The fourth round of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series went to Indianapolis, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Stadium—first of three in a row in Indy—and we saw another night of amazing racing. In the 450SX class, Ken Roczen (1st) scored his first win of ’21—fourth different winner in four races—with Eli Tomac (2nd) and Cooper Webb (3rd) grabbing the final two spot on the podiums, while Colt Nichols (1st), Michael Mosiman (2nd), and Joe Shimoda (3rd) taking the top three spots in the fourth 250SX East main event of ’21.
After the racing was over, we gathered quotes from many of the top riders in Indy. Check out what those riders had top say below.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450SX) “I have just had huge motivation to win in general and not just because what has happened the last rounds. I was over it way before everyone was talking about it. I just wanted to win. I am just trying my hardest and I am not getting on the thing that I have two 2’s and one 1 and coming into this I didn’t know what to expect and I changed everything in my program, or a lot. And I wanted to see where I was at and enjoy the process and rebuild my career a little bit. Obviously after Eli crashed Adam and I were in front and I wasn’t in striking distance, but I heard Eli coming and the front guy have better lines and you lose touch a bit, but there were some spots and I had to tuck it tight and it isn’t as good as that way. I really needed to get by Adam, and I wasn’t sure where I was going to make it happen, but it was a good battle between the three of us. I was trying to decide if I landed if I stayed on the track (when I let Eli pass), but I would have hit the tuff block and I felt it was wrong to try and stay in front of Eli. I knew that AMA would have had a close eye on that one, so I just let him by. I was just trying to stay there and with him, and I found an opening and took it and I didn’t plan it, it was a quick, short decision. When I sat out Outdoors, I needed a break, but there is something about competing and if it wasn’t fun I wouldn’t do it. Having a family it makes is so much more fun and I am trying to enjoy the process. There is something that makes us keep coming back and it feels like a new beginning. It was the greatest thing ever (seeing his son after the win). He is such a smiley bugger in general and he is smiling all the time. It just gets better and better and now this is in the bag it is a huge relief. Even between the races he is playing around and we are changing diapers.
Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450SX) “It was great to have clean air and the pace was hot tonight. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and tucked my front end. Getting up front is so important now and you can see the top three are really fast. I am just riding better. I didn’t change anything. I haven’t changed anything since Houston, and I was riding better than Houston. I felt off the first couple of rounds and I hope we get the flow going now. It is good racing, and it is craziness, and it sucks getting second, but it is exiting racing and it makes you want to come back for more. I am still in it to fight for this thing and the championship, but it is just fun with the racing the way it is. The way the passing went down. Right now it gets knarly at the end with the knitty, gritty. It will be hard riding between the rounds, because it is snowing out. That was an eventful day of racing. We kicked off the day in pole position in qualifying and had a decent heat race working my way forward. In the main event, my KX450 rocketed me out the gate and I was able to get the holeshot which felt amazing. I began clicking off my laps, but I had a slight bobble at the end of the whoops and tucked the front end. I’m bummed that we fell short of the end goal, but really happy with my riding. I can’t thank my Monster Energy Kawasaki team enough for all their support. Let’s go get it done on Tuesday.”
Colt Nichols: (1st in 250SX) “I had an idea what was going on behind me, I was keeping a tap on those guys and trying to manage the race from the front. I knew Jett was coming and I could see him closing on Christian, and I heard the crowd go crazy and there was some drama behind me, but I got a good start and kept clear of it.
Michael Mosiman: (2nd in 250SX) “It was a great night. I got off to a better start this time and I was right there with those guys. I haven’t been able to see those Star Racing guys a lot this year so it was really nice to catch a wheel and ride with them. We got into some really bad lapped traffic – guys who were all in a battle – so it was tricky out there and honestly I have some things I need to work on still but that pace isn’t crazy – it’s not out of my reach – and we’ll have a go at it again on Tuesday.”
Cooper Webb: (3rd in 450SX) “I don’t know, as you can see, the start is super important because we are all super close. Tonight, it showed there are three of us and a lot of others too. It will be maximising opportunities and getting yourself in a good position. Riding the wave as well, because you will have ups and downs. I actually nailed my start in the Main Event, but I got shuffled back in the first few turns. The leaders just got out front and they rode awesome. I kind of got buried in fifth and it was hard to make passes tonight, you had to be patient and wait for some mistakes. I dug deep, Adam Cianciarulo and I had a good battle at the end, and I was able to get third place, but you can’t give Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac that kind of track position and we saw what they did tonight.”
Adam Cianciarul: (4th in 450SX) “I wasn’t 100 percent content on my riding performance today. I felt like I struggled to find a flow, but there are still some positives to take away from the day. We led some laps, we battled with the boys, Eli (Tomac) and Ken (Roczen), and took another step towards our goal of getting on the top step of the podium. I am already looking forward to Tuesday.”
Jo Shimodal: (3rd in 450SX) “It feels good to get my first career podium out of the way, but I think I could have done better. Craig and Lawrence came together before the whoops which allowed me to capitalize and cross the line in third. I felt good on my Kawasaki KX250 today and even with a tip-over in my heat race, I was able to climb my way back up from mid-pack to third. I’m happy with tonight’s results, but I want more. I’m going to carry this momentum into the next round and take another step towards proving that I am one of the top-3 riders in this class.”
