450 Podium from Glendale. Photo by: FELD
Round two of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and the Western Regional 250SX Championship is in the history books. We usually begin to find answers as the series moves past round two, but the answers in 2019 still remain to be seen with plenty of surprises on Saturday night at the 2019 Glendale SX.
In the 450SX class, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC / WPS / KTM’s Blake Baggett surprised everyone when he battled from behind to pass the defending Champ, Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, and score his first-ever 450 main event win. Anderson crossed the line behind Baggett in 2nd with Team HRC’s Ken Roczen crossing the line in 3rd. After just two rounds, Roczen is the only rider to land on the podium in both rounds and for that he heads to round three with the red plate.
In the 250SX class, Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo rebounded from a rough season opener at A1 with the round two main event win in Glendale. Finishing behind AC in 2nd—keeping the red plate for another round—was Star Racing / Yamaha’s Colt Nichols. Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Shane McElrath finished 3rd for the second week in a row.
After round two was in the books, we gathered some quotes to get the riders’ thoughts on the 2019 Glendale SX.
Blake Baggett: (1st in 450) “It’s good to just be able to feel good enough to run behind Jason [Anderson] and you know, I’ve had weekends where I can run with those guys and some weekends they just leave me in the dust, so it feels good to finally get my whole program together and be able to run with those guys. I’ve got to keep things rolling, it hasn’t hit me yet that I finally got a 450 win!”
Adam Cianciarulo: (1st in 250) “We did it! My team crushed it and I’m glad I was able to repay their hard work with a win. We’ll be back to work this week and we’ll come out swinging next weekend when we return to Anaheim. This win feels so good and I really feel I’m on the path I should be on. We’re already off to a great start to the season, let’s go!”
Jason Anderson: (2nd in 450) “This was a good weekend. I was able to ride the Main better than last week. I had a section that I didn’t think I was great in, so I didn’t want to put myself in a position to go down and lose points. I took the second and I’ll go from there.”
Colt Nichols: (2nd in 250) “The bike was great. It felt really, really good all day. We made a few changes to the suspension before the night program and that helped a lot. The track was just so dry and you had to be really, really patient. I was trying not to rush everything, but sometimes I kind of rushed it and made a few little mistakes. That’s all right though. I still salvaged a second, so I’m really happy to leave with the points lead and will get ready for next weekend.”
Ken Roczen: (3rd in 450) “If you are leading and the red flag comes out, it’s never too fun. I wasn’t really sure if we were going to restart at the gate or do a staggered start. Luckily they did say the staggered start. It’s tough, because first off you never want to see anyone down. That was a bummer. I hope Malcolm’s alright. Up until than, I pulled a good holeshot. I focused so hard on the start, because the heat race didn’t go very well for me. I made some adjustments and came out swinging. I wasn’t going to let that heat race bring me down so I knew I had to turn the whole night around. So we came out swinging there, led some good laps and put in some pretty good speed. I was super focused and trying to hit my marks. I pulled that through the entire race until the red flag so of course it was a bummer but it was the same for everybody. ”
Shane McElrath: (3rd in 250) “It was a really tough track tonight. It really required a lot of focus, a lot of patience and it was really tough be consistent. The whoops were probably the hardest part. They weren’t that big, but about the third practice they started having the black marks on them. From then on, the track crew couldn’t really do anything with them. They held their shape from the first practice all the way through our main event. It was really tricky, ’cause they required a lot of body position and technique through there. I had a few mistakes there that really cost me a lot. It was kind of like riding at the test track. This week we had some rain so the test tracks were really good, but we should have ridden the test track dry to prepare for this. ”
Eli Tomac: (4th in 450) “I was feeling confident coming into the weekend and felt good in qualifying. The track was massive and different from most of the tracks in the series. It’s never ideal to have to go to the LCQ but we got it done and stayed focused on the Main Event. We’ll be focusing on our starts this week and look to apply that practice to the race next weekend. We’re still third in points and in a really good position so we’ll come out swinging for the second go-around in Anaheim.”
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RJ Hampshire: (4th in 250) “Felt good all day. My speed was better this weekend, just my starts were terrible! It’s hard to be bummed about another fourth because of how bad my start was, but I was so close to a podium. That’s the goal every weekend and we’ve been just off. I’m really happy with how I feel on my bike right now and excited to see the progression each week!”
Marvin Musquin (5th in 450) “Glendale is always a big, big track and it’s always been a really tough race track for me, so I’m happy because this year was a lot better. I got a great start in the heat race and I got the win, so that felt really good to get back to the top even though it was just the heat race. I wanted to do the same thing in the main and I got a great start again and was leading at the beginning but then I got passed for third. I was behind [Jason] Anderson and I was pretty happy about my riding until they red-flagged it, unfortunately, for Malcolm Stewart that went down. Hopefully he is okay, that was a bummer to see. We restarted in our spots we were in, which was good because I thought we were going to have to restart the whole race. Unfortunately, I had too many mistakes in the first two laps and it cost me two spots and I lost too much ground on the other guys. Fifth place is not too bad considering all that happened in the main. It’s an improvement for me with the riding and the bike, everything was working good.”
Jimmy Decotis: (5th in 250) “There were good improvements at Glendale. My Suzuki RM-Z250 was working really well all day long. I felt like I had the starts dialed in. I’m really comfortable on my bike right now and feeling fast. I’m ready to head back to Anaheim and drop the gate on the three main events for the Triple Crown. I want to give a big shout-out to my whole team for all of the work this weekend. We are having fun, and I’m confident better results will come!”
