The 2020 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship headed east to St Louis, Missouri’s The Dome at America’s Center for round number two and the 2020 St Louis SX. Winning the 450SX class for the first time in three years was HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen, with Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Austin Forker taking his first 250SX win of the new year.
Roczen was joined on the 450SX podium by Monster Energy / Yamaha’s Justin Barcia—who stretched his points lead to six points with a 2nd place finish—and Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson grabbing the third spot on the podium. Forkner was joined on the 250SX podium by Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Justin Cooper in 2nd and Troy Lee Designs / KTM’s Brandon Hartranft in 3rd—his first-ever podium.
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from the riders in the pits and around the web talking about how their second Supercross race of 2020 went.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450SX) “This feels so surreal and is absolutely amazing. It’s been a long time coming with a lot of struggle in the process, so this is definitely one of the sweetest moments of my career. The emotions and joy from everyone is very special. I think tonight was just our night to win. The whole day was good, starting with feeling so much more comfortable on the bike than I did last week. We also grabbed a couple of solid starts in both races tonight. I rode really good in the heat race and even in the main. I’d say that I actually surprised myself and maybe the team a little with how the main event went; it was just our time to shine. I knew if I wanted to make it happen, I’d need to make my way to the front fast, so that’s what I did. I got around Zach [Osborne] quick and had a clear track, so then I just clicked off some great laps, putting a gap between myself and the field. At one point Justin [Barcia] seemed to close in a bit but I just focused on hitting my marks and managing my pace. The race felt really long because the lap times were fairly short; the tower was right after the finish so I could get a glance at the clock each lap—it seemed like it took forever! I’ve messed it up so many times in the last laps, so it’s not over until it’s actually over. I just tried to maintain a pace while also staying consistent and not making any mistakes. We’re going to enjoy this but then get back to work this week. This is a big confidence booster and really motivating for me to want to keep the momentum going.”
Austin Forkner: (1st in 250SX) “I am really happy to get back up here (on the podium),” said Forkner. “I started to ride tight halfway after I got to think about it. It’s been a long time coming with physically healing from the knee and mentally getting back knowing I can win. I could hear the fans and they pushed me through. I love being able to win in front of my home crowd.”
Justin Barcia: (2nd in 450SX) “It was a pretty tough day for me. I was really sick all week, and I just had to be mentally tough and push through the difficulties I was having today. My heat race went really well. I got a bad start, but I fought through the pack and got up to third. I made some really great passes, so that was awesome. In the Main Event, I got a much better start and quickly moved into second. I was pushing really hard, but tonight the best I had was second. I rode really well, considering. I felt like I rode better today than I did in Anaheim. I just, unfortunately, was a little under the weather. So, all in all, a really good day. The team did a great job with the motorcycle and setting it up. I’m really looking to get better this week and feeling better for Anaheim.”
Justin Cooper: (2nd in 250SX) “Last weekend I had it pretty easy. I was just out front clicking off my laps. This weekend was a different story. I felt good all day, but I didn’t put myself in the best positions in the races tonight. I just had to put my head down and take my time and come through the pack. Once you get the feeling of victory, you don’t want to lose it. But this feels like a win tonight. It was a good learning curve for me. We’re going to hold the red plate and we’re going to hold onto it tight. We’re going to fight for this championship.”
Brandon Hartranft: (3rd in 250SX) “Honestly, I’m still in shock about what happened tonight, this podium couldn’t have come at a better time for me. The team and I have put in a lot of work this off-season and I definitely couldn’t have done this without them!”
Jason Anderson: (3rd in 450SX) “I’m just out here enjoying myself. It’s the beginning of the season so you can’t be too crazy. I’m just out here, I feel like I was riding pretty good. I feel like I’ve been right up there, you know, like 5 through 3. And you know taking a whole season off really gets you. So, I’m going to try and get back up to speed and I feel like I’m going to try to put myself in good positions, and I’m excited”
Eli Tomac: (4th in 450SX) “Well we didn’t finish the night where we wanted or should be, but the team and I will get back to work this week and get everything dialed before Anaheim next weekend. I know we’ll be focusing on my starts, which have really been hurting my chances at finishing on the podium, but we’ll get those dialed and make any other minor adjustments that need to be made so we can get back on top.”
Cameron McAdoo: (DNQ [crash] in 250SX) “Man, what a tough day. It’s always a difficult pill to swallow when you end your day early, especially when you’re riding well and feeling good in the beginning. I made a small mistake in qualifying and just couldn’t really recover after that crash. I was hurting pretty badly, so the team and I all made the decision to call it a day and get checked out in hopes to recover quicker for the long season ahead.”
Zach Osborne: (5th in 450SX) “All-in-all it was a good night and a good rebound from last weekend. It was good to get a solid finish and restart my season after being really ill last weekend.”
