Ken Roczen went 1-1-1 and became the first 450 rider to do that at a “Triple Crown” event. Photo by: Honda
The 2020 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship headed to the dry and unseasonably sunny Arizona desert and State Farm Stadium for round number four—round 1 of the 2020 “Triple Crown” series—and the 2020 Glendale SX. Winning the 450SX class and becoming the first two-time 450 winner of the 2020 season was HRC / Honda’s Ken Roczen, with Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki’s Austin Forker also becoming the first two-time winner of the year in the 250 class.
Roczen was joined on the 450SX podium by Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac 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 Dyan Ferrandis in 2nd and Rockstar / Husqvarna’s Michael Mosiman grabbing the third spot on the box.
After the racing was over, we gathered numerous quotes from the riders in the pits and around the web talking about how their first “Triple Crown” motos of 2020 went.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450SX) “I can’t believe we won all three main events! I think it’s the focus that we bring. Between my team and especially my mechanic, we just have a good regimen going into all the races. Every time we go down there for a gate drop, I just want to put maximum focus, put myself in a good position and make life a lot easier—and safer as well. We had some good battles with Eli [Tomac] in the first one, but I was stoked to pull it off. I got a decent start in the second one, and then we had to do a restart, unfortunately. I grabbed that holeshot and rode a super-solid race and won. The first start for race three was not good, and me and Tomac were battling in like eighth or something. Then we had another restart, and I pulled the holeshot there and just rode a super-solid race. I had a good time tonight, and I’m really happy with how the team has been excelling and making changes to the bike. We’ve been working really well together, and the team spirit is high right now. Obviously, I’m beyond stoked and want to enjoy tonight and tomorrow, but then get back to work and keep 100% focus.”
Austin Forkner: (1st in 250SX) “I’ve been working on the whoops with the team all week because I’ve really been struggling there, so I was ready to race tonight. I’ve had to dig myself out of a hole after last weekend and now 10 points down isn’t too bad. I’ll just keep grinding, chipping away at those points and continue to dig out of this hole. Overall, it was a great night for the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and we’re looking to keep it rolling.”
Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450SX) “These Triple Crown races are already crazy and then to add the two red flags, there was just a lot going on. We technically had five starts tonight and I didn’t exactly help myself on those, but I was able to make my way to the front and remain consistent with my finishes. Consistency really was the key tonight and the team worked their tails off to help me finish up on the podium. We still have some work to do but overall, we had a successful night and I’m glad we’re close in the point standings.”
Dylan Ferrandis: (2nd in 250SX) “I can’t say it was a bad day because it could’ve been much worse. I’m a little disappointed to miss the win. I feel like the bad starts cost me the win tonight, but the speed was there and I made a lot of passes. I was really stoked with my physical feeling because I was not tired at any point, my riding was really good and the bike was awesome. We just need to improve on the starts. I don’t understand why I’m struggling with the starts right now, but we are working with the team and have made some changes. Now we are three points from first place in the championship – that’s the big goal.”
Michael Mosiman: (3rd in 250SX) “It’s been a rough start to the season with a lot higher expectations with all the progression last year. I was riding really good in the offseason. Expectations have been high, and they’ve been missed. I just haven’t been riding like myself on the weekend’s and it’s definitely been disappointing. The difference this weekend? I don’t know, I just had a different mindset. I was more relaxed—more calm.”
Jason Anderson: (3rd in 450SX) “All-in-all, I had a great night. I keep getting better as the season goes on, I feel like I keep racing better and better. It’s been a good night. The team is working hard and we’re ready to start charging and make some headway”
Cooper Webb: (4th in 450SX) “Yeah, it was a so-so night. I struggled a little bit all day. The first main event wasn’t very good—I got a terrible start. I made some good passes but it wasn’t a good result. We were able to salvage it at the end. I got some much better starts and got passed in both by all the top guys. I went 4-5 in the last two, so I salvaged a 4th, but I didn’t quite have it. Those guys were a little better all day. I need to go back to the drawing board. I need to commit in my whoops and figure those out. I guess I can’t be too bummed. After the first main event, it was a little uneasy so it’s good to turn it around.”
Brandon Hartranft: (4th in 250SX) “First triple crown of the year here at Phoenix. Placed 4th on the night. One point shy of the podium. Starts for sure held me back, but I know my effort was there all day long. Bikes good and I feel good, and already looking forward to next weekend”
Justin Barcia: (5th in 450SX) “I don’t know, but 5th overall sounds alright. (laughs) Sounds better than I felt tonight. I just was a little off with the bike setup this weekend again. We’ll go back to California, go back to my normal setting again and find my happy place again. It was a tough night. I didn’t have the greatest starts. I just need to fine-tune a few things here and there but, all in all, I think this place took some guys down tonight so it’s good to get out of here healthy and move it on to next weekend. I for sure need to find my happy spot and get back to closer to the front. That’s for sure.”
