Next race for the 250 West and 450 Supercross riders: Oakland - next weekend.
This is the end of VAVEL's LIVE coverage of round 3 of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross series from Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California. Thank you for following the racing action LIVE here.
My final analysis of the racing action from Anaheim: Reed taking action on Canard after the accident was uncalled for; Canard had no other option, as he simply did not expect Reed's line to change from the outside of the rhythm section to the inside of the corner. Canard, after being ran into the tough block on the front straight and falling hard off his Honda for the second time in less than a minute, simply stood back up, and calmly picked the Honda back up. His reaction was very, very much more applaudable and definitely respectable. Reed's, on the other hand - not so much. Trey Canard's "nice guy" attitude wins him some points with the fans in this situation, I think.
The 450SX class' main event came right after the 250 main event's celebrations came to a close. At gate drop, it was KTM rider Andrew Short who took command of the race, but not complete command. He was pressured by Ken Roczen, Ryan Dungey, and Eli Tomac - and it wasn't long until a mistake came from him -- a BIG one. Short came up way short (no pun intended), and was thrown off the bike - at the front of the pack, making the accident extra dangerous. He was very shaken up, dropping to his knees in an effort to catch his breath. Albertson ran into the front fender of Short's KTM machine as it lay on the ground on the berm of the corner, breaking the plastic and causing him to fall as well. Racing continued, with Roczen holding a lead that peaked at around four seconds over other KTM rider, Ryan Dungey. Closer to the halfway point of the 450 main event, Reed jumped to the inside of the end of a rhythm section, planning on taking a tight line. Problem: Honda rider Trey Canard realized this when it was already too late, and hit the back of Reed's bike while still midair. They both fell, and Reed was surprisingly calm... so we thought. Reed was having his best race in a long time, and it was just ruined. Both riders got quickly to their bikes and continued... for less than 100 yards. Reed, while taking his time pulling a tear off from his goggles, ran Canard very wide, taking an obviously ridiculous line on the front straight toward turn one - running Canard right into a tough block! The crowd collectively reacted, and Canard simply got up and continued. Reed himself continued - until he was soon after shown the black flag, being instructed by the AMA to pull off the track. After this controversial incident, the main event continued, with Eli Tomac doing a quad that no other rider was doing - until he started losing time to leaders Roczen and Dungey. Dungey continued to manhandle his factory KTM, but couldn't get closer than three seconds away from Roczen, who went on to win his second race of the year - just like Cooper Webb did in the 250 West main event that preceded this final race of the night.
In the 250SX West class in Anaheim Saturday night, it was Tyler Bowers who stole to the front; it wasn't too long until he had the rest of the 250 West class chasing after him, although a good majority of the opening stages of the main event were devoted to his effort to gain positions to get to the lead. Bowers made his incredible surge to the front - but he wasn't the only one. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't aware of this until the second to last corner of the race, when young Yamaha rider Cooper Webb shot to the inside of the corner, making contact with Bowers, and, as gently as could be (in final-lap-of-the-main-event terms), punted the #911 Kawasaki into the Thor tough blocks, off the track, and onto the ground. Webb finished out the last fifth of the track inside Angel Stadium, taking the win - his second of the season. The track was indeed the 23rd rider, claiming plenty of riders as the night itself was loaded with crashes - from not just the 250 class. Young-gun Cooper Webb will now spend the week and travel to Oakland as the 250 West class points leader.
Analysis of the night's action from Anaheim begins now. Starting with the 250 West class...
Coverage of round 3 of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Series has come to a close on Fox Sports 1 - but I'm not done yet. I'll have analysis for both the 250 West and 450 Supercross classes coming up. If you followed along tonight, let me know personally on Twitter (above). Thank you for following VAVEL's first ever LIVE of the Monster Energy Supercross Series!
Eli Tomac says he's "somewhat satisfied" with his performance tonight after his journey to the main event through the semi.
Ryan Dungey finishes second. "I think we're getting better every weekend . . . I was really pushing for that win . . . that first lap was chaos."
Reed came out as the checkers flew... with a few words for Trey Canard. Oh boy.
Roczen launches off the finish line jump, takes the win at Anaheim 2! Points leader Ken Roczen is undefeated in Anaheim so far in 2015! He extends the points lead. He joins 250 West rider Cooper Webb in becoming a two-time winner in 2015.
