Monster Energy Kawasaki Leaves Anaheim in the Dust
. By Bikeland Staff
The third and final stop at Angel Stadium for Round 5 of Monster Energy Supercross saw a slick and technical track that made for tough racing in Anaheim on Saturday. Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad Reed came from outside the top-10 to finish in sixth place, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Davi Millsaps got caught up off the start and came from 21st to finish just outside the top-10 in 11th. In the 250SX class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers was running in third place until a red flag restarted the race after five laps. Bowers got off to a top-five start once the gate dropped again only to crash two laps later. Motosport.com Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen matched his best finish this season with seventh place while Chris Alldredge finished 14th with Bowers 15th.
Racing the Course
The hard-packed condition of the track on Saturday left riders having to concentrate on racing the track more than the competition. Reed got a mid-pack start on his KX™450F and progressively worked his way forward, by taking his time and focusing on hitting his lines. He made most of his passes in the early laps and by the time he made it up to sixth place, the top five riders had a gap that he could not overcome.
“Tonight was the toughest Anaheim of the three,” said Reed. “The track was super technical all day and by the time the night show started the track became pretty one-lined. If you’re not up-front from the start it’s hard to come through the pack on a track like this.”
Juggling Life
Hansen has had more than supercross on his mind this week as he was blessed with his first-born daughter, Kennedy Sage Hansen on Monday. With little sleep all week, Hanny finished runner-up in his heat race and rode a consistent main event to match his season-best finish of seventh place. Hansen sits ninth in the points standings.
“It’s been a great week,” said Hansen. “My baby girl was born this week which took priority. Today went pretty well and I know with a start I can be on the podium. I’m having fun every weekend and feel like I’m building momentum each week.”
Restart
Five laps into the start of the 250SX main event, Bowers had moved into a podium position and was sitting on the heels of his championship rival when the race was red flagged due to a gate-drop malfunction. They lined up for a complete restart and Bowers got another top-five start on his KX™250F, but on Lap 3 he mis-timed a rhythm section and went over the bars. He remounted in last place and climbed up to finish right behind his teammate. Alldredge finished 14th with Bowers in tow. Bowers’ finish drops him from second to fourth in the points standings.
“This has been a tough week,” said Bowers. “I’ve been sick all week and today was no better. I had a podium finish lined up in the first start and was working my way there in the second, but threw it away. It’s unfortunate, but just as it happened to me this week, the same can happen to anyone else next week. We’re still in this.”
Fighting Forward
Millsaps looked to be back to his old self in Anaheim as his practice times were only 10ths of a second off the leader on his way to qualifying seventh. Unfortunately, that momentum came to a stop when he crashed with another rider in the first turn of his heat race, which forced him to the semi. He rode smooth to win his semi, but in the first turn of the main event he once again got tangled up with a rider and rounded the first turn in 21st. He fought from the back of the field to pass as many riders as possible and finished one position shy of the top-10.
“The main event was a bummer,” said Millsaps. “I felt really good today and had solid, competitive times. In the main, I got hung up with another rider and was way behind. This was not a good track to have to move through the pack because it was very one-lined by the main event. We salvaged what we could and will look onward to San Diego.”
Elevated Start
It’s been more than 10 years since Monster Energy Supercross has seen an elevated start, dating back to Houston Supercross in 2004. A seven-foot tall start pad was built in center field of Angel Stadium for Saturday, adding a new obstacle to the track. A good jump, followed by smooth acceleration through the transition down the start was key to getting the holeshot.
Military Appreciation Race
Next weekend’s race in San Diego will be a military appreciation race for Round 6 of Monster Energy Supercross, which will make its debut at Petco Park. Millsaps’ Monster Energy Kawasaki will feature limited edition Military-themed D’Cor Visuals graphics and Bowers, Hansen, and Alldredge will line-up for the last time before the Western Region takes a break and the season heads to the East coast.
Results
Monster Energy AMA Supercross
Angel Stadium – Anaheim, California
Saturday, January 31st, 2015
450SX Main Event
Ryan Dungey, KTM
Cole Seely, Honda
Eli Tomac, Honda
Ken Roczen, Suzuki
Trey Canard, Honda
Chad Reed, Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki
Blake Baggett, Suzuki
Justin Barcia, Yamaha
Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
Josh Hill, Yamaha
Davi Millsaps, Monster Energy Kawasaki
450SX Points Standings
Ryan Dungey, KTM - 107
Ken Roczen, Suzuki - 96
Eli Tomac, Honda - 84
Trey Canard, Honda - 84
Jason Anderson, Husqvarna - 74
Justin Barcia, Yamaha - 71
Cole Seely, Honda - 67
Chad Reed, Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki - 57
Davi Millsaps, Monster Energy Kawasaki - 54
Blake Baggett, Suzuki - 54
250SX West Main Event
Cooper Webb, Yamaha
Jessy Nelson, KTM
Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha
Zach Osborne, Husqvarna
Matt Bisceglia, Honda
Shane McElrath, KTM
Josh Hansen, Motosport.com Kawasaki
Justin Hill, KTM
Alex Martin, Yamaha
Cole Martinez, Yamaha