Jacob Hayes: (5th in 250SX) “Had a fun weekend in Glendale. First Triple Crown of the year. 6-5-5 for 5th overall. Another step in the right direction ”
Justin Brayton: (6th in 450SX) “The night went pretty good, but I had a lot of bad starts for some reason. I really struggled with track position at the beginning of the race, and I came from the back pretty much all three races. I’m a little disappointed in that because I felt like with my lap times, a better track position could have given me a top-five finish. But to end up sixth is nothing to hang our heads for at all. It was a positive night, awesome to see Kenny get the win, and the team’s just jelling really well right now; everyone’s doing an amazing job, and I keep getting better and better every weekend. I hope to keep this momentum rolling and be in the top five next week.”
Adam Cianciarulo: (8th in 450SX) “That was definitely not how we wanted to finish the night and although this is part of racing, it’s always a tough pill to swallow. We kicked off the day qualifying fastest again and honestly, I was feeling good all day. I made some mistakes out there and that last one cost me. I’m sore and a bit frustrated but I have a great team behind me, who continue to remind me there are a lot more races left to go in this premier class. We’ll take the week to recuperate and look to come out strong in Oakland.”
Aaron Plessinger: (9th in 450SX) “The first Triple Crown of the year, Glendale, was pretty good. I qualified 15th which wasn’t great. In the first Main I got a mid-pack start and worked up to seventh in the first half of the race, but in the second half it kind of fell apart. I started hitting the whoops bad, so yeah, we struggled a little bit in the second half. Then the second Main I got a really good start. I was running up there with the boys, but I just couldn’t figure out the whoops. I was fast everywhere except the whoops. I got another good start in the third Main, not as good as the second one, but I just charged and tried to put myself in a good position and I got a pretty good finish. Overall it’s my best finish this season. We have to go back and do some more work. I can’t wait until Oakland next week.”
Mitchell Oldenburg: (6th in 250SX) “Steady weekend going 7-7-7 for 6th overall. I didn’t put myself in the best positions at the beginning of the race but, it can be like that sometimes. As always, thank you to my team for all the hard work.”
Martin Davalos: (11th in 450SX) “It was good. In the first main event, I felt like I rode decent. I made some good passes at the end and was able to come out with a 10th. In the second main event I got a decent start and was riding inside the top ten, but just made a dumb mistake man. I threw it away running 10th. I went off the track, landed on a tough block, crashed and got 16th. In the last main event, I actually got the holeshot before they threw out the red flag. I was running up front and it felt good to be up front. I was able to come back again and get a decent start—running top five. I felt like I rode well tonight. I deserved to be there in the top five at the end. I felt great, but there’s just a lot of learning to be done. It was good to be able to run with the top guys. ”
Ryan Breece: (16th in 450SX) “The Suzuki RM-Z450 and I are starting to mesh a lot better. I am very happy with my starts and am continuing to feel more confident on the bike each week. 16th place was an improvement for me and a step in the right direction. I am still digging for more!”
Alex Martin : (7th in 250SX) “Glendale was a tough race for me. A mid-week crash really hurt my chances of being competitive for a podium. I managed to stay consistent enough to grab seventh overall in the Triple Crown format. I’m happy to move on from this one and I’m looking toward making some changes this week with the team. We’ll come out swinging in Oakland.”
Justin Cooper : (9th in 250SX) “It was a roller coaster night in Glendale. The track conditions were really tricky and traction was very hard to maintain. I was able to come back with the win in the third Main and hold onto the points lead. We’re going take the positives and learn from the mistakes and move on to next weekend and go for the win again.”
Luke Clout: (10th in 250SX) “The Triple Crown was crazy! I was taken out in moto 1 and a crash moto 2. Moto 3 was an 8th. I feel like my riding is getting better. Placed 1oth overall and moved to 9th overall in points.”
Christian Craig: (17th in 250SX) “I was super excited to be back in Glendale. It’s where I won a few years ago and I just love the dirt, stadium and fans there. The whoops were pretty good, too, and didn’t break down much which suits me well. I really felt like it was my night to at least podium if not better. The first main was pretty good. I got the holeshot then [Austin] Forkner shot me off the track. I was able to make my way up to third from probably seventh or eighth after going off the track. I was pumped on my riding that first main. Second main I got a mid-pack start and made my way to probably sixth pretty quickly in the first lap. A bunch of us were going into a corner after the sand and I grabbed my brake a little too hard. So it was just one thing after another. I worked hard to be able to race this year so it sucks honestly. It’s clear I can be a front runner which makes me happy but set back after set back gets frustrating. I’ll get myself all fixed up and be back in Seattle after East Coast break.”
Kyle Cunningham: (DNQ in 450SX) “Not the night I wanted to have in Glendale. I came up short during qualifying missing the top 18 by half a second. In the LCQ I got a good start and got myself into a transfer position, but a mistake caused me to go down. I’m looking forward to getting it done in Oakland.”
Adam Enticknap: (DNQ in 450SX) “Fifth place isn’t where I want to be, but it is nice to know that we only need one spot. I am going to work on a few areas that I need to improve. I want to come out swinging in Oakland”
