The fifth round of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series went to Indianapolis, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Stadium—second of three in a row in Indy—and we saw two dominant wins from the red plate holders. In the 450SX class, Ken Roczen (1st) ran away from the field for the win with Justin Barcia (2nd) and Eli Tomac (3rd) grabbing the final two spot on the podium, while Colt Nichols (1st), Christian Craig (2nd), and Michael Mosiman (3rd) took the top three spots in the fifth 250SX East main event of ’21.

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After the racing was over, we gathered quotes from many of the top riders in Indy. Check out what those riders had to say below.

Ken Roczen: (1st in 450SX) “I don’t know what to say; it was a picture-perfect night, with pole position in practice, winning my heat race, then I just had a really amazing main event. I grabbed a really good start and was in second, made the pass happen early and just checked out; it was an amazing race for me. I flowed nicely with the track, put a little gap in between me and the other guys and just enjoyed my race–stayed focused and brought it home. I’m just thankful to be in this position. I’m going to continue leaving everything on the track and keep thriving the way I am right now. I’m going to enjoy this today and tomorrow, then come back like nothing ever happened and try again on Saturday.

 

Colt Nichols: (1st in 250SX) “You can never complain about a win, but I need to clean it up. The start of that race wasn’t very good and I felt like I was fumbling around. So; if there is something I need to work on, it is cleaning it up. I got lucky with Michael (Mosiman) running into a lapper. I’m looking forward to closing it out here in Indy this weekend.”

Colt Nichols now leads the 250SX East by 11 points with just three rounds to go. Photo by: Octopi

Justin Barcia: (2nd in 450SX) “The last round was really tough but tonight we put ourselves in a much better position. I got a good start and Kenny rode an amazing race, I tried to give him a little battle in the beginning but that’s all I had tonight. I’m glad to be back up here on the podium, we’ve been searching a little bit with setup but we’re getting there and feeling good, ready to get back to winning.”

 

Eli Tomac: (3rd in 450SX) “I was a little bit buried early there. I got to Justin and I was kind of stuck. We were riding the same pace, and I swear every time he made a mistake, I would make a mistake next to him and that would blow my chance of making a pass. Glad I was able to make it to the podium, just need to start a little further up next time. I felt good all day aboard my KX450. After setting the fastest time in the first qualifying session, I didn’t have to change much on the bike. I had a small mistake in my heat race while pushing for the lead but still managed to put in some solid laps and finish in fourth. In the main event, I got stuck behind a group of riders on the opening laps and knew I had to quickly cut my way through the field because I could see Ken (Roczen) was pulling away. I put my head down and started charging and made it up to fourth behind Adam (Cianciarulo) before the half-way mark. After getting past Adam, I could see second place and I eventually ran out of time before I could make a pass stick. I feel like I rode well tonight and, with a better start, could have challenged for the win.”

 

Christian Craig: (2nd in 250SX) “Colt is on it and I’m going to have to execute a little better from the start of the race if I’m going to have a chance to break his streak. He’s on a roll and I need to focus on getting in front of him at the start and giving it everything I have to stay ahead of him. I had a tough round last weekend, so it’s nice to get back up on the podium where I feel like I belong. We’ll see what I can do to make the fix for Saturday.”

 

Jett Lawrence: (DNQ in 250SX) “The day started off pretty good; the track was fun and the boys did good track prep. It was looking good, but unfortunately I had a crash in the second qualifying session. I didn’t really hurt myself much, just had a bloody nose. I hit a Tuff Block that was in a bad spot, and it was put back in the same spot for the heat race. I hit it straight on and fell straight on my head and shoulder. I was looked at by my therapist and there might be a little bit of separation, but we’re just going to play it by ear. Hopefully I get better so I can ride this Saturday, but we’ll have to wait and see. It’s not really how I wanted the night to end, but it happened and now I’m going to focus on getting better for this weekend or Orlando.”

After a big crashes in both morning qualifying and his heat race, Jett Lawrence won the LCQ before pulling out of the main event due to shoulder pain. Photo by: HRC

Cooper Webb: (4th in 450SX) “It was an up and down day once again. We did a lot of bike changes that actually seemed to help and the heat race was going really good, I pulled a great start and led a few laps but unfortunately a hay bale that wasn’t there the first time, was there the second time, and I ended up going down. I didn’t have a great gate pick for the Main Event, which really messed up my start and I struggled to get going. I made a lot of passes at the beginning and then I charged hard to make some really late passes, which I think was great, but I’m going to need to get some better starts. I’m excited for next Saturday, I think with a good start I’m right there in the mix. We’re still in the fight for this title and that’s the goal.”

