Supercross heats up Ford Field in Detroit

Detroit is a mainstay in the Supercross schedule with it being third all time in the number of rounds hosted. This year the series visited the motor city about a month earlier than usual. With this the weather has been different and that led to the dirt being wetter which translated to a sticker and ruttier track than a normal Detroit round. This led to some interesting racing and conditions that needed to be navigated in late race scenarios. The stadium was pretty full with a bit over 52,000 in attendance which was mentioned in the post race press conference. Even without a fan fest the crowd showed up early to watch practice and qualifying the morning before the 3pm race start.

The main story lines were getting the first look at the 250 East coast class and will anyone in the 450 class start to show any dominance and step out as the championship favorite. The televised coverage was on the main NBC channel which dictated the earlier start time and also the change in race schedule. We saw the 450 class heats run first and the 450 main go last. I expect this was to use the top talent to grab the audiences attention right away and then make sure to keep them all the way to the end. As a fan it felt weird but really did not affect anything. As a rider only Sexton mentioned that the break between the heats and main felt long but was not an issue.

250 Supercross start — Photo Credit: N. Suhr

450 Class

Most might call this the first week we are getting back to normal racing after the first four rounds were Anaheim 1, then two mud races and A2 being a triple crown race. Everyone was glad to have normal conditions and see how the racing shook out and they did not disappoint. In qualifying we saw Jett Lawrence, Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton, Eli Tomac, and Ken Roczen make up the top five. With the exception of Anderson and Plessinger these are the title contenders current of which both were still in the top 10 qualifying.

We saw Plessinger grab a heat 1 win with some help of a Webb tip over in the sand section, He was looking fast all weekend and the crowd went wild seeing him grab the W. In heat 2 Jett ran away with the win and a last turn pass by Roczen over Anderson let him steal away second place.

In the main event we saw Jett grab the holeshot and lead wire to wire for his second win of the year and the first rider to get a repeat win this season. He did have Sexton hand close to him for first half of the race and then built a bigger gap that allowed him to remain safe with a couple of near accidents that he was able to avoid going down on. In the press conference he mentioned them both and thankful that he was able to stay upright and keep charging. Chase mentioned he picked up on some of Jett’s lines and was trying to mount a late race comeback with around 5 minutes left but a mishap in the whoops caused him to move into preservation mode and be happy with a comfortable second place finish. Koczen continues to look strong and was running ninth on the start and quickly worked his way into third on the seventh lap.

450 Results

Jett Lawrence
Chase Sexton
Ken Roczen

The points standings continue to shuffle and remain close still with five rounds completed. Will watch the next couple of rounds and see if anyone starts to build momentum and a points lead.

450 Points Standings

Chase Sexton (98)
Jett Lawrence (-1)
Aaron Plessinger (-2)
Cooper Webb (-6)
Jason Anderson (-14)

250 Class

The 250 East class has a pretty exciting out look with a good group of veterans looking to prove they are ready to win and a stacked group of rookies. We also get the entrance of Triumph bring another manufacturer to the sport and a team with two athletes (Swoll and Ferry). Everyone got their first look at the group on Friday during the press day session. Unfortunately Jett Reynolds had a crass on Friday and broke his collarbone leaving his east racing debut in question.

The Pro Circuit Kawasaki team has a strong three rider team with all of the riders having a number of injuries over the past few seasons. All of which have shown their speed and ability to win but need to stay off the ground and health to prove they are capable. The Stay Yamaha team also bring a strong team with Deegan, Bennick, and Romano.

The heat races saw McAdoo top Deegan and Vialle in heat one for the win. Haiden got close to Cameron on the last lap with a bobble at the end of the whoops derailed his last minute charge for the lead. In heat two we saw Forker grab a holeshot and take the win with Bennick and Brown just behind.

In the main event we saw Hymas grab the holeshot only to have Forkner grab the lead quickly and runaway and lead the rest of the race taking the win. On the start entering the first turn a huge crash took out around half the field with bikes tumbling, sending Tom Vialle flying through the air and taking out other bikes. The crash also forced a number of riders off the track and causing Evan Ferry to hit the wall and bang his head. Several of the bikes were tangled together and took over a lap to get them apart and going again. The crash caused Deegans handlebars to get bent leaving him in dead last but he was able to limp his way up to sixteenth place by the finish salvaging a few points. Forkner showed that his change in his off season program has paid immediate results with a great start and wins in the heat race and main event. The unfortunet crash left several top contenders a lap down or with bike damage effectively removing them from contention for the night. We look forward to Texas when we will see the east riders again to see how Deegan, Vialle, and McAdoo fair against the Detroit podium athletes.

250 Results

Austin Forkner
Max Anstie
Daxton Bennick

250 Points Standings

Austin Forkner (25)
Max Anstie (-3)
Daxton Bennick (-5)
Coty Schock (-7)
Pierce Brown (-8)

Midwest Athletes

With the race taking place in the central region we expected a few additional riders to show up in Detroit and they did not disappoint. We had at least 17 riders from the mid states and if we expand that to include Texas it would easily eclipse 20 athletes. Lets talk about some of the bigger stories. First Austin Forkner after years of bad luck and injuries he comes out of the gates swinging and nails a win in both his heat race and the main event. We can only hope his off season changes stick and he can finally show his true potential. Next we grow tough and hearty people here in the midwest with long cold winters and hard work. Cameron McAdoo did not disappoint us here with getting collected in the first turn crash, he could have easily mailed it in and gave up. But with his pants torn open and his man parts hanging out (pictures on the internet for proof 😁) he kept riding and pushing to a 15th place finish to salvage some season points. Next would be Jeremy Martin who’s had a rough go at it similar to Forkner and McAdoo, had a bad get off and land hard on his back on a jump face and slapping his head resulting in a concussion. The ClubMX Team has released a statement that he traveled home with the team and is expected to be ready in three weeks for the next round.

250’s Results