2017 Indianapolis Supercross Preview
The 11th round of the 2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, an FIM World Championship, heads this Saturday to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. During last weekend’s 46th Annual Daytona Supercross by Honda race, the title chases have tightened in both the 450SX class and the 250SX East Region division.
In the one and only visit to the Sunshine State in the Monster Energy Supercross series, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac carded his fifth win of the season while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawaski’s Adam Cianciarulo claimed his fourth career victory in the 250SX East Region Championship.
As the 450SX Class field roared into the first corner of its 20-lap main event, Tomac took the holeshot, but he was passed by Team Honda HRC fill-in rider Jeremy Martin on the straightaway immediately after the first turn. Tomac passed Martin back on lap 11 and raced to another victory on his factory Kawasaki KX450F.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that I like Daytona,” said Tomac. “To take win number five of 2017 here is a great thing. I felt confident in my riding all day, I came here to win and we did exactly that. My KX450F and my program are where I want them to be and I’m ready for the next round.”
Despite having a poor gate pick for the main event, Martin launched off the line on his factory Honda CRF450R from the far outside and didn’t let off the gas until he found himself at the front of the pack. The Minnesota native held off multiple advances from the competition throughout the first 11 laps of the race before relinquishing the lead to Tomac. Martin took the checkered flag nearly 10-seconds ahead of his nearest competitor in third.
“Honestly, I was surprised that I qualified so good,” said Martin. “These guys are really fast and they’ve had a lot of experience. I just had a good feeling today. That new Honda is an amazing bike. Today was my eighth day on the bike and I’ve really enjoyed it and working with the whole Factory Honda team. The bike’s good. I had 18th gate pick and I was on the outside. I knew I had to do something, so I threw it into the first turn on the outside and I railed the crap out of that berm. Just tried to do my best, but I knew the green machine was coming. To be able to lead, I think it was 10 laps, was just so cool. I have much respect for everyone in the class. I just got a good start and put myself in a good position.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson suffered from a mid-pack start in the Main Event, but quickly moved up to seventh by lap two. He then battled his way through the pack as he got into fifth, made the pass for fourth at the halfway mark, then continued to move ahead and put himself in podium position shortly thereafter. Anderson’s efforts gave him a third-place finish on the night and he sits fifth overall in the championship after 10 rounds of racing.
“It was a pretty decent night,” said Anderson. “I was able to come from the back and get third. My starts were good earlier in the day, and I basically got the holeshot in my heat race. The start in the main was kind of like a freak accident—someone hit the gate at the start and we all just messed each other up. All-in-all, though, I feel like I’ve been going in the right direction. I’m pumped to get a podium here at Daytona.”
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey had a rough go of it in Daytona after a less than desirable start put him near the back of the pack. Dungey rounded the first lap in 17th place and was forced to work his way through the field on his factory KTM 450SX-F machine.
Throughout the 20-lap race, Dungey was able to continue climbing – where he sat in the sixth place position with two laps to go. Dungey made the pass on Monster Energy/Yamalube/Chaparral/Yamaha Financial Services/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Chad Reed with two laps to go and set his sights on Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely for fourth. On the final lap in the last few corners, Dungey executed the pass on Seely to overtake the fourth place position.
“Obviously the start wasn’t what we were looking for, but we did our best to climb through the pack,” said Dungey. “The track was actually really difficult to make a pass on, which ended up costing us time in the beginning. Making passes was a lot easier in the second half of the race because we had some more space to work with. Next week is a new week and we’re looking forward to protecting the points lead and changing up the strategy moving forward.”
In the 250SX East Region Championship, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo ascended to the top step of the podium almost three years to the date of his last supercross win in 2014. Cianciarulo passed his teammate, Joey Savatgy, in the second corner and rode a flawless 15-lap race to take his fourth victory of his career after recovering from injuries the past three years.
“Getting hurt a few times in a row can make you have those doubts [if you’ll win again],” said Cianciarulo. “It’s hard to come from the bottom and get back to the top. It’s the accumulation of so many people, so many hours of work that have pushed me to get here. It’s hard to describe but it’s an incredible feeling to be back on the podium.”