 

Michael Mosiman: (3rd in 250SX) “That was an awesome start, I was ripping clean laps and I busted out the triple-quad, I hadn’t done that all day, and I felt good in the whoops. A guy went down in front of me in the rhythm section and that was hectic, it spooked me a little bit. I hit him pretty good, lost a spot to Colt and lost my mojo a little bit mid-way. I had such good lines out of the gate and as the track was breaking down, I think I needed to move with it a little bit quicker but all-in-all, it was a good day and a step in the right direction. I just have to thank my team, they’ve been behind me so much and this opportunity to race in front of a crowd is awesome, I love it!”

 

Aaron Plessinger: (5th in 450SX) “It was a pretty good day. I started off slow in qualifying as usual and then went out in the heat race and didn’t a good start and got stuck in a slump for some reason. It was just not a really great heat race. That got me fired up and ready to go. We did some minor changes to the bike and I changed my starting technique a little bit. I just hammered it, and it played out well. I rode a good race. I’m stoked on it for sure, but I know there are some things that I could have done better. I’m going to go back and do my homework tomorrow and try and keep at it with the starts. I think we’ll land it up on the podium before too long.”

 

Adam Cianciarulo: (6th in 450SX) “I feel like I was struggling to find a flow out there tonight. The track was challenging, and I made far too many little mistakes. Sixth place isn’t something I’m normally pleased with, but mentally I kept it together out there, even after the mistakes, and I’m proud of that. It’s a long season and there’s still much to improve on. I can’t wait to get back out there on Saturday.”

 

Zach Osborne: (7th in 450SX) “I had a pretty rough day actually. I blew my chin/tongue out on the bars in the first practice and that kind of set the tone for the day. I really was not that comfortable on the track and I kind of pressured myself out so looking for more moving forward. I’m riding well, just not putting myself in good positions. My starts need some work and I’ll be back on Saturday with a better game plan and we’ll be moving forward.”

Indy 2 450 Podium. Photo by: Octopi

Jo Shimoda: (4th in 250SX) “I had a solid start to my day, qualifying in fifth on my KX250, but mistakes in both the heat race and main made my night a rough one. I ended up running into other riders to start the main and was involved in a first turn pile-up that left me in last place. The good news is I was able to charge hard and rebound for a fourth place finish. I am already looking forward to Saturday and improving on this result.”

 

Jason Anderson: (DNQ / Injured in 450SX) “I didn’t crash or anything, I just landed and my hand slipped and I dislocated my finger. I’m going to heal up and be back out there trying hard ASAP!”

 

Joey Savatgy: (8th in 450SX) “Another good night. While my starts didn’t do me any favors, I had the speed and felt good out on the track tonight. Things are headed in the right direction. We will continue to make little adjustments and be ready for a top five finish on Saturday.”

 

Dylan Ferrandis: (9th in 450SX) “I felt better today on the bike and made some improvements. I felt good during the day. Unfortunately, I had a bad start in the Main and crashed at the beginning of the race with another rider. I was way back, but I just put my head down and gave everything I had. I finished ninth, for sure it’s not what we expect, but the 450 class is really hard. We’ll keep working and try to do better Saturday.”

Indy 2 250 Podium. Photo by: Octopi

Malcolm Stewart: (10th in 450SX) “We definitely made some huge improvements on the bike for this track, this layout. I just felt good all day honestly. Practice went well, the heat race I rode really well. Even in the Main Event, we were having a good battle. Aaron was just right in front of me. Cooper (Webb) got around me, I tried to get back around him in the whoops and I made a mistake and went down. I was on the other side of the track when I rejoined, so we really lost a lot of time and we ended up 10th. Yeah, it was a top 10, but we could’ve ended up fourth or fifth. You live and learn. We made a few mistakes, but overall, I felt like we put ourselves in a better position than at the beginning of the year, where we started. I’m more confident with the bike. There’s nothing but positives from here. The results didn’t show, but the riding was there. We’re going to regroup, watch some film, and make some improvements to be ready for Saturday.”

 

Marvin Musquin: (11th in 450SX) “I had a good day going and my speed was decent but I just had some costly mistakes, same as Saturday. The heat was awesome, I got up front and won the heat so I got a good gate position for the Main Event. I had an okay start and I was in good position but going into the tunnel I came in a little too fast and I hit Aaron Plessinger’s wheel and went down. I’m just trying to work on minimizing the mistakes and stay on two wheels next time and we will be fine.”

 

Josh Osby: (8th in 250SX) “I went down on the start and got 8th in the main. I am frustrated to say the least. It’s all on me, but looking forward to Indy 3 to put myself in a better position!”

 

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.