2017 Salt Lake City Supercross Results and Coverage |
Tomac, Dungey, Anderson Podium
Having flinched at the start, putting him in 20th position entering the first turn, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac stormed back to take the lead with six minutes remaining in the Main Event at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Tomac then stretched his lead over rival Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM) to six seconds at the finish, giving Tomac an undisputed lead in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series with two races remaining.
Fourth in the first turn, reigning Monster Energy Supercross Champion Dungey quickly moved to the front, taking the lead before the first lap was completed. Tomac quickly worked his way up to 10th place by the finish of the initial lap, though he dropped back to 11th on the next lap when he was passed by Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin, who followed Tomac into the first turn.
At that point, Tomac trailed Dungey by nearly 10 seconds and he went to work. Sometimes making multiple passes, Tomac streaked to third place on Lap 9 (of 28). Tomac trailed second place Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) until making a pass on Lap 13.
With a clear track, except for a few cooperative lappers, Tomac caught up to Dungey a couple of laps later. Biding his time and sizing up Dungey, Tomac made the move on Dungey on Lap 19 in the same corner he passed Anderson. Dungey made a quick repass as Tomac got sideways in the loose exit soil, but Tomac quickly regained the lead and was not challenged to the finish.
“I was stuck in a tough position [off the start] and I had to make it happen. It was all I could do,” Tomac said. “We were feeling awesome all day and really had a few good spots on the track where I was able to make a lot of passes. The start wasn’t ideal at all. I had a flinch on the gate, so that was something else for us. I felt great the whole time. This was pretty cool to come back and do that.”
Dungey was unchallenged by Anderson, as the two finished 2-3 behind Tomac, despite Dungey beating Tomac in his Heat Race. “It’s good to get points, but we’ve got to win,” Dungey said. “Eli was riding good tonight. He caught us, passed us, and that’s what it was. There were a lot of positives tonight, but man, I was hoping to get out front and just take it all the way, but it doesn’t happen like that all the time. It’s a bummer, but we put ourselves out there and came up a little short. I’m really happy with a lot of things, but instead of second place I wish we were one step higher.”
It was Anderson’s second consecutive podium for the first time in 2017. “I got a great start in the heat race with a third,” Anderson said. “I made some changes to my bike after that, and ended up getting a great start in the main. I rode in third the rest of the race and felt pretty good.”
Musquin was able to tail Tomac early in the race, but lost touch by Lap 7. Musquin still moved through the field, though at a slower pace. Musquin’s toughest battle was for fourth with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Grant. Grant held Musquin off for a few laps, but with three to go, Musquin made a pass and beat Grant by over two seconds at the end. Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha’s Chad Reed was another two seconds behind Grant, with Reed taking sixth place. Grant’s fifth place finish matched his best finish for the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross series.
Farther back, rookie Cooper Webb (Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha) had his second consecutive top 10 finish after returning from injury. With both Team Honda HRC riders out with injuries (Ken Roczen and Cole Seely), 250SX East rider Christian Craig enjoyed an on-off ride at Salt Lake City, finishing 11th behind Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Dean Wilson.
AL Motorsports/Nikon/Suzuki’s Angelo Pellegrini of Bagnalo Mella, Italy qualified for his first Main Event, but failed to finish. TPJ/Fly Racing/Honda’s Adam Enticknap’s 19th was his best finish of the year.
With two rounds remaining, Tomac leads Dungey by three points, and Tomac is guaranteed the tiebreaking, having nine wins to Dungey’s two victories. Musquin is still mathematically viable, but it would require Tomac going scoreless the next two races, Dungey scoring four points or less, and Musquin scoring two wins. Musquin holds a commanding 42-point lead over Anderson for third, with Anderson 17 points up on the injured Seely.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM teammates Blake Baggett and Davi Millsaps are tied for sixth place in the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross Series Standings, while Reed and Wilson are tied for 9th. Broc Tickle holds down eighth between the two ties.
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Results – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City
- Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
- Ryan Dungey, KTM
- Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
- Marvin Musquin, KTM
- Josh Grant, Kawasaki
- Chad Reed, Yamaha
- Davi Millsaps, KTM
- Blake Baggett, KTM
- Cooper Webb, Yamaha
- Dean Wilson, Husqvarna
- Christian Craig, Honda
- Broc Tickle, Suzuki
- Justin Brayton, Honda
- Jake Weimer, Suzuki
- Malcolm Stewart, Suzuki
- Justin Barcia, Suzuki
- Vince Friese, Honda
- Alex Ray, Yamaha
- Adam Enticknap, Honda
- Nick Schmidt, Suzuki
- Justin Bogle, Suzuki
- Angelo Pellegrini, Suzuki
2017 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Standings (after 15 of 17 rounds)
- Eli Tomac, 319 points (9 wins)
- Ryan Dungey, 316 (2 wins)
- Marvin Musquin, 270 (2 wins)
- Jason Anderson, 228
- Cole Seely, 211
- Blake Baggett, 190
- Davi Millsaps, 190
- Broc Tickle, 167
- Chad Reed, 158
- Dean Wilson, 158
- Josh Grant, 141
- Justin Brayton, 120
- Cooper Webb, 111
- Jake Weimer, 96
- Malcolm Stewart, 86
- Vince Friese, 78
- Justin Bogle, 75
- Justin Barcia, 70
- Mike Alessi, 59
- Ken Roczen, 51 (2 wins)