Final lap of racing in Anaheim. Roczen has made it look easy - all season long really.
2 to go.
Riders that are unfortunately out of the race: Alessi, Grant, Reed, Short
Top 10 with 5 to go in Anaheim:
1. Roczen
2. Dungey
3. Tomac
4. Barcia
5. Tickle
6. Seely
7. Anderson
8. Wilson
9. Millsaps
10. Baggett
Blake Baggett down at the same spot at the end of the whoops where Brayton fell earlier in the semi (Brayton broke his collarbone). He was trying to put a pass on Broc Tickle. Roczen with a 4.7 second lead on Dungey. Only the top 14 are on the lead lap.
BREAKING NEWS: Chad Reed is black flagged after his move running Canard all the way off the track. Reed pulls off the track as he was instructed to do by the AMA.
Past the halfway point of the final race tonight.
A great race ruined for Reed, very tough break. He hasn't had many good races going for him like that in a long time. His frustration can be justified - not so much that move on Canard, running him waaayy way wide. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets in trouble for that one.
OH MY! Canard jumps into the back of Reed hard, they get back up, and Reed runs him STRAIGHT OFF THE TRACK! Canard into the tough blocks and over the bars. Canard simply didn't anticipate Reed jumping to the inside, and was trying to jump to the inside to make the pass. Reed was VERY frustrated and ran Canard straight into a tough block on the front straight, whilst pulling a tear off. Was actually a funny scene - but very unfair for Canard.
Top 5 on lap 7 of 20 of 450 main event from Anaheim:
1. Roczen
2. Dungey
3. Tomac
4. Reed
5. Canard
Reed still runs in podium position, but Tomac is there battling with him, with the desire to take third from the Australian. Tomac goes by #22 of Reed for third.
Replay of Andrew Short's crash is very rough. Hope he is ok. He is out of the race. Roczen with a five second lead over second place Dungey.
Top 5 on lap 3 of 20 of 450 main event:
1. Roczen
2. Millsaps
3. Reed
4. Dungey
5. Tomac
Andrew Short with a really hard hit on a HUGE crash! Albertson collected. Short drops to his knees, shaken up. WOW.
Gate drop! Holeshot goes to: Andrew Short!
Elbows up, attitude on.
20 laps - 22 riders.
Main event time. 30 second board up. Barcia lined up all the way to the left of the starting line - let's see how that works out for him.
450 class doing their sight lap before the final race in Anaheim - until Anaheim 3 in two weeks, of course. Nonetheless, the final race tonight. Any predictions for the race? I'd love to hear them; my Twitter is above. I expect strong starts from Dean Wilson, Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, and Trey Canard. Ryan Dungey too, he's been great all night.
Did you know there's still a 450 Supercross main event to go? Going to be another battle-heavy race. I'll be typing my fingers off covering it for you. Hope you're enjoying this LIVE Supercross coverage of round 3 of 2015 in Anaheim!
So that's back to back wins for Cooper Webb. He leads the 250 West class in the points heading to round 4 of 2015: Oakland, California.
Hopefully Bowers doesn't hold TOO much of a grudge against Cooper Webb for that. Was simply great racing. Wow... Bowers just said he expected a pass like that. He is in good spirits, and fist bumbed Webb. "I got to the lead, then rode like a little girl." Bowers' words exactly.
Webb: "I kept going for those last couple laps . . . pretty sure that was the fastest I've ever hit whoops."
That pass on Bowers by Webb was absolutely incredible.
Webb's pass on Bowers came in the second to last corner before the checkered flag. He shot to the inside, pushing Bowers to the outermost part of the track leading up to the final triple jump on the track, but Bowers ran into the tough blocks, the front wheel came up, and he fell to his right into the tough blocks, just before the face of the triple jump. A tough tough break for the Kawasaki rider in his first full Supercross season. He had the main event win in the bag, but Webb was on a charge there.
WEBB TO THE LEAD, BOWERS INTO THE TOUGH BLOCKS! A minorly aggressive move, but totally called for, WEBB WINS IN ANAHEIM! A huge statement by the young Yamaha rider - he becomes the 250 West points leader!
White flag. Here we go. Can Tyler Bowers hang on for his first win of 2015? Or will Webb catch up? Webb is so close!
Webb is 3.1 seconds behind Bowers with only 3 laps to go. The Yamaha rider has been fast though. If Bowers goes on to win, he will have the points lead going into round 4 in Oakland.
