2016 Arlington Supercross Commentary | Upside / Downside

Dallas Supercross Round Commentary

It wasn’t a particularly eventful night in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and passing was sparse at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Still, any Supercross round still moves the season series narrative ahead. There are a few riders who are disappointing, and others who are holding steady at the top. Let’s take a look at the Upside / Downside at AT&T Stadium outside of Dallas.

UPSIDE

1. Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen. This is the fifth consecutive podium for Roczen, and his second win in three races. Roczen won in style, dispensing with Dungey after a couple of laps, leading 19 of 20 passes over the finish line. After a difficult start to the season that put him in a bit of a hole, Roczen is on the charge. Roczen’s win took away Dungey’s full-race advantage in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross standings. Dungey now leads Roczen by 23 points, but that red plate is now in Roczen’s sight.

2. Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson. This column has made much of Anderson’s streak of top 5 finishes this year—the only other rider in the top 5 at all Monster Energy Supercross rounds is Ryan Dungey—and Anderson’s streak is now seven races long. Even better for Anderson, he’s back on the podium for the first time since A1. Anderson, predictably, was 6th off the start, so he never had a chance to compete for the win. If he can find that first corner magic, watch for more victories from Anderson.

3. Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey. Dungey wins so often—more than half the races this year—that it seems like a disappointment when he’s not on the top step of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross podium. However, when he doesn’t win, he finishes second, and that’s good enough to keep him solidly in the series lead.

4. Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christophe Pourcel. Although Pourcel has shown blazing speed in Qualifying, coming into Arlington, he had not cracked the top 10 all season. That changed in at AT&T Stadium with an impressive 8th place finish. Usually starting fast and fading as the race progresses, Pourcel was 13th out of the gate, but stayed out of trouble worked his way up—an encouraging sign. If Pourcel can ride an entire Main like he does in Qualifying, don’t be shocked to see him on the podium.

5. BTO Sports KTM’s Davi Millsaps. Millsaps continued his pattern of moving into and out of the top 10 each week. He hasn’t put together two consecutive top 10 finishes all year, but he hasn’t been out of the top 10 for two consecutive weeks, either. His 7th place puts him 8th in the Monster Energy Supercross standings, making him the top rider without a factory ride (though BTO Sports is close).

Welcome to the Jungle. Kelly’s Kawasaki’s Deven Raper qualified for his first Main of the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. Transferring from the LCQ, Raper finished 20th.

DOWNSIDE

1. Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard. 15th off the start, and going down on Lap 9, Canard was never a factor at Arlington. For a rider expected to battle for the championship, Canard has never got it going this season. His 5th last week was his best finish of the year, but to follow that up with a 9th has to be discouraging. Canard sits a dismal 11th place in the series, 109 points shy of rival Dungey.

2. Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Chad Reed. Since his back-to-back 2nd place finishes at SD1 and A2, it has been a consistent downhill slide. Dropping out of the top 5 in Phoenix, Reed finished outside of the top 10 in Arlington. 18th at the start and falling down on the final lap is not the way to get it done. That early flash of Reed brilliance seems to have been completely extinguished.

3. Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Weston Peick. A mechanical DNF is just another shoe to drop in a season of woe for Peick. He had finally clawed his way back into the top 10 last week, and this week he gets just a single point for the night. Forty points after seven races had to hurt—Peick certainly expected to have that many after three rounds.

Next round: Monster Energy AMA Supercross Round 8, February 27, Georgia Dome, Atlanta
TV Schedule: Fox Sports 1, 7pm EST

2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Results – AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas
1. Ken Roczen, Suzuki RM-Z450
2. Ryan Dungey, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
3. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna FC 450
4. Cole Seely, Honda CRF450R
5. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki KX450F
6. Marvin Musquin, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
7. Davi Millsaps, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
8. Christophe Pourcel, Husqvarna FC 450
9. Trey Canard, Honda CRF450R
10. Jake Weimer, Suzuki RM-Z450
11. Justin Brayton, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
12. Chad Reed, Yamaha YZ450F
13. Andrew Short, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
14. Wil Hahn, Kawasaki KX450F
15. Phil Nicoletti, Yamaha YZ450F
16. Mike Alessi, Honda CRF450R
17. Vince Friese, Honda CRF450R
18. Justin Bogle, Honda CRF450R
19. Nick Schmidt, Suzuki RM-Z450
20. Devan Raper, Kawasaki KX450F
21. Weston Peick, Yamaha YZ450F
22. Alex Ray, Honda CRF450R

2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Standings (after 7 of 16 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey, 166 points (4 wins)
2. Ken Roczen, 143 (2 wins)
3. Jason Anderson, 131 (1 win)
4. Cole Seely – 123
5. Eli Tomac – 119
6. Chad Reed – 112
7. Marvin Musquin – 92
8. Davi Millsaps – 85
9. Justin Brayton – 82
10. Jake Weimer – 73
11. Trey Canard – 57
12. Wil Hahn – 56
13. Christophe Pourcel – 52
14. Weston Peick – 40
15. Mike Alessi – 40
16. Vince Friese – 26
17. Dean Wilson – 18
18. Justin Bogle – 18
19. Broc Tickle – 17
20. Phil Nicoletti – 17

Photography by Simon Cudby