2019 San Diego Supercross Results and Coverage (10 Fast Facts)

2019 San Diego Supercross Results: Tomac Wins Mudfest; Takes Series Lead

After heavy rains in the afternoon turned Petco Park into a swamp, the halting of the rain turned it into a quagmire at the San Diego Supercross. In a shortened 12-lap race, Eli Tomac took his first win of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series, and with it the points lead. Marvin Musquin and Ken Roczen rounded out the podium, making it the first time all three pre-season favorites were on the podium. Cooper Webb, who came into San Diego with two consecutive wins and the red plate, finished in P8. That drops Webb to P4 in the standings, eight points behind Tomac.

1. Eli Tomac led every lap at San Diego to take a relatively comfortable win. It’s never easy in the sticky mud, with extremely deep ruts and unpredictable lappers, yet Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) left little in doubt at Petco Park. Although Roczen grabbed the holeshot, Tomac took advantage of a fall by Roczen in the second turn to move into the lead. By the end of the first lap, Tomac had a 2.6-second lead. That expanded to over 25 seconds by lap 9. A tangle with a Tuff Block cost Tomac about nine seconds on lap 10. More troubles on the final lap cut the winning margin down to just over four seconds. Tomac’s win puts him in the series lead and four points ahead of Musquin and Roczen.

2. Ken Roczen threw away yet another possible win.

   

   Holeshots are critical in the slop, and Roczen (Team Honda HRC) had a good one. However, Roczen lost his front end in the second corner, dropping him to P4 behind Justin Bogle and A1 mudder winner Justin Barcia. Roczen stayed there until lap 4 when Barcia’s bike died. After Bogle went down on lap 9, Roczen motored by into P2, 25 seconds behind leader Tomac. Roczen held P2 until just before the final corner when a charging Musquin passed him. The pass moved Musquin into a tie for P2 in the standings, with both riders four points behind Tomac.

3. After a poor P10 start, Marvin Musquin was easily the fastest rider on-track for the last third of the race. Musquin (Red Bull KTM) was more than 30 seconds faster than Tomac over the final four laps. While Tomac put in his fastest lap on lap 2, Musquin saved his fastest lap for the final lap—a 1:21.244—the fastest of any rider in the Main. Musquin made up more than eight seconds on Roczen on the last lap, allowing Musquin to steal P2 away from Roczen just before the checkered flag. Had the race run the scheduled 20 minutes rather than being cut down to 15 minutes, Musquin quite possibly would have been the winner.

4. It was a what-if night for Justin Barcia. With a win in the mud at A1, Barcia (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing) was certainly a contender going into the Main. He had a solid start and was running in P3 behind Bogle when his motorcycle stopped moving forward. It took Barcia and two track workers to move the motorcycle, with its rear wheel appearing locked up, off the track. Barcia, who looked like he might compete for the championship early on, is now in P7 in the standings, 32 points behind Tomac. His spectacular get-off in Main 3 at A2 and this DNF have put Barcia out of the running.

   

5. Justin Bogle’s fill-in ride is starting to look good, as he finished in P4. There’s no doubt about it, Bogle is on a roll as a fill-in rider for Benny Bloss at Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM. Bogle has gone 19-15-17-10-4 in the opening five rounds. Bogle had a podium in his sights, running strong in P2 until he went down on lap 9. It cost Bogle about 13 seconds and allowed Roczen by. On the penultimate lap, a blazing Musquin went by to knock Bogle off the podium. Bogle’s final lap was in the 44s, though he was still 15 seconds clear of Chad Reed.

6. Two-time Supercross Champion Chad Reed knows how to do well in mud, and his P5 finish is easily his best of 2019. Reed (JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing) had two P9 finishes going into San Diego, and he nabbed a P5 finish. Reed had a P6 start, dropped back to P8 when passed early by Musquin and Webb, and then returned to P7 when Barcia’s motorcycle faltered. Reed was back to P7 by lap 6—Reed’s worst lap of the night—when passed by Blake Baggett and Aaron Plessinger, though Reed did pass a down Webb. On lap 7, however, Reed repassed Baggett and Plessinger, to move up to P5. Reed held onto the position for the rest of the night, holding off Plessinger by just two seconds at the finish line.