Update on rookie Alldredge after scary crash: he is up, ok, and cheering on his team.
5 to go. Bowers, Webb, Hill, Osborne, Nelson still the top 5.
Hill and Bowers a second slower than Webb's last lap was. KAWASKI DOWN - Alldredge! After an incredible start for the rookie, looks like a HARD crash, oh my, heck of a ride he just took. Came up short on a jump at full speed just before the finish line, then had throttle twisted as he was hanging off the bike. Bowers, Hill, Webb, Osborne, Nelson the top 5.
NELSON CRASHES HARD! Comes up a little short on the over-under jump, loses control, and hard into the tough blocks! He drops to 6th, Bowers to the lead. Hill second, Osborne third. What a tough break for Nelson.
Bowers going incredibly fast. Very aggressive. Nelson, Bowers, Hill, Alldredge, Osborne the top five on lap 6 of 15.
Nelson has given himself a 3 second gap back to second position of Alldredge. A great ride for Alldredge, the rookie! Bowers on a CHARGE!
Nelson to the lead! Osborne and rookie Alldredge second. Hill and Hansen and Bowers the next few.
Gate drop on the first main of the night! Osborne with the holeshot, Nelson right there! Nelson pressuring hard for the lead!
15 laps - 22 riders. The 250 West main event race is about to be gate drop.
Who's ready for some main event action? 250 West class preparing to kick off tonight's main events in Anaheim.
Checkered flag on final race before main events begin. Weimer took the win.
BREAKING NEWS: I mentioned at the end of the last semi for the 450s that Brayton crashed hard into the face of a jump on the final lap. He has broken his collarbone. Very bad luck for the BTO Sports KTM rider.
Albertson, Weimer, Chisholm, Schmidt, Lamay. Only the top four go through to the main, so Lamay is one spot out.
450s are back in the gate. Here is everyone who hasn't yet qualified for the main. Four more going through - gate drop! Weimer, Albertson, Schmidt the top three.
450 Supercross LCQ in just a few minutes. Thank you for following round 3 of the Monster Energy Supercross Series here on VAVEL tonight.
I expect the track to be rough and heavily rutted come... the midpoint of the 250 main. It'll be extra challenging for the 450 class. Those mains aren't too far away; only the 450 LCQ remains before the 250 West riders are on track for 15 laps with points on the line.
Baggett runs 6th, battling hard with Albertson. Goes by him for the final transfer spot for the main; he needed that. Canard, Grant, Wilson, Metcalfe, Baggett to the main from 450 Semi 2. All others from this semi and the one before it will head to the 450 LCQ.
2 to go. Battling for final transfer spot(s) continue.
Canard, Grant, Albertson, Wilson, Metcalfe the riders who would advance to the main from this 450 Semi 2. Wilson now around Albertson for third.
Dean Wilson very close to the wall while going under the bridge, and comes up short on the huge triple jump that follows. Could've been disastrous, but he only ended up losing time. Runs fourth.
More big names in 450 Semi 2... Grant, Wilson, Weimer, Canard, lots more. Gate drop. Going to be a great one. Grant with the holeshot. Canard to the lead.
Couple crashes in that 450 semi 1. Brayton crashed hard at the end of the whoops on the final lap trying to take the final transfer spot from Nick Wey. He fell hard right into the face of a jump. Another crash in the section leading up to the finish line jump forced Barcia off the track early in the race.
Broc Tickle wins - problems for Barcia! Here are the top 5 going to the main:
1. Tickle
2. Tomac
3. Barcia
4. Clason
5. Wey
Tickle, Clason, Wey, Barcia, Tomac all in positions to head to the main event. Third fourth and fifth engaging in a battle. Barcia into second.
Rider comes up way short on the triple! Noren was in a position to go to the main but lost it after that huge crash. Bike was still in the middle of the track at the landing of the huge jump - very dangerous. Racing continues.
450 semi 1 gate drop. Holeshot: Clason. Tickle second. Barcia was dead last in first corner! Back of the pack for him! He's got work to do or he won't be racing anymore tonight.
450s hit the track again next. Final few races leading up to the 250 and then 450 mains.
Politelli wins the LCQ. Powell, Leib, and Jelderda round out the final four headed to the 250 main.
