Supercross Takes Over Anaheim for 2018 Season
The four-month-long indoor dirt bike race is officially in full swing.
Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis and Yamaha bikes raced over two thousand feet of dirt hills, jumps, and whoops at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA on Saturday night.
This was the third race of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross series, a four-month-long indoor dirt bike competition that challenges drivers’ speed and stamina on different tracks all over the country.
Last night’s event, which was live streamed on Fox Sports 1, featured three rounds of two race: The 250SX Main and the 450SX Main. The 250SX featured 22 competitors driving for 6, 10, and 12-minute races, while the 450SX featured 22 other drivers who raced in 8, 12, and 15-minute intervals.
This year is the first time in two decades that Monster Energy is using a Triple Crown system, which cumulates points from all three races per track and eliminates previous semi races. The rider with the highest amount of points, measured by speed and failure to crash, will take the ultimate crown. This system will ensure a more competitive race.
In the 250 Main, Joey Savatgy, a Georgia-based rider who drives a neon green Kawasaki, came in first overall with 26 points.
Shane McElrath, who won the first 250 Main in Anaheim on January 6, placed second. McElrath lagged behind last night, taking 5th place in the first race, but redeemed himself in the remaining two.
In the 450, Cole Seely, Brayton, Eli Tomac, Jason Anderson, and Justin Brayton were top contenders for each round. Tomac placed first overall with Seely in second, Anderson in third, and Brayton in fourth. View the rest of the results here.
Ken Roczen, the 23-year-old who previously won Supercross Lites and was a world motocross champion at age 18, only placed ninth overall. Roczen is still recovering from a traumatic crash in Anaheim 2 last year, in which he dislocated his wrist and elbow.
Overall, it was an eventful evening. The commentators spent most of the 2.5-hour-race discussing Roczen’s recent injury, their high expectations for McElrath, and Tomac’s comeback after he suffered a shoulder injury at Anaheim 1.
Commercials featuring Roczen and Tomac were shown in-between races, and celebrities like Kate Hudson, Vince Vaughn, and PGA champion Rickie Fowler were in attendance.
The next race will take place next Saturday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, and the competition will continue south and east until the final race in Las Vegas on May 5.