Jett Lawrence: (4th in 250SX) “I was feeling really good on the track, qualifying P1. In heat 2 I got a really good start with the holeshot but went down in one of the turns in the first lap, so I came out top-10 and made my way to second, which felt really good. In the main event I messed up my start and feel like I couldn’t have done any worse, to be honest. That didn’t give me a very good shot at winning, but I had a really good flow and made my way up to around sixth, but unfortunately I hit the rear end of another rider on the wall jump which made me stop. I had to roll back down to go back up, putting me back to 12th. I made my way through the pack to fifth and realized Jo [Shimoda] was right there and passed him. The next rhythm I got [Michael] Mosiman, and then Christian Craig was just up ahead, so I knew at that point I could actually get second. On the last lap I tried to make a pass before the whoops, and Christian and I ended up colliding and getting tangled up, which screwed us both. I still finished fourth for the night, which isn’t really what I wanted or needed. I’ve given Colt [Nichols] more cushion in points, but I’m hoping to close that gap on Tuesday and stay in this hunt for the title.”
Zach Osborne: (5th in 450SX) “I had a pretty decent night. I got a second place in my heat race and qualified third from the day, so that was solid. In the Main Event, I went a little too early and hit the gate. I pulled it back and set my sights on getting far as I could, and I was able to make it all the way up to fifth. It was a solid night and solid result considering all of the challenges.”
Christian Craig: (5th in 250SX) “The day started off well in Indy and I was feeling good with the track. I won my heat race and went into the Main confident. I started second behind my teammate and was able to latch onto him for a bit, but once we got into lappers he got away. I made some crucial mistakes towards the end of the race and with two corners left I hooked bars with another rider and we both went down. I ended up fifth, unfortunately. I’m looking forward to Indy 2 on Tuesday for some redemption!”
Dylan Ferrandis: (6th in 450SX) “I had a good Heat race. I fought with (Eli) Tomac and finished fourth. In the Main Event, I had a good start and battled up front. It was good to be back in front because my last race in Houston wasn’t that good. I gave everything I had. I was in fourth fighting with Adam (Cianciarulo) for the podium and on the big double with the ruts, I got unbalanced a little bit and jumped on the side of the track. I had to go all around the corner outside of the track, so I lost a lot of time and some positions. I came back and finished sixth. It’s not great to be sixth but it was good to have a good pace, ride up front and fight for a podium. We’re going to learn from that and try to improve for our next race Tuesday.”
Jason Anderson: (7th in 450SX) “It was better than last weekend, I am trying to get better as the weekends go on. I got my first W of the season in the LCQ and just going to try to build off that and keep moving forward.”
Joey Savatgy: (8th in 450SX) “Overall, I am happy with how I rode tonight. My starts were there, and I had the pace to run inside the top five. Tonight, was a confidence boost and a big leap in the right direction. We will make a few adjustments to the bike and be ready to fight for a top five Tuesday night.”
Aaron Plessinger: (9th in 450SX) “It was a pretty good day overall. I started off free practice going really good and then come first qualifying practice, I tried to change the bike, which wasn’t really the right move. I just didn’t ride as well as I did in the free practice; the same with the second qualifying practice. In the Heat race, I got a bad start and then made a bunch of mistakes. I was coming through the pack and was one of the fastest guys, but you can’t do much with mistakes at the start. I need to minimize that. In the Main Event, I got a good jump and then got ran into which pulled me back a little bit. Then Malcolm crashed in front of us and made me and Marvin (Musquin) go off the track. I ran alongside the hay bales for a little bit and then jumped back on. I came back to ninth, which is not bad considering the start but it’s not where I want to be. It doesn’t showcase how good the bike is working this year and how good I’m feeling this year. I’d like to come back and get a better start and try to put this thing up on the podium. The track was really, really rutted and really rough. I’m looking forward to that again on Tuesday.”
Marvin Musquin: (10th in 450SX) “I felt really good with the bike all day and qualifying second was awesome. I was confident going into the Main Event and then waiting for the gate to drop, I think Adam [Cianciarulo] flinched, so I moved, and the gate felt like it didn’t drop as quick as usual, which messed me up and my start was really bad. I tried to push as hard as I could on the first lap, but it went from bad to worse – I had to jump off to the side of the track when a rider cross-jumped in front of me and I crashed again and lost more time. I put my head down and passed one guy at a time and I saw another opportunity to pass later in the race, but I washed the front-end and went down again. I am super disappointed, I felt like I could have fought and come back, even with a bad start, to a top-five or on the podium but we’ll regroup. We have two days of rest and I just want to get back out there and do my best again.”
Malcolm Stewart: (11th in 450SX) “It was tough, honestly. I felt like riders were going down left and right. It was one of those tracks where I think if you just stayed up, honestly, I felt like your results came. It was a very tough track to push. It got to a point I think in the race we were riding against the track instead of each other. But Indy always throws curveballs at us. I feel like the next round won’t be as soft. For us, we just need to go out there and regroup and put ourselves back in a good fighting position. Definitely, 11th is not the way I wanted it, but on a bad night to come back from last to 11th on a tough track, I can vouch for it and take it as a positive.”
Justin Barcia: (12th in 450SX) “I would say tonight was my most difficult night so far. My speed was good and my riding was okay but it just wasn’t what I needed tonight to be up front. We’ll regroup here in Indy and get back at it on Tuesday. I just need to put it all together.
John Short: (8th in 250SX) “Consistent night in Indianapolis for round 4 of the Supercross series, placed 8th. I learned a lot and am ready to put it to use Tuesday!”
Hunter Sayles: (12th in 250SX) “Indy 1 was a good bounce back. Placed 6th in the heat and finished 12th in the main. With some good starts I can run in the top 10.
Jeremy Hand: (13th in 250SX) “Indy 1 started off good with a 16th in practice. In the heat race I made it straight into the main with an 8th place! Main event was good until hitting some tuff blocks and costing me some time. It was a solid 13th place, but still looking for more. Track was insane! I’m ready for Tuesday.”
