The first winner in the 250 West Region class San Diego Supercross’ new venue – Petco Park – was Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb.
After having a scary crash in his 2015 San Diego 250SX practice, the points leader put himself into second place after the first turn behind Zach Osborne. He and Tyler Bowers were able to make their way around Osborne and fight for the lead later on the race. Webb stalked Bowers for several laps before putting the pass on him on lap nine. From there, he was able to cruise to his fourth victory of the season.
“Unfortunately, I had a big get-off in practice today and hurt my right shoulder” said Webb. “I was just trying to get through it. We sat out the second practice and just wanted to get through the heat race to get a decent gate pick. In the main, I got a decent start and was honestly going to settle for second.
“I just put my head down. I knew my shoulder was going to hurt no matter what whether I was giving it a hundred percent or not. I decided to give it my all. I know it will hurt tomorrow, but I am a fighter. That is what I love to do.”
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/KTM’s Shane McElrath carded his best finish of the season and his career with a second place in San Diego. After winning his heat race earlier on in the night, he pulled a seventh place start and worked his way through the pack from there. While trailing behind Webb and Bowers in 3rd place, he made the pass on Tyler Bowers to grab second place on lap nine through one of the longer rhythm sections. He remained there for the rest of the race and was happy with his result.
“I feel like its been a long time coming” said McElrath. “I told myself this week that I just had to let it go. I rode the best I ever have in practice here today. In the heat race, I just focused on getting a good start and I ended up getting the holeshot. From there, I just tried to put in consistent laps and that was the best I have ever rode according to what my team manager (Tyler Keefe) told me. In the main, I really focused on my start and tried to make quick passes. I ended up second and I am really happy with that.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers came around the first corner in 3rd and quickly made his way around Cooper Webb to take second place. After making his way around Zach Osborne, he lead the race until lap nine before he was passed back by Webb. On the same lap, he was passed by McElwrath and would have to settle for third place.
“I was tired on lap nine” said Bowers. “I’ve got a lot of stuff going on and I have been taking a few weeks off because of it. I just didn’t have anything in the tank at that point. We caught a little problem earlier on in the season and we have been dealing with it. I am ready to recharge my batteries on this break and come into the last few rounds and pull off some wins.”
Motorsport.com Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen put in his best ride of the season finishing in fourth. He had to work his way up near the front after starting the race in 11th. He utilized his smooth riding style to make calculated passes on his competition giving him some much needed momentum heading into the break.
CycleTrader.com/Rock River/Yamaha’s Alex Martin proved once again that he belongs near the front with a fifth place finish on the night. He put his Yamaha YZ250F into 4th place around the first corner and got around Zach Osborne through the whoops on lap eighteen to inherit the position.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna riders Zach Osborne and Zach Bell put their FC250 machines in 6th and 7th place, respectively. Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/KTM’s Jessy Nelson, Motorsport.com/DPI Honda’s Tommy Hahn, and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Chris Alldredge rounded out the top ten, respectively.
Several top riders struggled at Petco Park including GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart. Stewart got out near the front on the first lap before casing the last jump of a rhythm section. He slowly remounted his Honda CRF250R and was quickly lapped by the leaders having to settle for 21st place on the night. Red Bull KTM’s Justin Hill started off on the right foot by winning his heat race, but injured his ankle in a crash in the first corner and was not able to finish the race.
The 250 West Region Championship takes an eight week break before resuming at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on April 11th.
2015 San Diego 250SX Results
1. Cooper Webb – Yamaha YZ250F
2. Shane McElrath – KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition
3. Tyler Bowers – Kawasaki KX250F
4. Josh Hansen – Kawasaki KX250F
5. Alex Martin – Yamaha YZ250F
6. Zach Osborne – Husqvarna FC250
7. Zach Bell – Husqvarna FC250
8. Jessy Nelson – KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition
9. Tommy Hahn – Honda CRF250R
10. Chris Alldredge – Kawasaki KX250F
11. Cole Martinez – Yamaha YZ250F
12. Jackson Richardson – Honda CRF250R
13. Zack Freeburg – Yamaha YZ250F
14. Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha YZ250F
15. Matt Bisceglia – Honda CRF250R
16. Austin Politelli – Yamaha YZ250F
17. Trevor Reis – Yamaha YZ250F
18. Brandon Scharer – Suzuki RM-Z250
19. Michael Horban – Kawasaki KX250F
20. Ryan Breece – Yamaha YZ250F
21. Malcolm Stewart – Honda CRF250R
22. Justin Hill – KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition
