Photo by: Simon Cudby
Round 13 of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and round 8 of the Western Regional 250SX Championship and the Houston SX was the final “Triple Crown” event of 2019. In the 450SX class main events, Red Bull / KTM’s Cooper Webb went 2-1-3 for the overall win with Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis using a 2-1-2 score to take his second straight win in the 250SX West division.
Check out some post-race quotes from some of the riders about how their night in Houston went.
Cooper Webb: (1st in 450) “It was a great night overall with a 2-1-3, and I got a Main Event win, which was cool. Consistency was key to this race – it’s tough to line up for three Main Events and go to battle with the best-of-the-best, so it’s a good night to get the win, I’m stoked on it!”
Dylan Ferrandis: (1st in 250) “It feels good to get two wins in a row. It gave me even more confidence in myself and my riding. Like I said last time, I really like the Triple Crown format. I just needed to be consistent tonight to get a good result. It’s what I did and I finally took the win. I’m now five points from the leader, which gives me a chance for the championship. We have the weekend off next week, but once again I will train hard to be ready for the final two rounds.”
Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 450) “Coming off two wins and going into Triple Crown format, you know it’s going to be intense. I showed great riding in all three Main Events but unfortunately, I had issues in the first two that kept me from taking the overall win tonight. The last race, I put it all together with a great start and rode like myself. I was so happy to have a clear track ahead of me and it was super enjoyable to ride in the lead.”
RJ Hampshire: (2nd in 250) “Yeah it was good, my rookie year I made pretty big strides forward, then I had that TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) at the end of my rookie year. It kind of set me back, and honestly (since then) I’ve been just known only as an outdoor guy, really, people just kind of wrote me off on supercross. I feel like I was in a good spot coming into the year, and the first couple of races were decent, I had good speed, and then I kind of fell into a slump, I don’t even think I had a top five the last four races. It was rough. Made some changes this week with the bike, huge improvements. I had good starts all night and that just kind of led to good finishes. I didn’t do anything special all day, I just kind of rode. This week I spent it in California, we tested outdoors a few days and then focused on the supercross issues we had on Thursday,” Hampshire added. “First two main events I rode pretty decent, I was stronger in the whoops. In the final main, I think maybe because I knew where I was in the points, I let up in the whoops. It wasn’t pretty after that, but, like I said, stoked on the night.”
Dean Wilson: (3rd in 450) ““It’s good to be on the podium. It shows that I’ve been working endlessly to get up here and I’ve just kept believing and plugging away. I’m always close in qualifying and heat races and it shows I have it, but doing it in Main Events is another story and I’m working hard in that department.”
Colt Nichols: (3rd in 250) “The bike was great. Made a change to the suspension after the first main and it was great, so huge thank you to the team for suggesting and making the change to the bike. The track conditions were awesome, and the dirt here in Texas is great. Quick turnaround between the mains, so fitness was key and I was happy with how I felt all night. The main thing that hurt me in the first two mains was my starts. I finally got off to a good start in that last one with the holeshot. I almost rode a little tight in the lead… It just felt so good to win again. Overall, it was an awesome night in Houston.”
Eli Tomac: (4th in 450) “We landed just shy of the podium tonight. This quick, back-to-back Triple Crown race format can be challenging, especially when you don’t get the starts you’re hoping for. I put it all out there tonight; the crew and I will get back to work this weekend and hope to turn it all the way on for these last few rounds. We’ll use what we’ve learned from tonight and apply it to next week’s race in Nashville.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (4th in 250) “There’s nothing more that I love than a good battle, especially a battle for the championship. We still have a red plate and I felt so good today. My KX™250 is so good and I feel I rode really well, so I’m super happy with where I’m at. Unfortunately, didn’t quite go my way tonight, but we have two races to make it happen and I couldn’t be more confident in myself. We’ll pick ourselves up and come out swinging. Let’s do this thing!”
