Marvin celebrates the win, whils some in the crowd voiced their disapproval of his move on Eli. Photo by: Simon Cudby
Round fifteen of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, headed to Gillette Stadium for a special day race and the 2018 Foxborough SX. You may not have been able to see the actual fireworks with the sun shining, but they were impossible to miss on the track.
In the 450SX class, Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin blasted Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac with just a couple of turns to go to take his third win of 2018. While the fireworks caught fire up front, Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson cruised home for a 3rd and set himself up well to clinch the title next weekend in Salt Lake City a round early.
In the 250SX class, Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne took his third win of the year over Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Jordon Smith—who now trails Osborne by 15 points with one race left on the East schedule. Finishing third was Autotrader / JGR / Suzuki’s Kyle Peters.
After the racing was over and the tempers were still flying between Tomac and Musquin, we gathered some quotes from riders to get their thoughts on the Foxborough SX.
Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450SX) It was a great main event. I was about to get the holeshot, but I got pushed. I actually had a good first lap and I gt into the lead pretty quick. Then it was a long main. Leading and knowing Eli was right there. He was fast all day. I was happy about my riding and just tried to not make any mistakes, but it was hard. When you’re the first guy to get to the lappers, it’s really hard to get around them. I heard Eli coming in that whoop section and he came into the inside. A lap and a half to go and I was like, “man, lets try to do something.” It’s for the win and I led so many laps—I was bummed. I was feeling really good so I could charge. I saw right there that inside and I was going in that main rut the whole main. He [Eli] cut really really tight and I definitely didn’t expect it. The outcome was pretty brutal and I’m sorry about what happened with the crash. It could have been bad for me too. For a 450 main event win, some times you gotta try your hardest.
Zach Osborne: (1st in 250SX) “I haven’t had that [a good start] in a while. It was nice to get out there, be able to control the race from the front and relax a little bit. The two or three laps we had to roll the triple, I felt like that killed my flow a little bit. It just kind of put me off a little bit, I don’t really know. The track was getting tough, but that’s kind of my niche when it’s like that so I enjoyed the main event. I feel like I’ve finally made some progress with my starts. That takes a lot of pressure off of me for not only Vegas, but for the rest of the year.”
Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450SX) [On last lap pass by Marvin] It was kind of just cat and mouse the whole race there. With a lap and a half to go I ended up making the pass. I went outside in the short set of whoops and got inside there. I came around, off the finish line, down the straight and I just got blasted from the inside in that second turn. It was out of nowhere. It was a cheap shot. That was tough.
Jordon Smith: (2nd in 250SX) “I rode well in the race, but I struggled all day with the track. The shadows and wind were another element we had to deal with, but I rode really good and was able to challenge Zach (Osborne) and keep him as honest as I could.”
Jason Anderson: (3rd in 450SX) “Yeah, the track was brutal. Everyone was doing that table onto table, and you’re right, that one lap I came up so short. I was hitting the rhythm fine it was just you hit a soft spot out there some times and it would catch you off guard. I did that and honestly even the triple and stuff like that I never really felt comfortable to push it and keep pace with those guys [Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin]. It was tough for me, but like you said I had a little but of a moment and just wanted to keep plugging away and trying to do the best I could.”
Kyle Peters: (3rd in 250SX) “I’m speechless! I can’t believe how the day ended considering how much pain I was in on Saturday morning. During track walk I knew there were some rhythm sections that I wouldn’t be able to do, because my left knee obviously isn’t strong. I struggled in practice and qualifying. After the final session, we put more tape on my knee in order to stabilize it. I was very tentative in the heat race, as I was worried about my knee. The goal was to put as little time on the bike as possible, but I didn’t qualify through the heat race. I won the LCQ, which loosened me up and provide the confidence I needed. I got a really good start on my Suzuki RM-Z250 from the outside and was sitting in fourth for a while. I told myself that I was going to crash out before I would settle for fourth place, because I had nothing to lose. I made it happen. I cannot thank the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team enough for their support and hard work. They gave me the best opportunities to run up front and reach my potential. It has been a long five years since I last visited the podium, so I’m glad to finish third this weekend.”
Dean Wilson: (5th in 450SX) “This was a step in the right direction. The day went well. I qualified fifth. I was hit during the start of my heat race so that set me back and frustrated me. I managed to get seventh. I knew I had to get a start in the Main. I started ninth then came through the pack up the fifth. I would have been happy with a fourth, but fifth is still good. The sun was so bad, and the track was super rutty, but I made it through. I’m really happy with my riding, and I’ve got good speed. Today was good and I hope to carry it on to the next weekend.”
Weston Peick: (6th in 450SX) “It was an early day in Foxborough, with a lot different feel in showing up for track walk at 6:30 am. The whole experience was interesting, because it was an open stadium and the sun was in my eyes quite a bit. That made it challenging to hit some of the obstacles on the track. I qualified very well in comparison to how I normally do, and that set the mood for the main event. I got caught up in traffic in the heat race and finished fourth. For some reason, I was super delayed coming off the line when the gate dropped for the main event, so I was basically playing catch up. The track was very soft in spots, with pebble rocks everywhere. I made my way up to sixth place, which was good considering where I was after the first lap.”
Sean Cantrell: (5th in 250SX) “It was a great night being able to follow up my best finish of the season with a top-five. I really thought I had a podium, but had to settle for fifth. Overall it’s been great to run up at the front and be able to manage the speed with the front-runners. It would be great to lock in another good run in Las Vegas at the showdown.”
Malcolm Stewart: (7th in 450SX) “The day went well. It was the first day race I had this season, which was different. The weather wasn’t too bad, because I’ve been staying in North Carolina and getting used to the cold temperatures. I’ll admit that I was yawning in the first practice while hitting the rhythms, because I was tired from waking up so early [laughter]. My heat race went off around the same time as the normal afternoon Supercross qualifier would go off, so that was strange. Still, racing during the day was cool, aside from the sun being in my eyes when I was jumping the triples. I was happy to finish seventh. The goal is to only get better from here.”
Micheal Mosiman: (21st in 250SX) “This was a motivating day for me. The track was so tough. I had a good jump in the heat race but drifted wide because the corner was slip. I was 10th then caught up to fourth. I had a better start in the main, then made a mistake in the rhythm section. The ruts were tricky and it put me way back. I was catching up, but then I made another mistake and got off-balance in the rut. That was the end of my night. It’s disappointing but, like I said, it’s motivating. Crashing is always frustrating, but I’ll overcome everything.”
Christian Craig: (11th in 450SX) “The day started off pretty good. I qualified first in the free practice, and while that obviously doesn’t matter, it just shows that I was comfortable right away. I went into the rest of the day happy with my bike. I didn’t have that good of a gate pick going into the main, so I ended up picking the first gate on the inside, but was confident in it because the rut was prime. I got the holeshot, which I haven’t done in a while, so that felt good. I led for about half a lap before making a dumb mistake on my part–I cross-rutted off a double and landed on some Tuff Blox. Once I got going I was in dead-last, so I just put my head down, focused, and tried to push forward the best I could all the way to the end. I probably could’ve ridden better toward the end and made up a few more positions, but it could’ve been worse. I’m happy with my start and am going to take what I learned into these last two races.”
Tyler Bowers: (13th in 450SX) .”It was another great day. I felt awesome on my KX450F and qualified fourth, which felt great. I got a great start in the heat, finished fifth and I really felt confident going into the main. Unfortunately, accidents happen and that’s racing, so I can’t be upset. We just need to keep our heads up and finish the season strong.”
