Photo by: Simon Cudby
Round 12 of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and round 7 of the Western Regional 250SX Championship and the Seattle SX saw the Frenchman sweep the top step of the podium in both classes.
In the 450SX class, Red Bull / KTM’s Frenchman, Marvin Musquin, scored his second 450SX main event win in a row. The #25 was followed over the finish line by HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen in 2nd and Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, in 3rd. The red plate holder, Red Bull / KTM’s Cooper Webb, finished 4th but because Musquin jumped on red cross flag and was penalized 7 points, Webb maintained his 14 point lead in the 450SX Championship.
In the 250SX main event, Monster Energy / Yamaha’s French rider, Dylan Ferrandis, crossed the line with the first win of his career. Ferrandis was joined on the podium by Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo in 2nd and JGR / Suzuki’s Jimmy Decotis in 3rd. With Dylan’s win over AC, he cut AC’s lead down to 12 points in the 250SX West.
After the 12th round was in the books, we gathered quotes from the riders to find out how their 2019 Seattle SX went for them.
Marvin Musquin: (1st in 450) “I really enjoyed the track and the riding, I was super happy about everything today. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in not seeing the red cross flag. I saw a lot of yellows and I slowed down to make sure I was safe but I did jump, and the rules are ‘no jumping.’ It’s a big bummer, hard to swallow, but it doesn’t take anything away from a big win today.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (1st in 250) “For sure the emotion is at its maximum tonight! It was a big moment for everybody to finally get this first 250SX win. We were waiting for it for so long and finally made it happen. The feeling is really awesome.The bike was really good tonight. We made some changes on it between practices to get the best bike as possible for the track condition. The track wasn’t that difficult this weekend at Seattle even though some rhythms were a bit tougher than other ones. The most difficult part about this race was myself. I’m not used enough to leading a race so I did not want to make mistake and was not riding at 100% because of that. But I am very happy to take this win tonight. It gives me more confidence for the next upcoming races now that I know I’m able to win a Supercross race in the U.S.!”
Ken Roczen: (2nd in 450) ““Today was a lot better for me. I’m still not 100% with whatever is going on with my body, but the feeling that I had on the bike was good all day. It was the same for the races—I just tried to go out there and have fun, and I rode really well. I had a good heat race with the win and then got a good start in the main. The track was super technical, especially with the whoops, which were very tough. I had a good battle with Marvin [Musquin] for a second. He jumped on the red-cross flag, which opened up the gap for a bit, but overall, going from where we were the last two weekends and not feeling great to racing like we did today and feeling a lot better, it was a huge step in the right direction. I think we’re all pretty happy with how it ended up this weekend; it’s a big monkey off our back!”
Adam Cianciarulo: (2nd in 250) “Wow, the crowd was amazing tonight! They were cheering so loud, I felt I was carrying that energy with me on the track; it’s such a special feeling that never gets old. Overall, I would say this was a decent track layout. It’s hard not to feel a little disappointed with not winning, although second is a good position to be in. Once you get that feeling on the top step, it’s hard not to want to get there every week. We’ll get back to it this week and prepare for Houston.”
Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450) “I would have loved to be able to take the win tonight, but landing on the podium is always a good place to be. The entire Monster Energy Kawasaki team and I have been working each week to improve on the bike and myself. Tonight’s track had a great layout and I was just feeling good all day; there were a lot of fun battles from the heat to the main. We’ll build from what we’ve learned here and apply it to Houston next weekend.”
Jimmy Decotis: (3rd in 250) ““I had a solid night in Seattle. I rode great all day, had an awesome heat race, and finished third in the main event. My Suzuki RM-Z250 is amazing, and I feel like I’m riding so well right now. I didn’t have the best main event, but to finish third on a track that difficult is a positive. I’m excited to keep things rolling in Houston”
Chad Reed: (DNF / Injured in 450) “Finally a halfway technical track. The whoops were so freaking awesome. Loved every pass. Unfortunately, a mistake in the main was costly: 8 broken ribs, a broken scapula, and a collapsed lung. I’m bummed my year comes to an end with 5 to go.”
