626 |
1. A. Plessinger – 0:57.013 2. S. Mcelrath – 0:57.216 3. J. Savatgy – 0:57.282 4. A. Cianciarulo – 0:57.424 5. M. Oldenburg – 0:57.569 6. C. Sexton – 0:57.670 7. C. Craig – 0:58.149 8. B. Taft – 0:58.163 9. M. Harrison – 0:58.497 10. J. Hill – 0:58.525 11. P. Nicoletti – 0:58.805 12. K. Chisholm – 0:59.160 13. H. Mellross – 0:59.726 14. J. Starling – 0:59.860 15. J. Hoeft – 1:00.172 16. J. Ramos – 1:00.182 17. C. Martinez – 1:00.390 18. K. Auberson – 1:00.445 19. M. Castelo – 1:00.481 20. B. Leith – 1:00.823 /td> |
Full 2018 Glendale SX results here>>>
In the second 250SX Western Regional Supercross Championship main event of the year, Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger scored his second win in 2018. Finishing on the podium with Aaron were Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Shane McElrath and Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo.
The race for the fastest 250SX lap time of the night was also won by Plessinger (57.013) in Glendale. Aaron is proving in 2018 that he is fast in any condition, hard or soft. Aaron started third, and on lap seven, he passed McElrath—who had the second fastest lap time (57.216) and checked out for a dominant win on the Arizona hard pack. Aaron also left Glendale with the fastest average lap time of the main event: 57.789.
The third, fourth and fifth fastest lap times were recorded by Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy (57.282), Cianciarulo (57.424) and Star Racing / Yamaha’s Mitchel Oldenburg (57.569). All three of these riders made mistakes in the main event, but Cianciarulo and Savatgy still managed third and fourth place points. Mitchell’s crash pushed him back to a 17th place finish. We do not know what’s going on with Oldenburg. Every week he is near he top of the board in speed, but so far that has not translated into good finishes.
250SX Main Event Lap Time Graph. Click the riders name in the graph to add and remove them from the graph.
Updated 2018 250SX West and 450SX Championship Points>>>
| Top 20 450SX Avg Lap-Times | Top 20 250SX Avg Lap-Times |
|---|---|
| 1. E. Tomac – 0:57.125 2. J. Barcia – 0:57.135 3. K. Roczen – 0:57.151 4. J. Anderson – 0:57.722 5. M. Musquin – 0:57.786 6. B. Baggett – 0:58.004 7. C. Webb – 0:58.024 8. J. Brayton – 0:58.061 9. W. Peick – 0:58.140 10. B. Tickle – 0:58.155 11. J. Grant – 0:58.226 12. C. Seely – 0:58.551 13. M. Stewart – 0:59.340 14. V. Friese – 0:59.771 15. D. Wilson – 1:00.173 16. C. Reed – 1:00.774 17. T. Bowers – 1:01.098 18. M. Bisceglia – 1:01.107 19. A. Ray – 1:01.220 20. J. Weimer – 1:01.441 |
1. A. Plessinger – 0:57.789 2. S. Mcelrath – 0:58.062 3. A. Cianciarulo – 0:58.105 4. J. Savatgy – 0:58.700 5. C. Sexton – 0:58.725 6. C. Craig – 0:59.032 7. B. Taft – 0:59.428 8. M. Harrison – 0:59.474 9. J. Hill – 0:59.549 10. M. Oldenburg – 0:59.811 11. P. Nicoletti – 1:00.475 12. K. Chisholm – 1:00.749 13. H. Mellross – 1:01.087 14. C. Martinez – 1:01.461 15. J. Starling – 1:01.575 16. J. Ramos – 1:02.097 17. J. Hoeft – 1:02.246 18. K. Auberson – 1:02.333 19. M. Castelo – 1:02.533 20. R. Breece – 1:02.670 |
250SX vs 450SX Main Event Lap Time Graph. Click the riders name in the graph to add and remove them from the graph.
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