White has fourth position snatched from him by Jelderda. White has never been in a main, while Jelderda hasn't yet been in one in 2015.
Top 4 wil be the final additions to the 250 West main event: Politelli, Powell, Leib, White.
Quick race, only four laps. Siminoe was second off the start then fell. He won't be headed to the main event tonight.
Gate drop for 250 last chance qualifer. Politelli with the holeshot. Already pulling away!
Heat races are over. Jeff Emig of Fox Sports 1 says that everybody was "playing nice." He expects the racing from here on out to get a bit rougher on this challenging track inside Angel Stadium.
The theme of Alessi's interview after that heat race was that he doesn't believe he's ready to beat "the elite" Roczen and Tomac, and that he is happy with a top 10.
Alessi, Seely, Short, Anderson straight to the main event. Between the two 450 heats, the semi races for the 450s will be stacked with big-name riders. Same for the 250 class.
2 to go. Everyone chasing Alessi on the #800. Wilson 6th after the altercation with Barcia; Canard 9th. Remember Canard actually fell while Wilson was just stuck behind them. Dean Wilson ran into and partially over Canard's leg as Trey was trying to pick the bike up.
Alessi running very fast after a good start; he has gapped four seconds between Seely and himself.
Alessi, Seely, Short, Anderson the top 4; only the top 4 go straight to the main in the 450 class, since they have the extra semi races.
Barcia goes down and takes down Canard and Dean Wilson gets stuck behind them! Crazy battling, Barcia tried to go on the inside of them and lost traction and fell.
Gate drop for 450 heat 2. Barcia is in this one; looked great in practice. Andrew Short gets the holeshot. Alessi takes the lead. Cole Seely and Wilson 3 & 4.
450 heat 2 in the gates.
Dungey in his interview: "Starts are feeling on point, just trying to run some good laps."
Checkered. Top four going straight to the main from 450 heat 1:
1. Dungey
2. Roczen
3. Millsaps
4. Reed
Less than two laps to go, Dungey leads with Roczen just a little ways back. White flag.
Dungey is manhandling the new factory KTM machine. He says it's so comfortable to ride. 10 whole pounds lighter than the previous bike - exactly meeting the weight limit. Any lighter, and it wouldn't be legal.
Roczen by Grant and into third.
Top five on lap 2 of 6 of 450 heat 1:
1. Dungey
2. Millsaps
3. Grant
4. Roczen
5. Reed
Gate drop for first 450 race of the night! Josh Grant with the holeshot! Orange KTM of Dungey to the lead. Ryan Dungey was fastest in practice.
Weston Peick will be going back to surgery on his foot after chipping the screw that was put in. It'll be a couple weeks until we see him back. He had his career best 4th position last weekend.
Remember when Richardson fell on the first lap of that heat race? He fought back to 9th - he takes the final transfer spot to the main event. Time for two heat races for the 450 class.
Shane Mcelrath in his interview: "It's just the right time, that's what we've been waiting on."
Bowers pressuring Mcelrath hard in the final stages of heat 2 for the 250s. Final lap - Mcelrath wins his first ever heat race. Huge confidence boost for him.
Top nine, 2 to go in 250 West heat 2:
1. Mcelrath
2. Bowers
3. Hill
4. Osborne
5. Plessinger
6. Champion
7. T. Hahn
8. Breece
9. Horban
Huge triple right as soon as you go under the over-under bridge. These 250 bikes really need to twist the throttle to clear it. Bowers by Osbourne, taking third position now.
Bowers gets around Hill - Hill right back after him. Great battle for third.
Gate drop. clean through the first corner. Osbourne second, holeshot goes to Richardson - who falls after contact coming out of a corner, second to last position now. Oops. Contact was with #911 Tyler Bowers - who has had some dirty riding already in his first full Supercross season.
Should be a very competitive heat race.
Next up: 250 West heat 2. Lots of the front runners in the smaller bike class were in that heat 1 - Tyler Bowers, Zach Osbourne, and Justin Hill are in this heat though. 30 second board.
Here are the top nine that are going straight to the main event from that first 250 heat race:
1. Webb
2. Nelson
3. Hansen
4. Stewart
5. Alldredge
6. Bell
7. Martin
8. Costlessberg
9. Martinez
First heat race win of 2015 for Cooper Webb of Yamaha. Phoenix winner wins the opening race of the night in Anaheim.