Savatgy grabbed the holeshot and led the field around the first turn. After being overtaken by Cianciarulo, he stayed right on him, not giving him much breathing room as he tried to get close enough to make a pass. He eventually settled for second but made up points in the championship where he now sits just six points out of the lead.
“The last few weekends have been tough and it’s really nice to be back on the podium,” said Savatgy. “We gained some good points in the championship and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I try each week to get better and I think this was a good weekend for us.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne got a top-five start and settled into fourth-place position by the second lap. He pushed ahead and made the pass for third on lap three and immediately set his sights on the top two riders before going down in the sand section corner and remounting in eighth. He put his head down and started battling his way through the pack and would eventually finish fifth. Osborne retains the lead in the 250SX East Region point standings as well as the red plate heading into Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Overall, it was a pretty positive day at Daytona,” said Osborne. “I wasn’t the fastest guy all day, but I turned it around for the night show. I feel good about my results. I tipped over in a corner, and it wasn’t ideal, but I’m overall. I’m just going to keep plugging away until next weekend and will take it day to day. I know what got me here, and I know that I haven’t deviated from it so I’ll just keep my faith in that.”
The action from Indianapolis can be viewed live on Saturday, March 18, on Fox (not FS1 or FS2) starting at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET
2017 Daytona Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Eli Tomac – Cortez, CO – Kawasaki
- Jeremy Martin – Millville, MN – Honda
- Jason Anderson – Rio Rancho, NM – Husqvarna
- Ryan Dungey – Belle Plaine, MN – KTM
- Cole Seely – Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
- Chad Reed – Dade City, FL – Yamaha
- Blake Baggett – Grand Terrace, CA – KTM
- Josh Grant – Riverside, CA – Kawasaki
- Justin Brayton – Mint Hill, NC – Honda
- Mike Alessi – Hilliard, FL – Honda
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Class Championship Standings
- Ryan Dungey – Belle Plaine, MN – KTM – 214
- Eli Tomac – Cortez, CO – Kawasaki – 197
- Cole Seely – Sherman Oaks, CA – Honda – 169
- Marvin Musquin – Corona, CA – KTM – 163
- Jason Anderson – Rio Rancho, NM – Husqvarna – 143
- Davi Millsaps – Cairo, GA – KTM – 121
- Chad Reed – Dade City, FL – Yamaha – 116
- Blake Baggett – Grand Terrace, CA – KTM – 113
- Dean Wilson – Clermont, FL – Husqvarna – 105
- Broc Tickle – Holly, MI – Suzuki – 103
Daytona Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
- Adam Cianciarulo – Port Orange, FL – Kawasaki
- Joey Savatgy – Thomasville, GA – Kawasaki
- Dylan Ferrandis – Lake Elsinore, CA – Yamaha
- Jordon Smith – Belmont, NC – KTM
- Zach Osborne – Abingdon, VA – Husqvarna
- Lorenzo Locurcio – Cairo, GA – Yamaha
- Kyle Cunningham – Willow Park, TX – Suzuki
- Alex Martin – Millville, MN – KTM
- Luke Renzland – Hewitt, NJ – Yamaha
- Dakota Alix – Jay, VT – KTM
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
- Zach Osborne – Abingdon, VA – Husqvarna – 86
- Joey Savatgy – Thomasville, GA – Kawasaki – 80
- Adam Cianciarulo – Port Orange, FL – Kawasaki – 77
- Jordon Smith – Belmont, NC – KTM – 70
- Dylan Ferrandis – Lake Elsinore, CA – Yamaha – 54
- Colt Nichols – Muskogee, OK – Yamaha – 49
- Luke Renzland – Hewitt, NJ – Yamaha – 43
- Alex Martin – Millville, MN – KTM – 42
- Kyle Peters – Greensboro, NC – Suzuki – 37
- Christian Craig – Corona, CA – Honda – 36