Justin Barcia: (6th in 450) “It was a really difficult day for me. The track was really high speed. It had some really technical rhythm sections. For some reason, I could never get a good flow on it. It was a little bit frustrating I would say, but I felt like every time I went on the track I kind of got better and better and made some really good bike changes. I wish I could have gotten more comfortable right off the bat. I just never felt comfortable today. It was definitely a frustrating day compared to my win last weekend. But all in all, the team really worked their butts off today to get me as comfortable as I could on the bike on this tricky track. It was really hard packed, really slick. The team went above and beyond and did a good job on the bike. The track was just a difficult one for me. So I’m moving on this week. Will work on a few things and then back to Anaheim. Looking forward to that. I’m really excited for A2”
Dylan Ferrandis: (6th in 250) “The track was slippery but it was a good layout. The bike was awesome. I felt I had the speed for a good result, but I crashed hard in the race. I worked hard to regain some points in the championship, but it was a disappointing night. I’m not happy with sixth.”
Malcolm Stewart: (DNF / Crash in 450) “Such a bummer on what happened last night. Surgery this A.M on femur! We will be back better than ever. Sorry i let you guys down! I appreciate all the prayers you guys sent me! I’ll give you guys a update soon.”
Garrett Marchbanks: (9th in 250) “Round 2 is done and I’m proud of our ninth-place position. I’m still learning each week, working on my starts and building my confidence. I’m so grateful for all the hard work my team has put in and all the support they continue to provide me with. This track was a lot different from the others I’m used to but I’m using everything as experience and applying it to each round.”
Dean Wilson: (8th in 450) “Glendale done and dusted walked away with an 8th. Sitting top 5 in points. Class is stacked! Just got to take the good with the bad and keep it rollin.”
Michael Mosiman: (10th in 250) “I felt ok today,” said Mosiman. “Even though I’ve been suffering with a little injury and it’s been hard to ride during the week. I had a good heat, but my injury showed in the Main and I wasn’t able to ride to my full potential. I was a little tense, and I know I’m better than that. As long as I can ride more during the week it will translate into the weekend. I know I have the potential, and it’s only going to get better from here.”
Cooper Webb: (10th in 450) “The weekend was a bit up and down for me. The day started off good, I was able to qualify second overall, which was awesome and my speed was there. In the heat race, I didn’t get the best of starts and made a few passes to get into fifth. In the Main Event, we didn’t get a good start again, made a few passes and then the red flag came out. It was kind of wild – it kind of flusters you and you’re not sure what to do. So, I got going again and unfortunately made a few mistakes, got shuffled back, passed a few guys and I just didn’t ride all that well tonight. It was a little tough but we’ll regroup this week and try to make some improvements with myself and be back at A2 next week to take on the Triple Crown and hopefully get back in the top five.”
Cameron Mcadoo: (11th in 250) “Phoenix was a rough one for me. I had a pretty big crash in practice which sprained my thumb and wrist pretty bad. We just tried to manage the swelling as much as possible before the night show. Then in the main I didn’t get the start I was looking for, but I fought up to eighth. I still felt like I was going forward until I clipped a triple in the rhythm before the whoops which tweaked my thumb and then I went flying into the berm and the tuff blocks. That hurt! I got up in like 15th and it was survival mode and trying to hold onto my bike the last five laps I ended up 11th but I’m glad the injuries weren’t worse. Onwards and upwards to Anaheim 2!””
Aaron Plessinger: (11th in 450) “Phoenix Supercross was a little rough for me. I was struggling with the bike all day. I had a big crash in practice and then changed a lot on the bike for the heat race. The track was really, really getting slick in the heat race. I got a pretty good start in the heat race but just made a couple little mistakes and it cost me third and ended up fifth. In the main event, I didn’t really get a great start. Then we had to do a restart, a staggered start. That didn’t really play into my favor. I went from 12th to 13th, I think. Then about halfway through I started feeling really good and started flowing with the track and made a few passes and was catching another rider and just ran out of time. I think A2 will be a lot better. It will be the first triple crown, so I’m coming in with high hopes.”
Enzo Lopes: (21st in 250) “The heat race was going okay. I wasn’t flowing very well, because I was trying too hard. There was a bike issue, but the guys got things turned around quickly. I didn’t get the best start in the last chance qualifier, but I won the race and got experience leading a professional Supercross. My gate pick was really far outside for the main and the rut in front of the gate was not optimal, but I had a good jump. I was running around tenth, but I crashed after the whoops. Then I crashed again a few laps later and messed up my clutch lever, which caused me to call it an early night. I’m learning a lot. The speed is there. Now I just need to put it all together.”
Justin Hill: (13th in 450) “As frustrated as I am with the main event finish, I can take a couple positives out of the day. I was fastest overall in the daytime qualifying sessions, and I had a really good start in the main. Unfortunately, I crashed soon after that and was in last place. Fixing those little mistakes will be the difference for me.”
Chad Reed: (14th in 450) “Glendale was a really positive day, and the heat race was special. The team did a great job of helping me find a feeling that I’ve been chasing. This helped massively throughout the whole weekend. The main was disappointing, but I’m focused on the feeling we found, and I’m looking forward to a solid week ahead. Video replay shows what I’m doing wrong on my starts, so I’ll look to correct that before Anaheim 2.”
Joey Savatgy: (DNQ / Crash in 450) “I was feeling really comfortable on the bike all day. The team and I were prepared to redeem our results from last week, but unfortunately, I made a mistake in my heat race, which caused me to sit out the rest of the night. It’s only the second round of a long season and I’m looking forward to using the experience and improving each week”
