What the riders had to say following the penultimate round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross season.
Ken Roczen: (1st in 450SX) “We grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. I felt great out there. We were as consistent and you could possibly be out there, in my eyes. We didn’t make any mistakes and had an awesome night. It’s exactly what we were shooting for. Now we have to keep the ball rolling. We got the job done. We got a heat race win and then a Main Event win so I would say that’s almost a perfect night. I think that’s the first time I’ve gone back-to-back so hopefully another one next week and make it three-in-a-row.”
Eli Tomac: (2nd in 450SX) “I can really say I like it here. I’ve had three podiums here in the past three years with my second place tonight. I had a really good day in practice, then my heat and semi didn’t go exactly how I wanted but I still felt good heading into the Main Event. In the main I had to make a lot of passes in the first 10 laps but was eventually able to make a push for second. I did some exploring here and there for the right lines and ways around other riders, but I felt strong and am really happy with my result.”
Cole Seely: (3rd in 450SX) “It was good and definitely a hard-fought one. I’m riding my heart out out there. It’s hard to ride through the pain, but once the adrenaline kicks in it makes it a little easier. But I’m going to be feeling this one tomorrow, definitely! Like I said, I’m pushing through some pain. I’m just really trying to just ride with my heart and a little more than just my talent and hard training.”
Ryan Dungey: (4th in 450SX) [On clinching the 450SX Championship] “The goal from the very beginning coming into this year was obviously to defend another title. I was able to win last year, and I wanted to repeat it and back it up again. It was going to be a challenge that I hadn’t done before; I hadn’t consistently won. That was the first goal we started chasing, but then came the preparation and getting ready for the season.
“As the season started, Anaheim 1 was a little rough, but right away we were able to start gathering some wins consistently and get on the podium, which was good. Obviously fourth place tonight isn’t the goal—the goal was the Championship—but the podium streak, I was definitely going after Cole Seely just to try to get on the podium. A lot of people got to remember that it’s been a fight. Mentally, battling week in and week out, a lot of riders have been challenging us, different riders across the whole season.
“Other riders, the pressure’s kind of off and they can go out and ride the way they want to. Not that the pressure’s building up for us tonight and that’s why we got fourth. I definitely gave it my best and did what I could, but I wasn’t going to do anything stupid either. I was going to race hard and get to the front as best as I could. Like I said, the goal was to get the Championship. It’s nice to be able to have a little cushion to wrap it up one round early. It was consistent across the board the whole season.
“Fourth place, if that’s our worst finish up until round 16, I don’t think that’s that bad, but at the same time, the accomplishment of the Championship being done is nice, and it’s good to have that done. Now we can go to Vegas and move into outdoors and really focus on what lies ahead too. You want to win the Championship, keeping the focus on the practice during the week, on myself at the races and trying to execute the plan of attack that we have. The Championship weighs on you. You want to win and you want to wrap it up, but I knew I had to focus on right here, right now. It’s good to have it wrapped up.”
Justin Brayton: (5th in 450SX) “It was a solid night. My goal was to be in the top five every time we were on the track and we did that, except for one practice. I feel like it was solid, yeah! I battled for a podium position in pretty much the whole main. I was in the mix all night. I’m happy to go home with a top five—I definitely want more—and we’ll come into Vegas swinging. I’ll try to get my first podium of the year there.”
Jason Anderson: (6th in 450SX) “My night was ok. I got a bad start in the heat race, but got a holeshot and a win in the semi. I ended up with ninth gate pick in the main so that heat race didn’t help me out the entire night. I actually rode really well and came up from 12th to finish 6th. I almost had 5th, but I’ll make a comeback next weekend in Vegas. The track was good, but it was really tough to make a pass on. There was only one right hander.”
Justin Bogle: (10th in 450SX) “I had a crazy battle tonight with podium guys but it was for eighth and ninth place. That’s just the way it goes. You have to be on your toes at all times. My start wasn’t great. Now I feel like I should be battling for top fives every weekend rather than just stoked on a top ten. I’m pretty disappointed in a tenth. I made way too many mistakes. I feel like I wasn’t that off pace; and my fitness is definitely coming around. It’s getting a lot better. I just made some mistakes. But when I would make a mistake and get passed, I fought back and passed somebody back, which is good because I’m feeling that much stronger now. That happened with I think [Weston] Peick at one point. I tried to make a pass back on Trey [Canard] then I made a mistake when I was doing it. Then I got passed by a couple guys. At the end of the day, like I said, I was battling with podium guys, just in the back of the top ten. We’re still making progress. It’s all good.”
