Brent Worralls San Diego Two Supercross Race Report

Hey there friends, Brent Worrall here checking in from San Diego after round six of the Monster Energy Supercross series. Petco Park is a downtown baseball park that is very cool with a real Wrigley Field vibe to it. As for the track here this weekend, and the for many things Supercross related, there were some issues. I guess I can’t complain as after experiencing the San Diego Supercross here last year I was able to anticipate a lot of what went down leading up to Saturday night. What did go down? Well here is some of what I experienced and took in first hand.

What seems to be an ever increasing trend and titanic struggle for this series is pit parking at these downtown venues. This years San Diego Supercross saw even less parking available than last year due to a number of new high rises going up in the area. I did my best to circumnavigate the pits but unfortunately I did not get to everyone I had hoped to hook up with. I did manage to spend a fair bit of time with our Canadian boys Cole Thompson and Summerland B.C.’s Brock Leitner. Brock lined up here for his first ever Supercross in San Diego on Saturday night. I hunkered down in the Press Box at 10:30 AM Saturday and watched every inch of track walk, riders meeting and all of the practice and timed qualifiers. Being able to observe Brock Leitner and his family over the course of the last few days was not only an honour, but also very impressive. Many of you back home in Canada and anywhere else for that matter may be wondering many things about this experience. If you look at the results and see the qualifying times I’m sure many questions could come to mind? Let me answer some of them for you.

First off, many back home are quick to complain about not enough Canadians making the efforts to race Supercross etc. Brock Leitner and his family should be commended for the efforts they made to make this happen. Any of you that know the protocol for this know it is something that just does not happened overnight. The wheels for this stepping stone in the 18 year old Canadian rider with a bright future, were set in motion long ago. Also factoring in that this family has been on the road since October racing three different Arenacross Series across the continent. That’s right the continent. Starting at the Future West series in Armstrong B.C. in October and finishing up in the deep South of the U.S. with the AXTour Series. Watching Brock from my vantage point I cannot tell you enough how proud it made me feel to see him out there. He rode very smart and only pushed when he felt comfortable enough to do so. He was in the 250 C group and didn’t look out of place one bit. He put in some solid laps and only made a couple of small mistakes, one of which was a pretty good get off in the whoops. He never ended up making the night program, but what he got in experience was worth every bit of his efforts. I can also say for certain (and I’m sure the Leitner family will not argue) that none of this would have happened without the Arenacross experience Brock made immeasurable sacrifices to get this past winter. I am thinking a huge reward comes Brock’s way when the gates drop on the Rockstar Energy Drink Nationals in 2016.

Our other Canadian boy, Brigden, Ontario’s Cole Thompson had a solid round of action here in San Diego. I spent some time with Cole at Lake Elsinore earlier in the week and I know he’s working very hard through some issues that have hampered him. I will not get into details but you all by now know Cole’s shoulder is not a hundred percent.
In qualifying he looked very good all day. Infact, it was super impressive to see how smooth and confident Cole looked with every obstacle on the track. This to me was made even more impressive by the fact that the track severely lacked any type flow and Cole never struggled at all with that. I will add right now that watching timed qualifying it was evident that a good start would be needed to succeed on this track. Yeah I know its Supercross right and you always need a start. Well to me this round was the worst layout of the season bar none. The first third of the track did have flow, but it was also the slickest portion of the track and come the night show many paid for it.

After qualifying I headed down to the pits and chatted with Cole, his dad Kevin and mechanic Donk. I mentioned to Cole’s dad that I thought he looked very good and smooth out there, he agreed. Cole also told me he felt good on the track and was set for a good night. Thanks again Kevin Thompson for hooking me up with the new Justified Cultures CT-127 T’ Shirt that I will wear proudly. Meandering back through the swarms of pit partiers I swung by to have a quick chat with Mike Alessi and Vince Friese. Even though there has been no official press release yet, it has been confirmed they will race in Canada outdoors in 2016. Vince Friese had a pretty hard get off in timed qualifying in the rhythm section before the finish line jump. He was banged up pretty good and when I talked to him said his wrist was the worst. The same section also took Trey Canard and a few others down in the final timed qualifier. Before departing, and in true to her great character, Mike Alessi’s wife Danielle approached me and asked if I would be around after the races. I explained that given the circumstances of the masses and my fatigue after a long day that it may not be possible. She took me aside and gave me a special momento that I was not allowed to open or look at or share until 450 main event time. Not one to question the better half of Mike Alessi I was off to finish up my business as race time was drawing near.

Before it was back upstairs for the night show I did run into Atlas Brace and Mechanix Wear brass Brady and Rick Sheren along with Brad Mclean. They occupied the Ride 100% suite and also had the company of Ricky James and David Bailey with them for the night. Rick extended an invitation for me to come up for a visit but I declined and sent my new friend over. In my travels I’ve hooked up with another injured wheel chair bound rider who is now the brains behind the MXvsATV video game. That’s right, he designed it and he is also responsible for the weekly Kawasaki Supercross Track Map video’s. It was also fun to introduce him to riders and see their faces light up and talk about the game. Two of note being Vince Friese and ‘The Detective’ Michael Akaydin. He has also given me some copies of the game to give away on my radio show and I did get Mike Alessi to sign a copy of the game for my studio.