Justin Brayton: (DNF / Injured in 450) “Well that was a wild ride!! Thankfully I’m ok. Just very sore and a possible torn MCL/ACL in my left knee. I’ll get everything checked out tomorrow. Thanks for all the messages and support! I’ll give another update when I find out more.”
Cooper Webb: (4th in 450) “It was an up-and-down result today. It was a good charge back in the Main Event but I definitely wanted to be on the podium, so we’ll work hard this week and try to be back up there in Houston.”
Michael Misiman: (4th in 250) “In the Main Event, I was going back-and-forth with catching Jimmy Decotis in third and I got really close to him at the end but just ran out of time. I was really close to my first-career podium and it’s a real big confidence booster, I know I can run up there and run that pace. The goal is a podium finish moving forward and we’ll go from there.”
Joey Savatgy: (5th in 450) “I’m feeling good. It’s great to place in the top-5 and I hope to just continue on this upward trend we’re on. I felt I had the speed and I‘ve had so many learning experiences in the past few weeks that I feel I was able to apply tonight. I’m still shooting for my goal to land on the podium before the season ends and I’ll just keep grinding until I get there.”
Dean Wilson: (6th in 450) “Overall, it was a pretty good day. I was the fastest qualifier, which is always a good way to start the day. I’ve been working really hard during the week and I would say today was a pretty good improvement. I fought to the finish and was very close to a top-five, so overall it was an improvement.”
Zach Osborne: (8th in 450) “A big step in the right direction for me today and just an overall better day. I got the start in the Main Event, which was really awesome. It’s a tough class right now and I know what I’m capable of, and that’s to be at the front, so I’ll just keep working and it’ll come.”
Josh Grant: (DNQ in 450) “The bike was great all day. The track conditions were difficult to adjust to though, and there were some really slick spots and we struggled in the whoop section. I’m going to head home, work on a few things and come back to Houston with a little more riding under my belt. Everybody has bad days and looking at that main event, mine still went better than most.”
Enzo Lopes: (9th in 250) “It felt good to be back at the races after Atlanta. The team and I worked a lot during the 250 West break to make sure we were 100 percent ready for Seattle. I felt really good right away. The track was challenging, especially the long set of whoops. I didn’t qualify the best, but I had a fresh mindset heading into the heat race and main event. I finished fifth in my heat, which was good. I made a lot of mistakes that cost me a better position. The main event was a completely different story. I had a good start and got into fifth place for half the race. I started getting tight and faded to ninth. I’m happy with the progress, and it’s nice to show that I can run that pace. Now I have to figure out why I got tight and work on that part of my riding. I can’t thank the team enough for their support and helping me through my rookie year of Supercross!”
Cole Seely: (9th in 450) “I finally put myself in a good position to run up front this weekend. Honestly, I’m not in the best shape right now and the training I didn’t get to do last year because of my injury is really catching up with me. I lost a lot with cardio and strength and I’m feeling the impact of that now. I’m doing what I can during the week but it’s hard to build strength and build endurance during the season and not feel too flat on the weekends. Of course, I’m doing my best; I’ve had some speed and finally got to show that. It’s a hard pill to swallow fading that far back, but at the same time, it’s the position that I’m in right now. I’ve never had a year like this where I’m building throughout the entire season. It’s hard and it’s different, but we’re going to keep pushing and keep fighting.”
Justin Hill: (12th in 450) “I really struggled all week and on race day with food poisoning. Honestly, the main event was one of the worst 20 minutes of my life. I’m thankful that I got through the night without major problems because I am going to regroup and come back healthy!”
Justin Barcia: (17th in 450) “It was a difficult day for me. I wasn’t able to ride during the week due to my shoulder, so I was a bit rusty. It was also an extremely difficult track. I had a rough start and got caught on a tough block, then I crashed in my heat race which set me back. Then in the main I had a pretty hard crash in the beginning of the race… It was definitely a weekend to forget and move on from.”
Garrett Marchbanks: (12th in 250) “I wasn’t sure what to expect here in Seattle since all of these tracks are new to me and I’ve always heard about the gnarly mudders created from the rain. I felt really good in my heat race and pushed as hard as I could in the main. I made a few errors, which cost me but we’re still in the top-10 of the standings. I’ll get to work with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and make a plan on how to use this experience and apply them to the next few rounds that we have left.”
