2016 St. Louis Supercross Commentary | Status Quo Rules

2016 St. Louis Supercross Commentary | It’s Dungey-Roczen-Anderson…again

As the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season is winding down—there are now three rounds remaining—surprises are getting fewer and far between. In the last three races, the finish has been Dungey-Roczen-Anderson in that order. And, the three point-leaders aren’t the only racers who have settled in for the remainder of the season. Let’s take a look and see if there are any big movers from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

UPSIDE

1. Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey. Three wins in a row. Eight wins in 14 rounds this season. A 48-point lead in the Monster Energy Supercross standings. Pretty much everything is going Dungey’s way, and a win will clinch it for him this week in Foxborough, regardless of where Roczen finishes.

2. Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen. For better or for worse, Roczen seems resigned to his runner-up spot. He called himself “first loser” on the St. Louis podium, and he has finished 2nd more often than 1st this Monster Energy Supercross season. Regardless, Roczen is 2nd in the standings, and has a 20-point lead over Anderson with three rounds remaining. That’s not bad.

3. Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson. Anderson had a credible start at St. Louis, but took too long to get around BTO Sports/KTM’s Justin Brayton. When he finally did pass Brayton, it was an overly aggressive move that knocked Brayton off the track. So, lacking a holeshot, Anderson was never able to battle for the lead. Anderson did run in 2nd after a Roczen mishap, but Roczen took back 2nd on the final corner as lappers made their presence known.

4. GEICO/Honda’s Justin Bogle. Bogle running backwards through the order was becoming a disturbingly common site. This time, Bogle did the opposite—he moved forward all night. Starting in 7th, he stayed patient and worked his way up to 4th, the best finish of his rookie year. We’ll find out in Foxborough if that drive was a trend or a fluke.

5. Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard. Through the first 11 rounds, Canard had an injury and only one top 5 finish. Now, he has three consecutive top 5 finishes, so things are finally moving in the right direction. His top 5 was even more impressive, given that first turn difficulties not of his making put him in 15th at the start. Canard sits 9th in the standings, with less than half Dungey’s points total, so the rest of the Monster Energy Supercross season for Canard will be all about building momentum for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series.

DOWNSIDE

1. Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Blake Baggett. Starting the year injured, and reinjuring himself on his comeback ride, Baggett finally cracked the top 10 in Indy with an impressive 5th. However, he has quickly reversed field and he’s back to 12th at St. Louis. Failing to qualify out of his Heat and tangling with another rider in the Semi, Baggett had to go to the LCQ. He was deep in the pack early—14th after Lap 1—but only managed to move up to 12th. That’s not what you expect from a factory rider.

2. Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christophe Pourcel. Still suffering from an early injury, Pourcel started 17th, and finished 18th. It has been a tough year for Pourcel, who finished outside of the top 10 in the first six rounds, and then inside the top 10 for the next three rounds. In Indy, Pourcel came back from injury to continue his top 10 run, but he never got on track in St. Louis.

3. Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin. In his return from a wrist injury, Musquin charged up to 5th at the start. Musquin was passed by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Grant on Lap 8, Bogle on the following lap, and then Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Chad Reed on Lap 10, and Canard on the next lap. He hung in there until Lap 17 when a technical problem slowed him down and he finished 15th.

4. Autotrader/Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Weston Peick. In his Heat, Peick jumps into a corner and takes out James Stewart. Peick started a decent 8th place, but went down on Lap 12 when running in 9th. He continued to fade, finishing 16th for the second week in a row. Peick, who many expected to be battling for the occasional podium has only four top 10s all year, with a 7th in Detroit his best result. He trails Dungey by a staggering 226 points, and sits in 13th in the Monster Energy Supercross standings, three points behind Smartop/MotoConcepts Racing’s Mike Alessi.
5. Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart. If ever a rider couldn’t catch a break, it’s James Stewart the last couple of years. This time, he gets inadvertently landed on by Peick and is out for the night. It all started with a concussion at A1 when he collided with Dungey, and it has been injury after injury since. Stewart, who has won 50 Supercross 450SX Main Events has just 10 points this year, and is 31st in the standings.

Photography by Simon Cudby.

2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings (after 14 of 17 rounds)

2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Round 14 Results, Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis

Next Round: Round 15, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA, April 23, 2016
TV Schedule: Fox; 4pm ET