Words and Photos by Krystyn Slack (@freestylephotocross)
Thirteen rounds of racing complete, four rounds left, and the racing continues to heat up in both the 250SX class and 450SX class. Round 13 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, took us to The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. “St. Louis” is one of those rounds you often hear riders talk about throughout the series – the round that is able to claim the illusive “best dirt on the circuit” seal of approval from anyone who has ever raced on the not too wet, not too dry, not too tacky, “just right” kind of dirt that Goldilocks would have no trouble selecting. With prime dirt conditions and the absence of a sand section, we were in for a treat with the night of racing that was to unfold.
Since Toronto, Eli Tomac has had the Supercross world on a string.
The evening kicked off with a pair of 250SX Heat Races. In Heat Race 1, the #16 of Zach Osborne and the #44 of Jordon Smith broke away from the pack for an early lead. Smith initially was the frontrunner, but Osborne made a smart pass and would remain in the lead until the checkers. This would be Zach’s 4th Heat Race win of the year and his 8th for his career. In Heat Race 2, more battles would unfold as the #48 of Christian Craig and the #37 of current points leader Joey Savatgy duked it out for the lead position. Savatgy quickly made the pass for the lead and went on to claim his 2nd Heat Race win of the season. Joey’s Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Adam Cianciarulo, managed to finish in 3rd with a transfer position after being taken for a wild ride that nearly left him tossed off his bike.
In the 450SX Heat Race 1, tensions were already brewing between the two-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion Chad Reed and current points leader and defending champion, Ryan Dungey. The second the gate dropped, Reed and Dungey were engaged in a heated cat and mouse chase for the lead. Dungey was up front first, with Reed quickly moving in for the pass. Reed would then remain in the lead for much of the Heat Race, coming into contact with Dungey multiple times. Ryan was able to make a pass that stuck in order to claim his 47th career Heat Race victory. Ryan’s teammate, Marvin Musquin, would finish 2nd in the Heat, followed by Reed in 3rd, and Malcolm Stewart in 4th to round out the transfer positions. It appeared as if Musquin had plenty of charge and speed to pass his teammate many times during the heat but never made the move, even though he caught up to Ryan on multiple occasions but didn’t pull the trigger. One has to wonder if team orders come into play in this situation. Heat Race 2 was off to a rough start for the #3 of Eli Tomac who was buried in the pack, with Jason Anderson and Davi Millsaps out front early. We know that Eli is undoubtedly the fastest rider on the track these days, but getting a good start is key to getting up front, especially during the Heat Races, which only last a mere 5 minutes + 1 lap. It is quite possible that Tomac’s greatest asset to his unstoppable winning streak is the longer timed races that have been introduced this season – not necessarily for the short Heat Races, but definitely for the Main Event. The #21 of Jason Anderson would go on to take the checkers on his 4th Heat Race win of the year and 7th in his career, followed by Davi Millsaps, Blake Baggett, and Eli Tomac sneaking in one more last lap pass to secure the final transfer position out the Heat and directly to the Main Event.
With just two rounds remaining in the 250SX East Series, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Joey Savatgy holds the points lead and the red plate.
Racing continued to be eventful and exciting in the 250 LCQ, 450 Semis, and 450 LCQ. In the 250 LCQ, Jesse Wentland went on to claim victory, followed by Lorenzo Locurcio, and a pair of FXR riders, Henry Miller and Jerry Robin. 450 Semi 1 had some of the most nail-biting racing of the evening with Cooper Webb leading Cole Seely up until the final turn before the Over/Under Bridge step-up to the finish line, when Cole Seely made an epic pass for the lead and for the win on the final lap. Justin Bogle would go on to win the second 450 Semi. As quickly as the gate was dropped in the 450 LCQ, the red flag was also flown as the #374 of Cody Gilmore was violently thrown from the bike before the first turn and was knocked unconscious. The Alpinestars Medial Team tended to Gilmore immediately and we would later learn that Cody suffered a concussion and fractured C3, C7, and T1 vertebrae. Red Flag restarts are a blessing to some and a curse to others. This week, Dean Wilson would greatly benefit from the restart and would go on to take the 450 LCQ win. The restart also benefitted Alex Ray, who had a run in with Justin “Bam Bam” Barcia earlier in the evening. Hw would go on to earn a spot in the Main Event, as well as the #291 of Kyle White, who made his second Supercross Main Event of his career.