Alex Martin: (4th in 250SX) “It was nice to be back racing in the Midwest as St. Louis is the closest race to home for me. We made small changes for the main that seemed to help as it was the best I felt and rode all day, ending up three tenths out of a podium position with fourth on the night. And we’re two points out of third in the championship. Excited to keep the momentum going heading into Anaheim next weekend!”
Malcolm Stewart: (6th in 450SX) “Good racing last night. Had a little get off early in the week so we came into the weekend a little beat up. Got a few things I can pick up on. I had a good run in the whoops one lap and I heard the fans get loud> That was a cool moment for me! Looking forward to A-2.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (7th in 450SX) “Today was a really encouraging day. In the 450SX Main Event, despite my start, I felt like I was riding well and making good progress. Unfortunately, I turned a fourth into a seventh with a last lap mistake. I’ve been grinding on my starts trying to get them where they should be, but I obviously didn’t execute tonight. We’ll lock those in and be ready for A2.”
Justin Brayton: (8th in 450SX) “Definitely a wild night. I never want to go to the LCQ, but I actually enjoyed it a bit. Under those circumstances, you just try to make the best of it and it was kind of nice to get out there and win it, plus get to ride the track so close to the main event. I hope I don’t have to go to another one though! I’m super proud of the team to be able to get me back out there. Main event-wise, I was still able to get a pretty good start from the far outside gate. I ran inside the top 10 for the whole race, finishing eighth, which isn’t where I would like to be by any means but still an overall good start to the season with the adversity both weekends. Hopefully another cleaner weekend next week at A2 and I’m really hoping to be in the top five, then build up to some podium finishes.”
Aaron Plessinger: (10th in 450SX) “Today was a little bit better than last weekend. I kind of struggled in the Heat race. I didn’t get the greatest start, but I still qualified pretty good. A 14th gate pick in the Main was tough. Then, getting a bad start and trying to work my way back up into the top 10, it was really gnarly. The track conditions were pretty challenging. It was slick in some spots and really rutted. So, you had to be on your toes at all times or the track was going to take you down. It took a lot of people down, and I’m glad I wasn’t one of them. It was tough day, but we’re making progress. We’ll go back this week, put some more work in and work a little bit more on the starts and sprint laps so I can get a better gate pick. I want to try and get up on the podium or at least in the top five.”
Jacob Hayes: (6th in 250SX) “Fun times at the races. Striving for progress each time I’m on the bike. Place 6th, back to work. Thankful to be out there doing what I love”
Cooper Webb: (12th in 450SX) “Tonight definitely didn’t end up how I had wanted it to. I struggled all day to get comfortable and unfortunately, I was just not able to make it happen tonight. We are going to regroup, work on getting healthy and hopefully get back up on the podium next weekend in Anaheim.”
Dean Wilson: (13th in 450SX) “Tonight was a small improvement for me. I had a good start and ran in the top-10 for a few laps but I’m just not prepared to be at that point. I just have to keep working and building from here.””
Luke Clout: (7th in 250SX) “Placed 7th at round 2. Ticked a goal of a top 10. Now to keep building as the rounds go on. Rode better this weekend but still not my 100%. Got some work to do but I’m happy with the progress from round 1!”
Carson Brown: (9th in 250SX) “Had a blast at St.Louis Supercross last night. Pumped to end up 9th in the main. Huge thanks to the whole JMC Motorsports racing team for making this possible. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who work their butts off.”
Derek Drake: (10th in 250SX) “Huge learning night for me in St. Louis. Had good speed. 6th in qualifying. Got a good start in the heat then decided to do a 180 which resulted into the LCQ. Not the best start in the main and ended up 10th. Looking forward to A2 next weekend.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (12th in 250SX) “I felt really good all day. The track conditions were good too. Unfortunately, we didn’t get results we were looking for. I don’t understand what happened on the first lap (of the Main). Someone crashed in front of me and I couldn’t escape it. After that, I just rode to try to save some points, but I’m pretty frustrated about that of course. It is how it is. We’ll go back to training next week and get ready for A2.”
Michael Mosiman: (20th in 250SX) “I actually felt pretty good, better than last weekend. There was carnage in the first rhythm section and I got bumped and then landed on and that was just kind of the beginning of the end. I’m pretty stoked to get out of St. Louis healthy and on to the next round.”
Jimmy Decotis: (20th in 450SX) “I’ve been working hard during the week trying to improve myself, and at round two I felt like we made some positive changes. I’m enjoying the process of being back at the races and working with my team. Ready to improve on my mistakes this weekend and continue to progress and learn as a racer when we head back to Anaheim next weekend. I’m hoping for a speedy recovery for my teammate Freddie as well.”
Freddie Noren: (DNQ in 450SX) “I was very excited coming into the weekend and had a good practice week. I was running comfortably in a transfer spot with a few laps left to go when I slightly overshot a triple in a rhythm section. When I landed I felt a snap in my leg. I had to pull off and have come to find out that I’ve injured my ankle. At this point, I’m unsure of the recovery but hoping for the best so that I can be back at the races soon.”
