Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Well, there you have it folks, Round 1 of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series is now in the books as the biggest race of the year took place last night in Anaheim. What began as a cool and cloudy morning at Angel Stadium, the day progressed with the fear of rain. Eventually the skies opening up multiple times throughout the late afternoon and then again in the evening. In the end, both the 250SX and 450SX main events were run with the cold rain falling and the track in less than perfect condition. While it wasn’t quite the mudder of 2005, the opening round still favoured the riders who knew how to ride when the track gets downright slippery.
In the 250 class, all Canadian eyes were on Prince George, BC’s Jess Pettis who recently signed with the Red Bull Thor KTM Team. With just a month to adapt to his new orange rocket, Pettis came into Anaheim 1 wanting to ease his way into the 2019 250SX West Series. However, after a terrific qualifying session and a solid heat race, Pettis knew that a good start in the main event could land him inside the Top 10. Given the sloppy conditions, maybe even a Top 5 finish was possible. After a race long battle with Chris Blose and Cameron McAdoo, Pettis held on courageously for a well earned 10th overall in the first 250SX West main event of 2019. Up front, the healthy and rejuvenated Colt Nichols led from start to finish to win his first ever supercross main event.
In the 450SX class, one of the most popular riders in our sport, Dean Wilson, grabbed the early lead in the main event and did his absolute best to hold off the best SX riders on the planet while he tried to take his first ever 450SX win. With the rain pouring down and the track changing by the minute, Wilson and the rest of the 450 class tried to harness the power of their big machines to keep them on two wheels. It definitely wasn’t the prettiest of main events as far as technique and style went for the top riders, but for the most part all of them made it through the first main event of the year unscathed. After 22 minutes of SX hell, Justin Barcia held on for the win, with Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac in tow. For Wilson, after his early race heroics, he held on for a very popular 4th overall in the series opener.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ6wUyrpzjE
It was without a doubt a very wild night in Anaheim for the opening round of supercross. However, for most of the riders, I believe they will wake up today and be happy that they made it through one of the toughest SX races in recent history. Now it’s on to Phoenix and Round 2 and what should be the first dry race of the year.
450 Main Event
1. Justin Barcia (Yamaha)
2. Ken Roczen (Honda)
3. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki)
4. Dean Wilson (Husqvarna)
5. Cooper Webb (KTM)
6. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha)
7. Malcolm Stewart (Honda)
8. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
9. Chad Reed (Suzuki)
10. Cole Seely (Honda)
11. Justin Brayton (Honda)
12. Blake Baggett (KTM)
13. Vince Friese (Honda)
14. Jason Anderson (Husqvarna)
15. Justin Hill (Suzuki)
16. Joey Savatgy (Kawasaki)
17. Carlen Gardner (Honda)
18. Ben Lamay (Honda)
19. Justin Bogle (KTM)
20. Ryan Breece (Yamaha)
21. Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki)
22. Kyle Chisholm (Suzuki)
250 Main Event
1. Colt Nichols (Yamaha)
2. Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha)
3. Shane McElrath (KTM)
4. RJ Hampshire (Honda)
5. Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki)
6. Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki)
7. Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki)
8. Jacob Hayes (Yamaha)
9. Chris Blose (Husqvarna)
10. Jess Pettis (KTM)
11. Cameron McAdoo (Honda)
12. Michael Mosiman (Husqvarna)
13. Martin Castelo (Suzuki)
14. Jerry Robin (KTM)
15. Enzo Lopes (Suzuki)
16. Sean Cantrell (KTM)
17. Matthew Jorgensen (KTM)
18. Bradley Lionnet (Yamaha)
19. Brandan Leith (Husqvarna)
20. Carson Brown (Husqvarna)
21. Thomas Do (Suzuki)
22. Logan Karnow (Kawasaki)
