Despite the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship having already been decided at the previous round in Houston, there was still a lot of racing action in the Heat and Semi races in Santa Clara, Calif., and some good battles in the top ten positions in the Main. Let’s see who was on the Upside or Downside at the inaugural race at Levi’s Stadium.
Santa Clara Supercross Commentary, Upside
Ryan Dungey – Red Bull/KTM: It took Dungey all of three laps to move into the lead at Levi’s Stadium, and once there he was never seriously challenged. Dungey looks to be on a mission to collect the rest of the available wins this season, and that makes sense. Having been in the shadow of more dynamic riders for the past five years – even while winning one SX and two MX titles – Dungey is finally starting to look comfortable being called a champion.
He’s now 10th on the all-time Supercross wins list, having just past Jeff Ward, and in his after-race interview with FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft, Dungey said, “We got the main objective wrapped up, but still these race wins are important, you know? I mean, for a lot of reason, but it’s great to win, but what would it be if you just fell off the map? There’s still a lot to accomplish ahead and I want to keep focused on that.”
Weston Peick – AutoTrader.com/JGR Yamaha: Peick’s been on a string of good race/bad race results the past five rounds, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him bounce back to a season’s best finish in Santa Clara. Riding strong all night, Peick jumped out to a great start and was running behind leading Dungey by Lap 4.
Eventually, Peick was chased down by a hard-charging Eli Tomac, but Peick maintained his third-place position to the checkers, taking his first 450 podium. Posting later on Instagram: “Its been a crazy season but finally made it up here. Thanks to the whole @jgrmx team @flyracingusa@louiepeick @budmanantunez for always having my back through the ups and down.”
Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing: Bouncing back from one of his worst finishes of the season last weekend in Houston, Anderson had to work hard all race to make up for a mid-pack start. Anderson said of his eventual 4th place finish, “Today was good overall…I felt patient every race. My heat race wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. I cased a rhythm section, but I was able to pull it off. I didn’t get as good a start as I wanted in the main, but I was pumped and able to move up to the front and get a fourth. Top five is good, but I want to get on the box. I was calmer tonight and I didn’t rush anything. I managed my race better and felt like I rode more mature.” Lesson learned.
Nick Wey – Mafia MotoCrew/PasionMX: For the veteran rider who will be retiring at the end of this season, it was great to see Wey finish with a season’s best 10th place result. “Having my own program has been nothing short of an uphill battle. I can’t thank everyone that has got behind @teammafiamotocrew the past few years. We achieved our best result this season in Santa Clara with a semi win and a 10th in the main. All of the encouraging words on social media and at the races don’t go unnoticed. Thanks to to fans and our rad supporters
One Guy: Congrats to veteran French rider, Thomas Ramette, who took his first points of the season at Levi’s Stadium on his KX450F.
2015 Santa Clara Supercross Commentary, Downside
Cole Seely – Team Honda HRC: Seely has been on a tear for the last five races, culminating with his first career 450SX win at the previous weekend’s round in Houston. At Levi’s Stadium, however, an imprudent decision to double on a yellow flag caused Seely to collide with a bike a track worker was removing from the course, just in front of the finish line as Seely was on his way to take a win in Heat #2.
Seely went on to win Semi #2, and then battled from a 16th place start in the Main to respectable 5th place result. However, Seely’s whining interview with Jenny Taft after the race was embarrassing. A yellow flag means slow down and use caution, and doubling past a downed rider is taking a risk that I doubt Seely would appreciate if he were laying on the track.
Justin Barcia – Autotrader.com/Toyota/JGRMX Yamaha: It was disappointing to see Barcia slide backward after getting the Supercross.com Live Holeshot Award and leading the first three laps of the race, but this is just his second race back after a serious hip injury. After Dungey motored by, Barcia slowly slid backwards where he battled with Blake Baggett and Cole Seely for 5th place. Eventually a run-in with another rider caused a bike issue that left Barcia with a 16th place finish.
Broc Tickle – RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki Factory Racing: Tickle was on a nine-race Top 10 finish run coming into Santa Clara, and was looking to continue the streak as he qualified directly out of Heat #2. Unfortunately, a crash late in the race dropped Tickle from 8th to 12th.
Josh Grant – Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports/Kawasaki: After finishing a season’s best 4th place in Houston, Grant had some unexplained bike issues just before the Main at Levi’s Stadium, so did not line up his KX450F on the gate. Frustrating.
2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Class Results, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.:
- Ryan Dungey, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
- Eli Tomac, Honda CRF450R
- Weston Peick, Yamaha YZ450F
- Jason Anderson, Husqvarna FC 450
- Cole Seely, Honda CRF450R
- Blake Baggett, Suzuki RM-Z450
- Justin Brayton, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
- Chad Reed, Kawasaki KX450F
- Andrew Short, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
- Nick Wey, Kawasaki KX450F
2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Point Standings:
- Ryan Dungey, 343 points
- Eli Tomac, 258
- Cole Seely, 239
- Chad Reed, 212
- Trey Canard, 204
- Blake Baggett, 190
- Jason Anderson, 188
- Broc Tickle, 168
- Ken Roczen, 164
- Andrew Short, 156