Malcolm Stewart is working on catching Hansen, who runs third. Remember the top nine in the 250 heat races go straight to the main event.
Lots of high-flying in Angel Stadium tonight; BIG jumps! The over-under jump/tunnel and large triple jumps tonight.
Hansen loses second position to Webb after making a mistake.
Zach Bell with the holeshot! Jessy Nelson to the lead, Cooper Webb (last week's winner) runs third on this first lap of the night. Track looks incredible.
30 second board away for the first race of the night. Gate about to be dropped for 250 West heat one.
Kawasaki Track Map on Fox Sports 1's coverage just was on; over-under bridge was highlighted as a major feature of the track, as it indeed is.
Last week's winner in Phoenix, Eli Tomac, finished 20th two weeks ago at the first round of the season - on the same dirt they're racing on tonight in Angel Stadium.
10 different riders have been on the podium and 7 different riders have been heat race winners so far this year (through two races).
First up for the racing will be the 250 West class Heat 1.
Live ceremonies have concluded. Those fireworks are over; onto the racing!
Watching live practice from Anaheim Stadium on supercrosslive.com. I'll have an analysis on this in the upcoming hours, with the race starting at 10:00 PM EST. Stay tuned.
Also, Martin Davalos will be racing a Husqvarna machine in the 450 class tonight.
This just in: Weston Peick, 4th place finisher from Phoenix last weekend, won't be racing tonight after injuring his foot in practice.
There are plenty of riders within both classes who are capable of winning tonight in Anaheim - but let's look at riders who haven't been so hot in 2015:
Justin Barcia: he fought back to 11th after a bad start and a first lap crash in Phoenix last weekend.
Justin Brayton: simply struggling to find a good rhythm yet in 2015. During the middle stages of the main event in Phoenix, he fell down timing and scoring charts - not sure what happened though. He ended up finishing 15th last Saturday night at Chase Field.
Chad Reed: he's taken 10th in each of the two main events so far in 2015. Everyone, including himself, had better hopes and expectations than that. He doesn't seem to be riding with full intensity, in my eyes.
Dean Wilson: had the third best time in qualifying last weekend, but struggled when it came to be main event time.
It's worth noting that the teams of Monster Energy Supercross have a lot of usable data on the dirt in Anaheim, as it is raced on three times in the early parts of the year. Since this is the second race in Anaheim this year (Anaheim 2), the dirt has been sitting inside the stadium for a while now, causing it to harden up. This could make it a bit more slippery tonight.
The track inside Angel Stadium looks fantastic; there is actually an over-under feature of the track. The track goes under a bridge on the floor level of the stadium, while the top of the bridge is the landing of a double jump. So far in 2015, the tracks have been well-made and challenging; it is often said that the track itself is the 23rd rider in the gate.
Costless practices for the 250 West and 450 Supercross classes have begun in Anaheim.
Not too long until practice gets underway for the third round of the season - the second of the year at Angel Stadium. The times in practice will give us a better idea of who will be strong come the actual racing tonight at 10:00pm Eastern time.
Davi Millsaps finished ahead of Husqvarna rider Jason Anderson. Anderson fought his way to a 6th position after completing the first of 20 laps of the main event in 14th place. He was one of many riders who fought through the race, making up positions; it was a common theme last weekend in the second round of racing.
In the 450 class in Phoenix last weekend, two phenomenal battles took place for podium positions. Ryan Dungey won his battle with Yamaha's Weston Peick, taking the final podium spot. The battle at the front was between Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac, with Tomac taking the win - his first ever in the 450 Supercross class.
Cooper Webb took to the front of the field after a great start. Jessy Nelson, winner of the first main event of the New Year itself (250 West in Anaheim 1), got a strong start in the main event in Phoenix, taking his first ever main event win on a 250 Supercross bike.
Both winners of the most recent round of racing, the second round of the year last weekend in Phoenix at Chase Field, were first time winners in their class (Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac).
First, the four riders (two from each class) who have won main events so far in 2015:
Anaheim 1 (round 1) winners:
250 West: Jessy Nelson
450SX: Ken Roczen
Phoenix (round 2) winners:
250 West: Cooper Webb
450SX: Eli Tomac
VAVEL USA's coverage of the third round of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Series begins here with an insightful preview of the racing action tonight. While the racing unfolds tonight, I'll have lap by lap analysis, predictions, statistics, interesting insight, and more.