Blake Baggett: (12th in 450SX) “It was not the greatest day we’ve had by any means, but we improved on quite a few things. I didn’t qualify great, but was able to get in through the semi, so I made it to the Main, which was better luck than I had last weekend. In the Main Event I had an outside gate-pick and not a great start, but I felt like I rode pretty good. I was consistent with my lap-times considering the conditions and being in traffic most of the way. I worked my way forward a little bit, but it was a pretty tough track to pass-on tonight. When you were in that the group kind of bunched up, it was a lot of follow-the-leader. I’m looking forward to the final round next weekend in Las Vegas and then we’ll be getting ready for the Outdoor season.”
Broc Tickle: (13th in 450SX) “It was an improvement from last week. I got a better start in the Main than I did the last couple of weekends. I was in the mix there with those guys but if I could’ve been just a little better this week, it would have been a really good night. I felt better on the bike and more comfortable riding in the pack. I just need a little more intensity and speed throughout the race and I’ll have a good result. I just need to keep building. I’m not too pumped about finishing 13th but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Josh Grant: (16th in 450SX) “My day wasn’t bad. I struggled a little bit with practice and then going into the main I didn’t have the start I wanted. The track was very hard to pass on tonight and I got stuck in a groove, made a couple mistakes but bounced back the best I could. I was able to make a few passes and finally finished 16th. Back to work and looking forward to next weekend!”
Jake Weimer: (17th in 450SX) “The semi was definitely the positive of the night. I got the holeshot and led a few laps so that’s always good. I’m a little disappointed with the way the night turned out because I felt like the semi was a decent ride and I could build on that but it just didn’t work out.”
Malcolm Stewart: (1st in 250SX) “It was a great feeling. I’m happy to get this win and extend the points lead, especially going into Vegas with a fourteen point lead. It’s an amazing feeling for me. Honestly, the difference between last weekend and this weekend is, I felt like I was riding really conservative last week. I was riding behind myself; I was worried about points. I was worried about all the wrong things instead of just going out there and focusing on myself.
“I felt that I just let all the emotions out after last week. After I looked at the tape and the way I rode, the whole team sat down and we talked. I let all the emotions out, and ever since I let all those emotions out, I’ve felt better than ever. It’s almost like crying it out. After you cry, you feel better for some reason. That’s what happened. I told the team, and I was honest with myself. The guys were like, “Are you okay? How do you feel?” going into that weekend, and I was like, “I’m good. I’m good. I’m good”, but in reality, I really wasn’t. It was just a lot of weight off my shoulders, and basically I just told the truth, because I’ve proved to myself and I don’t need to think about the red plate; I don’t need to think about nothing.
“Whether I win this Championship or lose it, I know it’s been one heck of a year. I can’t take anything negative from it. It’s been an awesome season and a way better season than I had last year. It’s all positive, and I believe in myself. I knew I needed to go out there and win, and I did everything I could to do that. I told myself, “Win or lose, give it everything you got for fifteen laps”, and look where it got me.”
Martin Davalos: (2nd in 250SX) “I had a good night. I’ll take a second, but I really wanted that win. I feel like Malcolm was just a little better than me tonight. I feel like I rode really consistent and I don’t have any excuses. I had a good start and my bike worked really well. I’m pumped with how everything went. I was 2nd in qualifying at practice. I’m lucky I was able to put in a solid 15 laps and end up with a 2nd place finish. I’m pretty pumped overall. I’m excited to race the west coast guys in Vegas next weekend and see what plays out. I’m hoping to end up in a good spot in Vegas and then get ready for outdoors.”
Tyler Bowers: (6th in 250SX) “My day went pretty well. I went into the main with confidence after a good heat race. I had a pretty good start and tried to just tick off smooth and consistent laps. I’m really looking forward to Las Vegas next weekend, the combined race with East and West Coast is going to be a blast!”
Gannon Audette: (7th in 250SX) “My start wasn’t what it typically is. I was able to make some good passes throughout the race though and ended up bringing it home for a seventh. I’m looking forward to next weekend and capping off the Supercross season on a good note.”
RJ Hampshire: (12th in 250SX) “You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget mistakes but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy or any of your time of any of your space,” go the lyrics Hampshire quoted. He then added on his own, “One thing about my struggle bus, it doesn’t stop rolling. Ready to have some fun in Vegas!”
