Despite finishing in P5 after a poor start in Main Event 1 of the Triple Crown format, Eli Tomac stormed back to win back-to-back Main Events to take the overall victory at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Tomac’s win puts him seven points up on Ken Roczen after 8 of 17 rounds of the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series. Roczen finished in P2 for the night, after going 1-7-2. Jason Anderson was in position to win the overall until midway in Main Event 3, eventually crashing and dropping to P3 overall with a 3-2-5 card. Defending Supercross Champion Cooper Webb suffered a brutal crash near the end of Main Event 2, ending his night and dropping him 26 points behind Tomac in the series standings.
Tomac and Roczen had three completely different races on the brutal track at AT&T Stadium, which saw Webb, Adam Cianciarulo, Justin Brayton, and Broc Tickle all sidelined before the end of Main Event 2. Tomac got a terrible start in Main Event 1, and was in P13 at the end of the first lap. Tomac was able to work his way up to P5 by the end of the race, though it looked like he was unlikely to take the overall win, as Roczen was an easy winner, with Webb, Anderson, and Justin Barcia well behind.
In Main Event 2, the roles were reversed, with Tomac storming to the front and leading every lap, while Roczen was in P10 after the first lap. Roczen was never able to get going and could only manage a P7, surrendering the overall lead for the night to Anderson, who had gone 3-2. Going into the final Main Event, Anderson had five points, Tomac had six, and Roczen trailed with eight points. It looked to be between Tomac and Anderson, with Roczen as a longshot for the overall.
None of the top three got a fantastic start, with Anderson in P3, Roczen right behind him, and Tomac in P6. Zach Osborne (7-4 in the first two Main Events) led, with Blake Baggett (10-8) following. Baggett was passed quickly and fell on lap 4 (of 17), putting Anderson and Roczen 2-3 as Tomac worked his way toward them. On lap 4, it was Anderson-Roczen-Tomac, and the three ran in close formation until lap 10, when Tomac put a clean move on Roczen. Tomac worked on Anderson, passing Anderson for the lead on lap 13, which put Tomac on top for the night. On the penultimate lap, Anderson overshot a corner, allowing Roczen, Osborne, and Barcia by. That dropped Anderson to P3 for the night, giving a gift to Roczen, who moved up to the runner-up spot overall.
Barcia quietly took P4 with a 4-5-4 performance, while Osborne rounded out the top five with a progressively improving 7-4-3 night. It was a big turnaround for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammates Anderson and Osborne. Anderson, who was the only rider in the top five for all of the first five races was on a dismal 14-10 run, while Osborne had gone 18-11-11-11 in the last four races.
Justin Hill was a podium threat with a 6-3 run to start the night, but a fall at the start of ME3 put him at the back of the pack and only able to work back to P8, and P6 overall. Never figuring in the podium battles in any of the Main Events were Malcolm Stewart (8-6-9), Aaron Plessinger (9-10-7) and Dean Wilson (13-9-6). Baggett ran in P2 for most of ME2 before going down, and was in P2 to start ME3, where he also fell. Baggett (10-8-13) ended up with the final top 10 spot.
Cianciarulo broke his collarbone in qualifying practice, and did not race in the evening. Tickle qualified in P17, but did not complete a single lap. “Broc just had bad luck the first lap of the first main event, when his hand got hit by another rider’s wheel,” said JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team Manager Jeremy Albrecht. “He was in too much pain to continue racing, and walked straight to the Alpinestars Mobile Medical rig to fix him up the best they could. We will have Tickle evaluated first thing with a hand specialist and see what’s required, and at that point determine a timeline for his return to racing.”
Brayton crashed out on lap 16 (of 17) in ME1, with Webb suffering the same fate in ME2. Webb was sent to the hospital, though Red Bull KTM Team Manager Ian Harrison reports that Webb appears to have no broken bones.
Tomac and Roczen are now in a race of their own for the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross title. Tomac has a full-race lead in points over everyone but Roczen, with Roczen seven points behind Tomac. Eight races in, Tomac has won half the races and has not finished outside of the top five since the opener at Anaheim. Roczen has gone four rounds without a win, and we will have to wait and see on Webb’s condition. Barcia in P4 in the standings, 27 points behind Tomac. Barcia hasn’t seen the podium since round 2 in St. Louis. Cianciarulo is now out of the championship race due to his collarbone break.
The middle event of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series in next week in Atlanta. Check our 2020 Supercross TV Schedule for cable and streaming coverage.
Photo courtesy of Feld Entertainment and Align Media
2020 Arlington Supercross Results, AT&T Stadium
- Eli Tomac (Kawasaki), 5-1-1
- Ken Roczen (Honda), 1-7-2
- Jason Anderson (Husqvarna), 3-2-5
- Justin Barcia (Yamaha), 4-5-4
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 7-4-3
- Justin Hill (Honda), 6-3-8
- Malcolm Stewart (Honda), 8-6-9
- Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha), 9-10-7
- Dean Wilson (Husqvarna), 13-9-6
- Blake Baggett (KTM), 10-8-13
- Vince Friese (Honda), 12-11-10
- Cooper Webb (KTM), 2-17-20
- Chad Reed (Honda), 14-12-16
- Ryan Breece (Suzuki), 18-15-11
- Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha), 19-13-12
- Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki), 16-14-14
- Martín Dávalos (KTM), 11-20-19
- Kyle Cunningham (Suzuki), 19-13-12
- James Weeks (Yamaha), 20-16-17
- Ronnie Stewart (Husqvarna), 21-18-18
- Justin Brayton (Honda), 15-21-21
- Broc Tickle (Suzuki), 22-22-22
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series Standings (8 of 17 rounds)
- Eli Tomac (Kawasaki), 181 points (4 wins; 5 podiums)
- Ken Roczen (Honda), 174 (2 wins; 6 podiums)
- Cooper Webb (KTM), 155 (1 win; 5 podiums)
- Justin Barcia (Yamaha), 154 (1 win; 2 podiums)
- Jason Anderson (Husqvarna), 139 (3 podiums)
- Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki), 128 (2 podiums)
- Malcolm Stewart (Honda), 122
- Justin Hill (Honda), 110
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 105
- Justin Brayton (Honda), 105
- Blake Baggett (KTM), 104 (1 podium)
- Dean Wilson (Husqvarna), 100
- Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha), 92
- Vince Friese (Honda), 82
- Martín Dávalos (KTM), 65
- Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki), 49
- Chad Reed (Honda), 31
- Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha), 29
- Ryan Breece (Suzuki), 25
- Justin Bogle (KTM), 24
- Kyle Cunningham (Suzuki), 21
- Alex Ray (Kawasaki), 19
- Chris Blose (Honda), 18
- Benny Bloss (Yamaha), 13
- Broc Tickle (Suzuki), 12
- James Weeks (Yamaha), 4
- Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 4
- Jason Clermont (Kawasaki), 3
- Cade Autenrieth (Honda), 3
- Ronnie Stewart (Husqvarna), 3
- Adam Enticknap (Suzuki), 2
- Fredrik Norén (Suzuki), 2
- Jerry Robin (Honda), 1
- Josh Cartwright (Kawasaki), 1