Supercross: San Diego 2019 Results

The fifth round of Supercross took place in San Diego on February 2nd. The track was one big mud pit, making it a slow and difficult run to the podium. To further shake things up, the main events were each shortened by five minutes, giving riders less time to make passes and recover from mistakes.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

450SX Report

By the start of the 450SX main, the track was the worst it had been all night. During the heats, the track had been wet and slick, but the rain had stopped and the 250SX main left the mud deep, sticky, and unpredictable. Two riders had been injured earlier in the night, too – Justin Brayton and Justin Hill – so they weren’t even lining up for the main event. That left all eyes on Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac, the heat race winners, and Cooper Webb, the points leader, as the gates dropped.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

With the main event lasting only 15 minutes, every second counted for the 450SX riders. Roczen got off to an early lead as he sped down the start to take the holeshot, but a spill in the first corner passed the lead off to Tomac. Roczen quickly recovered and resumed the race in 4th place, but was going to have to pass Justin Bogle and Justin Barcia in 2nd and 3rd if he was going to take back the top podium spot from Tomac.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

Elsewhere, the muddy track was starting to take its toll on the riders. Aaron Plessinger, who was riding in 5th place, went down and relinquished the position to Blake Baggett, while Webb slipped and struggled to make it out of 7th place. Marvin Musquin slid off of the track behind Webb, but quickly reentered and passed a whole group of riders to take over 6th place. Back up front, Barcia pulled off to the side of the track, mechanical issues claiming his bike and ending his race just five minutes in. This allowed Roczen to move up a spot into 3rd place.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

As the race wore on, the mud claimed a few more victims. Baggett and Webb both took a dive, shuffling the top 10 positions. Tomac, Bogle, and Roczen were still making up the podium, but they weren’t immune from the effects of the track. Bogle stalled his bike in the first set of whoops before the finish, making room for Roczen to scrape past. Bogle was in 3rd, but had to fend off Musquin who was putting pressure on the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM-WPS rider from 4th place.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

Tomac was still leading by the last minute of the race, maintaining a 25 second lead over Roczen in 2nd. Even though his bike got stuck on a tough block, the delay wasn’t long enough to lose his position. Roczen closed the gap by 10 seconds, but Tomac kept his cool through the last two laps to clinch 1st place and the points lead. Behind him, Musquin let it all hang out in the last lap and managed to pass both Bogle and Roczen before the checkered flag. The final podium ended with Tomac, Musquin, and Roczen after a difficult night of riding.

450SX Results

250SX Report

As the gates dropped on the 250SX main, the riders slid off the start to make their way to the first corner. Adam Cianciarulo edged out the holeshot, leaving the other riders behind to battle for the final podium spots. Jess Pettis and Colt Nichols were bar-to-bar for 2nd, but quickly began scrambling to keep their balance in the deep, muddy ruts. Shane McElrath got his bike stuck in a particularly deep rut, while Pettis and Jimmy Decotis collided and went down coming out of a corner. Nichols went down, too, after a run in with Mitchell Harrison.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

Three minutes into the 10-minute main, Cianciarulo was leading by nine seconds. Pettis was in 2nd, but Ferrandis was closing in. The Yamaha rider had started the race in 10th place, but charged his way up to the front to fight for a spot on the podium. Meanwhile, the points leader, Nichols, was trying to move out of 7th place, while RJ Hampshire and McElrath were in 17th and 20th, respectively, following their dives in the mud.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

The clock was ticking down, and Pettis was trying to hold onto 2nd by holding off Ferrandis and Marchbanks, who were both close behind. Through the rollers, however, both riders made their pass on Pettis, securing 2nd and 3rd place and pushing Pettis back to 4th. Ferrandis didn’t keep 2nd for long though as Marchbanks pushed through the mud to pass him in a corner.

Photo Credit: Kardy Photo

With a minute and two laps to go, Cianciarulo was still in 1st, maintaining a 10-second lead over Marchbanks in 2nd. Ferrandis was three seconds behind in 3rd, but his bike got stuck and died right before the finish line. This credited Ferrandis with 7th, leaving Decotis to take the final podium spot. At the end of the night, teammates Cianciarulo and Marchbanks took 1st and 2nd, Decotis took 3rd, and McElrath and Pettis finished 4th and 5th to round out the top 5.

250SX West Results

The brutal conditions in San Diego led to a massive points shakeup for both classes. For the 450SX class, Tomac stole the red plate from Webb, who moved back to 4th in points standings. Cianciarulo claimed the red plate for the 250SX West class, pushing the previous points leader, Nichols, back to 3rd. We won’t see the 250 West class for a few weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Supercross heads to the East Coast next week.

San Diego Photo Gallery

Photo Credit for All Gallery Images: Kardy Photo