With 12 rounds now complete on the 2015 calendar for Monster Energy Supercross, a more clear picture of who will "be there" in the points standings come the Las Vegas finale is beginning to form. With Factory KTM riders Marvin Musquin (250 East) and Ryan Dungey (450 Supercross) being victorious in the last handful of races, they are the two riders with the upper hand at the time being. Musquin has dominated the 250 East group ever since the 250 West opening sector of the season began to take its break; he has only not won one main event - where he finished second instead. Ryan Dungey, in the 450 class, has won every night that Musquin has ever since the 250 East riders' season began. With parallel wins for the KTM riders since the east leg of the schedule began, and since Dungey has only finished off the podium in one race this year (fourth, Anaheim 1), KTM is looking to be in a fantastic position in both classes of Supercross competition as the final few races are coming up. 

As the series rolled into Ford Field of Detroit, Michigan, Marvin Musquin had a hefty lead in the 250 East points, coming off three consecutive wins. In the main event Saturday night in Detroit, Musquin didn't get one of his greatest starts of the year. Racing hard on the difficult track, it wasn't until lap 6 that Musquin found himself in second place - having completed the opening lap in sixth. With Martin Davalos and R.J. Hampshire going down, Musquin picked up two positions, narrowly missing the crash himself. When the checkered flag flew, Musquin settled with a comfortable second position, admitting that the track was difficult for him. 

I had to be safe and make some good passes and then I finally saw Justin up front and I thought, ‘oh boy, tonight is going to be tough to win,'" said Musquin. "But when you win three races in a row and four out of five, then second place is hard to take. But I have to be happy, I was not too confident on that track.”

As Musquin mentioned, it was Geico Honda rider Justin Bogle at the front, leading the race on the difficult track that even ventured up into the seats of Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions of the NFL. Bogle got off to a great start and set the pace of the race at the front. After 15 laps, he took his first win of 2015.

After a DNF with just six laps to go in Indianapolis, Joey Savatgy of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rounded out the podium in third position, just behind Musquin. 

Last week was a hard pill to swallow,” said Savatgy. “These are dirt bikes and nothing is guaranteed and those things sometimes happen. I’m just glad we were able to come out tonight and put it on the podium. We’re back on track now, and my Monster Energy Kawasaki got a great start and here we are.”

After winning heat races and the main event, it was a perfect night for the Geico Honda squad in Detroit. After the checkered flag and podium interviews, it was time for the 450s to take to the track for the final race of the night.


For the 450 bikes, Ryan Dungey immediately took to the lead - but not for long. Geico Honda's Eli Tomac perfectly executed a difficult quad jump into a right hander that preceded whoops and the only triple on the track, putting on a nice block-pass on the No. 5 KTM of Dungey, putting himself in the lead early in the race. The quad was a hot topic during the night of racing, and it proved worth it for Tomac as he found himself in the lead on lap five of the 20 lap main event. Increasing his led to nearly 12 seconds as the final 15 laps went on, Tomac went on to win his second main event of 2015, having last won in round two at Phoenix. 

It's been quite an up and down season for the No. 3 Geico Honda rider, having crashed in Anaheim, then coming back the next weekend to win Phoenix. Commonly the fastest rider in practice before the racing at night, Tomac has not been able to get it done in the main events consistently this year. 

There have been multiple races where I’ve been the fastest guy for one lap or in the heat race,” Tomac said. “But for the main events, I’ve struggled, and Dungey’s been the fastest for the 20 laps. For me to finally put all 20 laps together and click those fast laps off, it’s refreshing.”

Since Bogle won the 250 main event, it was a perfect night for Geico Honda. 

It’s been a long time coming,” Tomac says of his win. “It was just a day that was clicking for me from the beginning. I was fastest in qualifying, I didn’t win the heat race but we got it done. Ten rounds is a long time between wins when you want something so bad. It’s nice to get it."

Despite finishing second, Ryan Dungey has a 67-point lead. 

It is majorly worth mentioning that Trey Canard and Jake Weimer were involved in a scary crash in the first semi race. After the second corner of the track in Detroit was a second rhythm section, which is where the accident took place. Weimer took a different rhythm than Canard, not jumping where Canard was jumping, right behind him. Canard, in the air, had nowhere to go, with his only option being striking the back of Weimer mid air. This sent Weimer into the face of the following jump. Jake Weimer had his jersey torn where Canard's front tire met his back, and plenty of cuts on his chin and face. Canard fell onto his left side. Both riders were believed to have sustained arm injuries; this was assumed moments after the crash occurred. Trey Canard of Team Honda suffered a fractured lower left arm, although the extent was unknown at the time of the crash and when he left the scene in a mule to the Asterisk Mobile Medical United - with his left arm in a sling. Weimer's injuries were, unfortunately, more serious. He suffered a concussion, a mild pneumothorax in his left lung, bruised vocal chords, a large gash on his chin, and a broken adam's apple, as well as a broken right humorous, which he has already undergone surgery to have it plated. Both riders' seasons have been cut short by the horrifying crash. 

The next race on the calendar is March 28 in St. Louis. Watch for a preview before the race on Saturday, as well as a LIVE that will allow you to follow the racing action with minute-to-minute updates of every race from the heat races to the main events. A recap will also come after the checkered flags.  

Results from Detroit for both classes, then points standings heading into St. Louis:

250 East - Detroit Results

  1. Justin Bogle (Honda)
  2. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
  3. Joey Savatgy (Kawasaki)
  4. Jeremy Martin (Yamaha)
  5. Anthony Rodriguez (Yamaha)
  6. Colt Nichols (Honda)
  7. Kyle Cunningham (Honda)
  8. Mithell Oldenburg (Yamaha)
  9. James Decotis (Honda)
  10. Jace Owen (Honda)

450 Supercross - Detroit Results

  1. Eli Tomac (Honda)
  2. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
  3. Cole Seely (Honda)
  4. Chad Reed (Kawasaki)
  5. Davi Millsaps (Kawasaki)
  6. Josh Grant (Kawasaki)
  7. Broc Tickle (Suzuki)
  8. Blake Baggett (Suzuki)
  9. Andrew Short (KTM)
  10. Justin Brayton (KTM)

250 East - Points Standings

  1. Marvin Musqui - 144
  2. Justin Bogle - 131
  3. Jeremy Martin - 103
  4. Joey Savatgy - 93
  5. R.J. Hampshire - 84

450 Supercross - Points Standings

  1. Ryan Dungey - 271
  2. Trey Canard - 204
  3. Eli Tomac - 194
  4. Cole Seely - 180
  5. Chad Reed - 170

Follow the Twitter account of the Racing section of VAVEL: @RacingOnVAVEL

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Aaron Durant
Eighteen-year-old aspiring motorsports journalist. I lead The Apex as its editor-in-chief. Read my work at TheApex.racing.