Cole Seely: (5th in 450) “Tonight was pretty good. I finally finished in the top five, which is where I feel like I should’ve been all year. The way things have been going so far have been frustrating, and it’s hard to explain; the toll the injury took on me last year was a lot more intense and in-depth than I thought it was. It’s been a long road to get back to here but I feel like I’ve had speed all year, I just haven’t been able to put it all together. The results haven’t been translating into how well I think I really have ridden most of the year. It feels good to finally break into that top five and run up front with those guys in the first two mains, relatively easy, too. I know it’s not a traditional 20-minute main but it felt like it was coming to me pretty easy, so that’s definitely a confidence booster heading into the final rounds. It’s a bummer it’s taken this long to come around, but I’m happy it did and we’re going to keep working forward.”
Jimmy Decotis: (5th in 250) “I liked the track. It was technical and super tricky with big whoops. I enjoy the Triple Crown format because it gives you three chances of getting a good start and running up front. We made small changes to the bike, but they made a big difference. We didn’t change anything for the night program. I was running second and closing the gap on first, but then I tightened up. It’s good to know that I have the speed to win races. I want to end the series on a strong note and win one of these things.”
Zach Osborne: (6th in 450) “Overall, it was a decent day. I feel like I’m building every weekend and that last Main Event I took fourth with a decent start, so I feel like there’s more to come and I’m finally finding my place.”
Joey Savatgy: (9th in 450) “After battling the flu all week, I definitely feel like I put everything I had out there and feel proud of what we were able to still accomplish. These last few weekends have been some of my best this season, and I feel like my KX450 is just getting better as time goes on. We were able to earn a few more points and I still have four more chances at grabbing that podium spot.”
Ken Roczen: (10th in 450) “The first main event tonight was seriously so good! We grabbed a great start and got out front right away, pulling a 10-second gap on the rest of the field. It was amazing to see the checkered flag before anyone else; unfortunately, it was only in one main. In the second one, I got tangled up with Dean’s [Wilson] rear wheel and went down pretty hard. I smashed my toe and originally thought I had an ankle injury but luckily that wasn’t the case. My bike was also so bent up after the crash. I got checked out and it actually started to feel better, instead of worse, after 15 to 20 minutes. That was good but my toe was still in a lot of pain. Luckily I was able to just jump back on the bike and do what I could in the third main, salvaging an eighth-place and getting 10th overall. It’s not really how we wanted to end tonight, especially with how well the day and first race went, but again we’re healthy and moving on to the next one. At one point, it will come.”
Cameron McAdoo: (6th in 250) “Houston had lots of positives again for me!. My starts were awesome but then something happened each time in the first two races. Unfortunately, the first main, I had the holeshot but then I hit a tuff block and went down, then in the second one I got pushed off the track into the wall. I had to come from last in the first two mains, but our speed was there, and then the last race was solid. I ended up going 9-6-5 for sixth overall. Definitely seeing improvements every weekend!”
Garrett Marchbanks: (9th in 250) “The Triple Crown format always makes nights like these interesting, and the track really broke down by the last main. I was so pumped on my third place finish in the second main; it’s just too bad I wasn’t able to get out front in the other two races. Overall, I’m pretty happy to land back inside the top-10 and looking forward to be heading into the last few weeks of the season healthy and more determined than ever.”
Justin Hill: (11th in 450) “I really felt good all day. I had awesome energy and rode smoothly. Then I horsed around with another rider in the first main, which put me in a bad situation. I got drilled by another rider. I got through the rest of the mains as best as I could. All in all, I’m bummed. It should have been my day to get going and turn the corner. On to Nashville.”
Michael Mosiman: (12th in 250) “I got off to a pretty good start in the first Main – I was in the mix for fourth and had good speed and was excited for the next races. With a couple of big crashes in the second and third Main Events, it was a rough night and I’m in a lot of pain but I’m trying to keep my head up and look at the positives.”
Enzo Lopes: (DNQ in 250) “I was feeling good. My family was at the race. I watched the B practice and had a good idea of how the track was going to develop. Unfortunately, I went to do the rhythm on the second lap of practice and somehow hit neutral. I landed hard on my shoulder. Looking at the video from my crash, I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. I’m going to do everything in my power to be back at the next race.”
