Supercross: San Diego is in the Books!

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I’d like to start this week off by saying thank you to the riders and teams that read my material last week and took my advice going into the second round in San Diego….ok maybe they didn’t read my shit, but still, there were many improvements made.  If I can make a side note real quick, I’d like to express my appreciation for the Supercross series continuing to show their love and support for the Armed Forces this past weekend.  The involvement of military branches in the opening ceremonies, during the evening show, and all throughout the weekend was a great sign of the respect our sport has towards those that sacrifice all to let us enjoy motorcycle racing (as well as our many other freedoms).  I think I speak for all of us here at the SoBros Network by saying THANK YOU!!!! (Editor’s note: yes, I second this)

To say the weekend started off with drama for some riders would be an understatement.  We saw Jimmy Albertson and Mitchell Oldenburg getting injured during practice, sustaining injuries that forced them out of the night show.  The same jump that ended these guys’ night tried to claim another popular rider, but fortunately Jeremy Martin was able to bounce off of a couple well-placed tough-blocks, leaving him unscathed.  Check out the wicked get-off below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttYfSKLFNVk]

Let’s start with the 250s.  I can’t express how excited I was to see Josh Hansen get a good start in his heat race.  He showed some impressive speed, as well as aggression, as he battled Hayden Mellross…eventually putting Hayden into the dirt with a tough block pass.  Josh looked to be shaking his arms pretty heavily after the heat – looks like he’s still got some work to do on fitness and arm-pump.

Speaking of recovered fitness, it seems as though Justin Hill’s endurance is back up to par from his pre-season injury.  As the fastest qualifier, he showed serious speed early on in the night, sweeping his heat race with ease.  A bad start in the Main Event forced him to work his way through the field as Jimmy Decotis got some much needed experience leading at the front.  Jimmy put in serious training the week in between rounds 1 and 2, focusing mainly on his starts.  His hard work paid off as he nabbed the holeshot and led for over half the race before fading back and eventually finishing in 6th place.  I’ve been a supporter of Jimmy since his debut in Supercross.  A genuine, hard-working kid from way up in Massachusetts (a rare sight nowadays), I’d say he has loads more in the tank and will be fighting for wins now that he sees what it takes to run the pace of the top guys.

A hard charge from Shane McElrath overtook Jimmy’s lead, as Shane never looked back.  Plowing their way back through the field were the Pro Circuit Kawasaki bikes of Justin Hill & Austin Forkner.  Hill found some extra speed in the last few laps and pushed his way to second, finishing only a few feet behind McElrath.  Rounding out the podium was Aaron Plessinger, with Martin Davalos just behind in 4th place.

The 450s.  The big dogs.  The big bikes….sometimes too big.  Just ask Blake Baggett, who found himself looking like a D class rider 10 feet out of the starting gate!  To be fair, he experienced some clutch issues, and once it hooked up he didn’t stand a chance.  Check out the loop-out of the weekend below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIQlcK3QXfM]

My hat goes off to Christophe Pourcel, who put in a hard charge in his heat race, only to be caught by a small jump that plagued so many riders Saturday night.  Unfortunately, he was also battling the flu all week and ended up in the medical unit to receive some much needed relief and ended his night there.  And how about Cooper Webb finally getting his starts dialed in?  That was a sigh of relief for anyone wanting Cooper to see his season gain momentum, but it appears he has some work to do to keep race pace for the full duration as he slowly worked his way backwards, finishing 14th in the Main Event.

The 450 Main Event this past weekend picked right where the Anaheim 1 race ended.  Dungey vs.  Roczen.  The rivalry that goes deep between two competitors, manufacturers, and entire teams.  These guys were absolutely flying Saturday night and never left more than 5 bike lengths in between them.  By the end of the race, they had lapped past the 10th place rider, and were 20 seconds ahead of Marvin Musquin in 3rd place…..that’s insane!

Looking at the finishing order of the top 4, it was Aldon Baker’s fitness crew chasing down Roczen’s solo regime.  Roczen has always been fast, but there’s also been moments of mistakes that kept him from consistent finishes.  I’ve always said that a disciplined Ken Roczen is a dangerous, dangerous thing.

I think we are finally witnessing just that.  Dungey will be giving him a run for his money, but it’s gonna take more than just consistency to overtake the young German.  Now it’s time to head back to So-Cal for the second Anaheim race of the year….where we get to see at least one wildcard start their 2017 Supercross bid:  Malcom Stewart.  How will Malcom do his first race back?  Will big brother join him on the starting line?  I can’t wait to see how this season unravels!!

kr-sd-podium

Cadbury Pringlebatch is the Lead Supercross Writer and Investment Analyst for The SoBros Network, but knows a little bit about everything. Known for frequenting Nashville YMCA steam rooms, he’s a firm believer that winning football is produced by moving the chains, and became a SoBro after mistaking the Power Hour Podcast for an AA meeting. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroCadbury

Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork

 

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