Handicapping the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series for RMFantasySX.com fantasy supercross will not be easy if the first two rounds are any indication of what’s coming. Only one rider—Justin Barcia—repeated in the top 5, making it insanely difficult to know what to offer for 2022 San Diego fantasy supercross tips. However, it’s my job—even if I’ve started off terribly—so here we go.Jason Anderson
There are no favorites to win. Ken Roczen won the first round and finished in P13 in round two. Jason Anderson managed only a P10 at A1 before winning in Oakland. Cooper Webb was the A1 runner-up before dropping to P7 at Oakland, while Oakland runner-up Aaron Plessinger could only muster a P9 at A1. Justin Barcia has two podiums in two rounds—both P3 finishes. That’s good enough to get the red plate for round 3 at San Diego. However, he hasn’t been a threat to win either race. Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin haven’t finished better than P4, with P5 the year’s best for Chase Sexton and Malcolm Stewart. No one has momentum, so it’s serious guesswork for San Diego.
Cooper Webb
I’m going with Cooper Webb for the San Diego win. The reigning Supercross champion has to be hungry. Webb showed good speed at A1, and his P7 at Oakland was relatively close—less than 17 seconds behind winner Anderson. Like all my choices this week, it’s finger-crossing time.
Eli Tomac
Going with my hunger theory, I have Eli Tomac down for P2. Tomac has gone 6-4, so he is moving in the right direction. It could be that he’s still finding his full race-pace on the Yamaha, so I’m looking for him to move up another two spots in week three.
Justin Barcia
Justin Barcia has two podiums, so I will go with the flow. A rider rarely finishes three rounds in a row in the same position, so that’s working against me. However, Barcia won three openers in a row, so he can be a streak rider. Put down Barcia for P3 for round 3.
Ken Roczen
Although it’s always difficult to predict Ken Roczen, I don’t want to leave him out of the top 5. Expect Roczen to rebound from the crash in Oakland that resulted in a dismal P13 finish. Certainly, if you want to pick Roczen to win, I wouldn’t argue with you—we all saw how strong he was at A1.
Malcolm Stewart
Malcolm Stewart is in a bit of a groove, so P5 it is. Stewart’s 7-5 is extraordinarily consistent by 2022 standards. He’s improving, so P5 might be underestimating him, as he’s still getting used to his new Husqvarna ride. I don’t see Stewart on the podium, but I feel good about him being in the top 5.
The Wild Card is P7, which makes the selection easier than when the Wild Card slot is far down the leaderboard. There are quite a few strong choices for this spot based on the two rounds we’ve seen. I suggest going with one of the top 5 finishers from the first two rounds that you didn’t select for the San Diego top 5. For me, that’s Anderson (10-1), Musquin (4-8), Plessinger (9-2), and Sexton (5-9). Musquin sits in P7 in the standings, so I’ll take him for P7 at San Diego—that’s about all the insight I have to offer after the chaotic opening of 2022.
Marvin Musquin
Fans are getting a great start to the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship battle. After two rounds, the top 9 riders are separated by just 10 points. Last year, it was the same gap for the top 9, though the order was quite different. Who remembers that Dylan Ferrandis was in P2 after two rounds in 2021, and Justin Brayton sat in P3? After two rounds of 2021, the leader is the same this year—Justin Barcia.
Speaking of Justin Brayton, he was ruled out of Oakland due to testing positive for COVID-19. That’s a reminder to double-check the qualifying results, just in case one of your riders won’t be making it to the starting gate.
I did about as badly as possible last week. I managed a miserable five points total. My outsider pick of Alex Martin for the P15 Wild Card didn’t quite pan out—he took P17. Max Anstie was the consensus pick for the Wild Card, and he came through. My five points came from Barcia, who I had for P5. Sexton, Roczen, Webb, and Musquin all let me down. I’m not even in the top 30-percent of RMFantasySX.com fantasy supercross players after two rounds—embarrassing. The worst part is, I don’t have a lot of confidence that I’ll do better this week. We will see!
You don’t want to miss a single second of racing, so make sure you refer to our 2022 Supercross Television Schedule. We cover cable, streaming, and broadcast options.
For those of you who like to skip to the end for the week’s picks, here they are:
Cooper Webb
Eli Tomac
Justin Barcia
Ken Roczen
Malcolm Stewart Wild Card P7: Marvin Musquin
Photography by Tyler Caisse 2022 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship Series Standings (after 2 of 17 rounds)
Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory + Steve ’Stavros’ Parrish
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Our first segment features the new Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory. Senior Editor Nic de Sena brings us his report on the flagship version of Aprilia’s upright middleweight machine. He gives us insight into whether it’s worth spending the extra money on the Factory version, and also of course, whether this sporting Aprilia is really the motorcycle for you.
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The next guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—one of the most iconic sportbikes ever. Check it out in person at your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more.
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In this segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with (arguably) one of the most interesting Suzuki race riders of all time. the iconic RG500 alongside teammate double World Champion Barry Sheene. The two were almost as famous for their exploits off-track, as for their success on it. Those were the days! Steve also raced the Isle of Man TT for about ten years where he won 13 Silver Replicas, and got a podium finish. His insight into that particular brand of mayhem are fascinating.
But there’s waaay more to Steve Parrish than his motorcycle racing. He is also the most successful Semi-Truck racer ever, and, little known piece of useless trivia—he’s my birthday twin: 24th February. He is a natural entertainer and you can’t miss his recounting of the world’s most entertaining—and arguably terrifying—double-decker bus ride ever. If any of you were actually on that hell-ride then we’d love to hear from you!
