2019 Minneapolis Supercross Preview, Including Track Map
After the Great Lime Fiasco at Petco Park that left riders and machines damaged from the lime used to reduce moisture in the water saturated soil in San Diego, the Supercross racers in the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series will be happy to be riding indoors at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Now that the West Coast has been abandoned for the time being (Seattle is Round 12), let’s take a look at what to expect on Saturday.
- Eli Tomac rolls onto the starting line with a red plate. Although Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) has won over 20 Mains in his 450SX career, he has rarely led the series. Tomac is fresh off his win in the Petco Park muck, his first victory of the season. There have been rumblings that Tomac started the season injured, and is now fully fit. Regardless, Tomac now has a win, and a four-point lead coming into Minneapolis. This could be a pivotal round should Tomac win again. Keep in mind that Tomac was off the podium at the only other dome race—State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Eli Tomac
- Marvin Musquin has three P2 finishes in a row. Musquin (Red Bull KTM) has proven he can run up front regardless of the format. In the last three rounds, Musquin finished P2 in the A2 Triple Crown, the dry conditions of Oakland, and the mudfest at San Diego. However, Musquin finished in P5 in the State Farm Stadium dome. Musquin is four points behind Tomac, and he can’t afford to fall much further behind.
Marvin Musquin
- Still looking for a win, Ken Roczen has not been out of the top five. Only Roczen (Team Honda HRC) and Tomac have been in the top five at every round, so Roczen has proven consistency. Unfortunately, he has had at least two wins slip away from him in the 2019 Supercross season. Roczen is mentally strong, but those near-wins have to bother him. The controlled conditions in Minneapolis will be a good forum for him to show that he can win, and he was on the podium in the Glendale dome. Roczen is tied with Musquin in the title chase in P2.
Ken Roczen
- Blake Baggett won the only dome race this year, and he needs to settle down his results. Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM) has gone 12-1-15-3-9, causing heartburn for fantasy Supercross players everywhere. It’s anyone’s guess which Baggett will show up, though you know he’s trying to get the Glendale Dome Baggett to suit up on Saturday. Baggett is in P5 in the series, but that’s a distant 26 points back—a full race.
Blake Baggett
- We might get an idea of how Cooper Webb is going to do going forward. After consecutive wins at A2 and Oakland, Webb (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing) floundered in the mud, ending the night in P8. The series leader going into San Diego, Webb is now P4 in the standings, eight points behind Tomac. Webb will need to turn things around quickly if he wants to remain relevant in the championship battle. The bad news for Webb is that he was a P10 finisher at the dome race in Glendale.
Cooper Webb
- Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing has added Dean Wilson back to the team, and Zach Osborne is ready to start his 450SX career. Wilson was dropped from the team at the end of 2018 in favor of Zach Osborne. However, Osborne was injured prior to the start of the 2019 season and has yet to start a race. Osborne will begin his year this Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. With 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Champion Jason Anderson out for an extended period, Wilson is taking Anderson’s seat. This is the second time Wilson has started the year as a privateer and ended up as a Husqvarna factory racer. Wilson has been a bit inconsistent this season, though he sits P6 in the 2019 standings. Osborne definitely won’t want to play second fiddle to Wilson, so watch these two.
- It’s hard to tell how well Justin Barcia is going to do. Barcia (Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing) hasn’t been anywhere near the podium since he won the muddy opening round at Anaheim. Barcia had a tailbone rattling crash in Main 3 at A2 and a frustrating DNF at San Diego. That has relegated Barcia to P7 in the standings, and that is a dispiriting 32 points behind Tomac. Regardless, if Barcia has a good night and gets a strong start, he could be podium bound at Minneapolis.
- Justin Bogle is the man on the move. Since joining the Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM team as a last-minute fill-in rider, he has been improving. Bogle has gone 19-15-17-10-4. The P4 finish at San Diego is excellent, though you can only extrapolate so much from a mud performance. Still, Bogle hit the top 10 in Oakland, so he is now riding up to his potential after a dismal start to the year.
- Chad Reed has three top 10 finishes this year, but two were in the mud. In the dry, Reed (JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki) has gone 14-13-9. It’s difficult to see Reed as a consistent top 10 rider this year, but he is hinting at the possibility.
- The Minneapolis Supercross will be live on NBC Sports Network. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET to catch it live. For those with the NBC Sports Gold paid subscription streaming service, Qualifying coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET. As a reminder, be sure to bookmark our 2019 Supercross TV Schedule, which covers cable and streaming.
Photography by Rich Shepard
2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Standings (after 5 of 17 rounds)
- Eli Tomac, 106 points (1 win)
- Marvin Musquin, 102
- Ken Roczen, 102
- Cooper Webb, 98 (2 wins)
- Blake Baggett, 80 (1 win)
- Dean Wilson, 80
- Justin Barcia, 74 (1 win)
- Aaron Plessinger, 66
- Chad Reed, 65
- Cole Seely, 65
- Vince Friese, 54
- Justin Brayton, 52
- Justin Bogle, 50
- Jason Anderson, 46
- Joey Savatgy, 40
- Justin Hill, 39
- Tyler Bowers, 33
- Ben Lamay, 22
- Kyle Chisholm, 21
- Cole Martinez, 18
- Carlen Gardner, 18
- Alex Ray, 18
- Malcolm Stewart, 17
- Ryan Breece, 8
- Ronnie Stewart, 7
- Theodore Pauli, 5
- Cade Autenrieth, 4
- Angelo Pellegrini 4
- Austin Politelli, 3
- Cheyenne Harmon, 2
Heath Harrison, 1