When the gate dropped on the night program, Cole Thompson had a great start in his qualifier. Rounding the very slick first right hander to perfection Cole was fourth for most of the race but gave up a position late to the TLD Honda of Mitch Oldenburg. This was cool to see as it validated what I saw earlier in the day. In the 250 main event the Holeshot went to Chris Alldredge on the Pro Circuit Kawasaki followed by a train of Geico Honda riders which were hard for the eye to separate. The Military Appreciation night look had Craig slightly ahead of Jimmy Decotis and Jordan Smith. Just a blanket of black and grey. Smith would suffer a pretty hard get off early and race leader Alldredge would end up pulling off with what seemed to be a mechanical. Joey Savatgy took the Pro Circuit torch to the front and one of the two red plate holders looked to be on his way to victory. What about the other red plate holder Cooper Webb? He did not get a great start but move from fourth to second quickly around Christian Craig and Jimmy Decotis. Shortly after that, Webb slid out and would have his work cut out for him. Savatgy was getting away on the front and Webb needed to get by last week’s winner Craig to keep the championship in site. Not an easy task as the only real passing opportunities came if the rider in front of you bobbled. There was a little bobbling in the whoops, but the pass Webb made on Craig in the right hander at the end of the whoops was super impressive. Both riders were stuck together exiting the apex of the tight turn and not backing away from each other. Webb prevailed and soldiered on. What an experience to see, smell and feel the electricity of such skill on a live stage.

Cole Thompson, who did not get a great start in the main charged hard throughout the 15 laps. Infact, I may have missed it but I think Cole had a problem on the first lap that saw him take an off track excursion. All good things being equal he put his head down and fought relentlessly against the speed biased track. Once again this was impressive as Cole had been battling more than just a bad shoulder. When the final flag waved, it was a solid 9th overall for the Slaton Racing KTM Fox Head Canada rider. Nice work Cole and thanks again for the Justified Cultures CT-127 ’t’ shirt Kevin, I will wear it to all the practice facilities in the next few weeks. Joey Savatgy took the win and now has a 3- point championship lead over second place finisher on the night Cooper Webb. Christian Craig who was not quite as good as he was the week before but got himself on the podium with a solid third overall.

Now would the 450 main event provide the same kind of excitement and drama that the 250 main did? Absolutely not! Personally I would have settled for a second 250 main if given the choice. Bold statement maybe but I am sticking to it. The 450 main event was as anti climactic of a Supercross main event that I have ever seen. For those big bikes to maintain traction on the ultra slick surface and manufacture passing opportunities in Arenacross like tight confines was almost impossible. When the gate dropped it was none other than the ‘Machine’ KTM Racing USA’s Ryan Dungey busting out the holeshot and he rode as expected, flawlessly for 20 laps. Cole Seely who also looked good all day on his Honda started second and stayed there. Trey Canard was third early and made Eli Tomac’s main event a living nightmare. Well sort of. Eli could have done himself a solid by getting a better start, but this is not something new for Tomac. Trey did not ride a wide bike or anything like that but it was just that difficult to pass unless the guy in front of you made a mistake. Trey who won the main event here last year looked decent at round 6 after missing a couple of races. I guess this is about where I add that if Jason Anderson had not made a few nice moves to get to fourth and a hard charging Ken Roczen had not gone from 6th to third; this main event would have resembled the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’

For this race fan, the San Diego track proved to be the most boring of the series so far this season. The most exciting pass of the race was Husky rider Jason Anderson on Trey Canard. But man it was painful watching Eli Tomac lap after lap follow Trey Canard and try to make a move that just was not there. I won’t go as far as to say that Trey was holding Eli up, but after Roczen got around Canard he was able to inch closer to Cole Seely. In a 20 lap main event that was 15 laps too long for me, the podium story would be Ryan Dungey with the win and inching away in the points lead. Cole Seely a solid well deserved second, followed by a very fast and fluid RCH mounted Ken Roczen. Is there still time enough for these guys to catch Ryan Dungey? I guess there is but man if I am Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson or Ken Roczen I think I would have been a lot happier if someone other than Ryan Dungey took the win here Saturday night in San Diego. Off to Dallas we go…………………………….

Before I head over to Pala Raceway to watch some top secret outdoor testing by a certain Canadian team, I almost forgot something. That little package that Danielle Alessi gave me contained a ’T’ Shirt commemorating Mike Alessi’s 100th main event start. Quite an accomplishment for a rider who has literally given his blood, sweat and tears to this sport. Thanks again Danielle and I know Mike will not mind me saying, behind every good man is an even better woman, thanks again.

‘Airmail Out’