Monster Energy® Kawasaki Motors to Triple Crown Sweep in Detroit

2019-02-25 07:53
Racing returned to the Motor City this weekend for Round 8 of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, where Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner stole the show by winning five out of the six Triple Crown Main Events. Forkner's teammate Martin Davalos brought home another top-5 finish overall in the 250SX class. In the 450SX class, Tomac's teammate Joey Savatgy was in contention for another top-5 finish but a tip over in the third main event set him back to eighth place overall.

The last time the supercross series stopped in Detroit, it was the No.3 Kawasaki of Tomac who dominated the competition and was in the middle of one of the hottest streaks of his career winning five races in a row. On Saturday, it was no secret early on that he was once again feeling that dominant, as he was the fastest in all of his qualifying sessions.

In Main Event 1, Tomac was a man on a mission who was not going to be stopped as he put his head down and passed 10 riders on his way to victory. In Main Event 2, Tomac made quick work of the competition and once again found the checkered flag first. Going into Main Event 3, Tomac had a six-position cushion, but after a bad start he quickly found himself on the outside looking in on an overall podium position. Tomac once again charged forward where he would pass up to sixth place, and finished on top of the podium with the Triple Crown victory. This marks Tomac's third career win in Detroit and third career Triple Crown overall victory.

The Detroit track layout played favorites to good starters, which is something Savatgy has proven to be. Savatgy started his day off by qualifying in fourth heading into the night show. Gate pick would be crucial for each Main Event of the Triple Crown race format. Savatgy did not get the jump he wanted in Main Event 1 but in the other two main events he put his KX™450 inside the top-3 off of the gate. In the second main event Savatgy held off the competition and joined his teammate Tomac on the podium with a third place finish. However, a late crash in the third main event would drastically alter Savatgy's overall points position on the night. Savatgy finished with a 8-3-11 score which gave him eighth overall.

Ford Field located in downtown Detroit, Michigan is not set up for the traditional pit party that is usually featured at most supercross rounds, so the teams lined the street and set up in an unconventional format. Furthermore due to it being a Triple Crown race most teams sent two bikes through tech inspection making it even more difficult to house the spare race bikes in the confined area. The Monster Energy Kawasaki crew opted to pit off the back of the semi’s loading gate, while the Monster Energy/Pro-Circuit/Kawasaki team elected to move inside the stadium into a storage area along with many other privateers.



#3 Eli Tomac
1st Place
#17 Joey Savatgy
8th Place

“Today was just one of those days where everything clicked. Starting in practice and qualifying with having the fastest times in both sessions. In the main events, I was able to go forward through the pack the whole time which was good and other than my start in the third main event, my whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team and I put in a lot of good work this week and it paid off. I am really pleased with how tonight went. We gained some valuable championship points and will continue to keep charging forward."

- Eli Tomac


“Tonight’s overall result doesn’t reflect how great I felt and my riding today. I qualified pretty good and in the first main, I just didn't get out of the gate quick enough which put me in a hole. I was pleased to bounce back in the second main and get on the podium with a third, and at one point in the third main event I was challenging for an overall podium but a small mistake ended up costing me. We will regroup this week and come out swinging in Atlanta which is kind of like a home-town race for me."

- Joey Savatgy

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