It was finally time to drop the gate for the 250SX Main Event. This would be the last time we would see the 250SX Eastern Regional riders line up behind the gate before the break. With four different winners thus far in the Eastern Region alone, it remains undetermined who the undeniable title contender will be. The points lead has been held by both the #17 of Joey Savatgy and the #16 of Zach Osborne this season, with both Osborne and the #44 of Jordon Smith earning their career-first Monster Energy Supercross victories. In St. Louis, it would be Dakota Alix who rocketed to the front of the pack through the first turn, crossing the chalk first and claiming the SupercrossLIVE.com holeshot. Although hot on his heels would be the #17 of the current points leader, Savatgy. Savatgy made an early pass for the lead, but close behind him was the #44 of Jordon Smith. Carrying the added confidence after attaining his career-first win in Round 12 would prove to be just the ticket for Smith. There was a rousing back and forth battle between the #17 and the #44 until Savatgy got a little loose and found himself off the track on a wild ride that missed a couple photographers but dinged a sideline official. With the mistake by Savatgy, Smith was able to capitalize and pull the trigger to keep himself in the lead. The three-time winner, Zach Osborne, was running in third place for much of the Main Event, an impressive feat considering the #16 was dealing with flu-like symptoms much of the week and then a huge crash in untimed practice that caused him to be counted out of the first timed qualifying practice. Zach was able to muster up the strength to run the entire 15 minute + 1 lap Main Event and finish the evening in 3rd – not a strong enough finish to regain the points lead, but definitely not a finish to be disappointed by. Smith would go on to claim his 2nd ever and 2nd consecutive win in the 250SX class, followed by Savatgy and then Osborne. Savatgy will maintain the points lead heading into the break, just 6 points ahead of Smith. From the beginning of this series it has been evident that we will have to wait until Las Vegas to crown a champion.
The Reed/ Dungey battle in the heat race was epic, their battle in the main event was not.
Racing has been equally as exciting in the premier class and Round 13 brought with it added controversy and drama as well. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you’ve heard some chatter about blue flags and a certain blue bike in St. Louis. Tensions were already on the rise between Ryan Dungey and Chad Reed, beginning with the aggressive first turn passing move by Dungey that would leave Reed on the ground, run over, and missing a few layers of skin a week ago in Detroit. The two champions would continue to aggressively battle it out in their Heat Race, and finally came the Main Event where things seemed to reach their boiling point. Ryan Dungey got the initial jump off the gate and was in the lead briefly, before being passed by the seemingly unstoppable #3 of Eli Tomac. The familiar narrative of Tomac grabbing a handful of throttle and not looking back played out again in St. Louis where he’d build a multi-second gap with his unmatchable speed. Things seemed to be the usual battle and fight to catch the Tomac Train for defending champion, Ryan Dungey, gaining on him a bit here and losing a bit there. But around lap 16 is where things began to get dicey. Dungey came up on the #22 of Chad Reed who happened to be in 15th place at the time and riding the fast line. The blue flags were waiving continuously for the next three laps before Reed would allow Dungey to pass. Sure, Reed held his line, as indicated by part of the AMA rulebook as the appropriate thing to do, but he also missed the part of rule that states one should not impede faster riders. Dungey would ultimately make it around Reed, lapping him, but coming up short for the win. Granted, Tomac has created such a gap on the defending champion that there is very little likelihood that race results would’ve ended up as anything but what they were – with Tomac taking an impressive 5th win in a row and his 8th on the season, Dungey coming in second, and Musquin crossing the finish in 3rd. Tomac is the first rider to win 5 in a row since Ryan Villopoto in 2013. Did Reed’s oblivion to the blue flag affect the race result? Probably not. Did he cause any injuries? No. But, it was no secret that Dungey was upset, frustrated, and disappointed by Reed’s actions. Should Reed have moved over sooner? Probably. But, we can’t play the coulda, shoulda, woulda game here. The only thing for certain is that Tomac isn’t slowing down anytime soon and his hunger for his first championship is more than evident. Dungey is now in a “can’t lose” situation if he wants to be crowned champion for the third year in a row.
There are only four rounds remaining in the season and only four points separating the defending champion, Ryan Dungey, and his opponent, Eli Tomac. Every lap and every point counts. We head back to the West Coast for Round 14 where we will stop at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Can Ryan Dungey gain some points back on the Green Machine?
Ryan Dungey must stay focused and rely on his superior cerebral riding skills this weekend in Seattle.