2018 San Diego Supercross Results |
Anderson Seizes Control of the Series

Jason Anderson put on a commanding performance at Petco Park in San Diego to take the win and establish a authoritative lead in the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship standings.

On a night where preseason favorites Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac failed to finish the race, Anderson leaves Petco Park with a 28-point lead in the standings—more than a full SX race after just six rounds.

Here’s what you need to know about the Monster Energy Supercross carnage in San Diego, and it was a rough night for many riders.

1. Jason Anderson got a good start and let half of the race unfold before taking the lead. Well known for his late race charges, Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) changed things up by sitting in second place early in the Main Event. He took his time, edging up on leader Cole Seely (Team Honda HRC) before passing Seely at the halfway point.

Anderson has a history of passing Seely for the lead late in the race, dating back to their 250SX days. This time, Anderson let Seely make a few errors and passed Seely with little drama. From there, Anderson was never challenged and cruised to the win and a dominating lead in the Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series.

2. Ken Roczen had a hard start, and a frightening end to his night. After tangling with Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) in the first turn of the Main and going down, Roczen was in 18th place after one lap. Roczen quickly found himself battling with Cooper Webb (Monster Energy/Knich/Factory Yamaha Team), who was caught up in the same first turn crash. Webb put a hard pass on Roczen, and Roczen retaliated in the following left-hander.

Roczen lost the rear end, and when the rear tire hooked up as it found traction in a rut, Roczen’s Honda flew out of his hands. Roczen right arm—not the previously damaged left arm—found its way between the spinning rear wheel and swingarm of Webb’s Yamaha, fortunately on the disc side. Roczen’s jersey was torn up and he was clearly shaken—his night was over. Team Honda HRC reports Roczen has broken his right hand, ending his championship quest.

3. Eli Tomac’s Monster Energy Supercross Championship hopes are now done and dusted. He still had an outside chance going into San Diego, but pulling out after the first corner crash puts Tomac 77 points behind Anderson, and 12th in the standings. Tomac has two impressive wins in 2018, but a pair of DNFs in Mains, a missed round due to injury, and a 13th after an early race crash. 2018 looked like it might be Tomac’s year to take his first Supercross crown in the 450SX class, but that is not going to happen.

4. Justin Barcia started strong, and then faded due to rear brake issues. Moving from fifth at the start to a podium position by Lap 7, Barcia (Monster Energy/Knich/Factory Yamaha Team) had a long battle with Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM). Musquin grabbed third place on Lap 10, and Barcia started dropping like a stone, due to his rear brake, according to Barcia. Barcia had been running in the 52s for the opening 10 laps, and then dropped into the 54s and then the 56s, topping out in the 58s on Lap 17. Barcia was passed by Blake Baggett (Lap 12), Broc Tickle (Lap 13), Justin Brayton (Lap 15), and Weston Peick (Lap 17). That put Barcia in eighth place where he finished—matching his worst performance of 2018. Previously a fill-in rider, Barcia just signed a season-long deal with Yamaha in the wake of Davi Millsaps’ retirement, and it did not get off to a good start.

5. Marvin Musquin showed some mettle at San Diego. Relatively slight for a supercross racer, Musquin didn’t look afraid to mix it up with Cole Seely (Team Honda HRC) as they battled for second place. Although Musquin didn’t look good in his Heat, finishing sixth, he managed to make it happen in the Main. Musquin is still not fully recovered from his shoulder injury at Round 2 in Houston, so he will be a threat for more wins (he took the opener at Anaheim) as his shoulder heals completely. Unfortunately for Musquin, it’s probably too late for the Championship, as he is 45 points behind Anderson. Musquin’s bright spot is that he’s just 17 points out of second place in the series standings, even though he’s in eighth place.

6. Blake Baggett is now back on track. Everyone wondered if Baggett’s podium last week in Oakland was a fluke. Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) answered the question in the negative, as he returned to the podium at San Diego. Like Baggett’s Oakland race, Baggett ran a fairly quiet race on his way to the podium. He was seventh after the first lap, and quickly disposed of Vince Friese (Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Honda) and Chad Reed (CR22/Husqvarna). Baggett went by the fading Barcia and Seely, and there he was on the podium while moving up to fifth place in the standings, tied in points.

7. Cole Seely needs to put together a second half of a race. For the second consecutive week, Seely has lead the first half of the race, only to have his ride unravel to the point where he finishes off the podium. After Anderson ran off from Seely, Seely was caught by a surging Marvin Musquin. The two battled hard, with Musquin permanently taking second on Lap 20 of 24. Two laps later, Baggett dropped Seely off the podium. Despite his late race woes, Seely moves up a spot in the standings and is in third place, just seven points out of second.

8. Plenty of lower-tier riders had season-best finishes at San Diego. Broc Tickle (Red Bull KTM) took a fifth—his best in 2018 had been three eighth-place finishes. Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Friese had their first top 10s of the year. It’s not much, but Reed’s 13th is the best he’s done in 2018. Benny Bloss (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) has a pair of 20ths in his two previous Mains this year—he finished 12th, while Adam Enticknap (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/Cal Coast Plumbing/Honda) was 16th, his first time above 20th in 2018.

9. Injuries were too prevalent. Jake Weimer (Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Honda) was injured in practice and didn’t qualify. Justin Bogle (Autotrader/JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing) was landed on when he missed a jump in his Heat race, reportedly breaking his humerus. Roczen’s hand was broken in the Webb altercation. Dakota Tedder (Team Tedder/Monster Energy/Lucas Oil/KTM) also required on-track medical attention in the Main Event.

10. The next round is Saturday, February 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. You can buy tickets and watch it in person, or check out our 2018 Monster Energy Supercross TV Schedule.

2018 San Diego Supercross Results, Petco Park, San Diego, CA

1. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
2. Marvin Musquin, KTM
3. Blake Baggett, KTM
4. Cole Seely, Honda
5. Broc Tickle, KTM
6. Justin Brayton, Honda
7. Weston Peick, Suzuki
8. Justin Barcia, Yamaha
9. Dean Wilson, Husqvarna
10. Vince Friese, Honda
11. Josh Grant, Kawasaki
12. Benny Bloss, KTM
13. Chad Reed, Husqvarna
14. Tyler Bowers, Kawasaki
15. Ben Lamay, Honda
16. Adam Enticknap, Honda
17. Malcolm Stewart, Suzuki
18. Kyle Cunningham, Suzuki
19. Cooper Webb, Yamaha
20. Dakota Tedder, KTM
21. Ken Roczen, Honda
22. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki

2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings (after 6 of 17 rounds)

1. Jason Anderson, 141 points (3 wins)
2. Justin Barcia, 113
3. Cole Seely, 106
4. Ken Roczen, 102
5. Blake Baggett, 99
6. Justin Brayton, 99
7. Weston Peick, 98
8. Marvin Musquin, 96 (1 win)
9. Josh Grant, 83
10. Broc Tickle, 82
11. Cooper Webb, 72
12. Eli Tomac, 64 (2 wins)
13. Vince Friese, 56
14. Chad Reed, 47
15. Malcolm Stewart, 41
16. Dean Wilson, 39
17. Jeremy Martin, 36
18. Tyler Bowers, 35
19. Kyle Cunningham, 30
20. Ben Lamay, 27
21. Alex Ray, 22
22. Benny Bloss, 17
23. Adam Enticknap, 12
24. Justin Bogle, 12
25. Dakota Tedder, 10
26. Matt Bisceglia, 6
27. AJ Catanzaro, 5
28. Jake Weimer, 5
29. Henry Miller, 4
30. Austin Politelli, 1