   

7. Lap 6 was Cooper Webb’s undoing. Running in P5 and following closely behind Musquin in a 90-degree left-hander, Webb went over the bars when braking for a momentarily stopped Musquin. It took the short-stature Webb a bit of time to get going, and he fell again on the same lap. His 1:58.5 lap 6 was over 34 seconds slower than his fastest lap—a 1:24.2 on the final lap—and dropped him back to P10. At the end, Webb finished in P8, though less than 12 seconds behind Reed. Had the race gone the usual 20 minutes, Webb could have turned that P8 finish into a P5. Instead, Webb loses his red plate and falls to P4 in the standings.

8. Aaron Plessinger finished top rookie in P6, and has a healthy lead in the Rookie of the Year chase. Plessinger (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing), who won the San Diego mud race in the 250SX West class last year, was a dark horse pick to repeat in Petco Park in the 450SX class. It was not to be, however, as Plessinger got off to a mediocre start and settled into P7 early. Plessinger benefitted from problems for Barcia and Baggett, though Musquin blitzed him. Five rounds in, Plessinger is the top rookie with 66 points, followed by Savatgy with 40 points and Justin Hill with 39 points.

   

9. The injury bug bit Justin Hill and Justin Brayton. Hill was hurt in qualifying practice, while Brayton was injured in his Heat. Neither lined up for the Main.
10. There will be no mud race inside the domed U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis next week. The riders go inside as the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series heads to the Midwest for three rounds. The good news for fans who don’t want to spring for the paid NBC Sports Gold subscription streaming service is that the race will be cablecast live on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET on February 9. As always, bookmark and check our 2019 Supercross Television Schedule for cable and streaming.

2019 San Diego Supercross Results, Petco Park, San Diego, CA

1. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki)
2. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
3. Ken Roczen (Honda)
4. Justin Bogle (KTM)
5. Chad Reed (Suzuki)
6. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha)
7. Joey Savatgy (Kawasaki)
8. Cooper Webb (KTM)
9. Blake Baggett (KTM)
10. Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki)
11. Vince Friese (Honda)
12. Dean Wilson (Husqvarna)
13. Cole Martinez (Suzuki)
14. Cole Seely (Honda)
15. Ben Lamay (Honda)
16. Carlen Gardner (Honda)
17. Kyle Chisholm (Suzuki)
18. Theodore Pauli (Kawasaki)
19. Cade Autenrieth (KTM)
20. Alex Ray (Suzuki)
21. Justin Barcia (Yamaha)
22. Heath Harrison (Kawasaki)

2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings (after 5 of 17 rounds)

1. Eli Tomac, 106 (1 win)
2. Marvin Musquin, 102
3. Ken Roczen, 102
4. Cooper Webb, 98 points (2 wins)
5. Blake Baggett, 80 (1 win)
6. Dean Wilson, 80
7. Justin Barcia, 74 (1 win)
8. Aaron Plessinger, 66
9. Chad Reed, 65
10. Cole Seely, 65
11. Vince Friese, 54
12. Justin Brayton, 52
13. Justin Bogle, 50
14. Jason Anderson, 46
15. Joey Savatgy, 40
16. Justin Hill, 39
17. Tyler Bowers, 33
18. Ben Lamay, 22
19. Kyle Chisholm, 21
20. Cole Martinez, 18
21. Carlen Gardner, 18
22. Alex Ray, 18
23. Malcolm Stewart, 17
24. Ryan Breece, 8
25. Ronnie Stewart, 7
26. Theodore Pauli, 5
27. Cade Autenrieth, 4
28. Angelo Pellegrini 4
29. Austin Politelli, 3
30. Cheyenne Harmon, 2
31. Heath Harrison, 1