Words and Photos by Krystyn Slack
After a 19-year hiatus, Monster Energy Supercross came racing back to Tampa, FL last Saturday night. With a giant pirate ship in the end zone and a wicked long sand section, it was guaranteed to be an eventful night of racing. For so many riders, this particular round was drumming up the most excitement because a good portion of them reside within driving distance and train locally, which means it was one round that they didn’t have to navigate the airports in order to get to work. And just as the weeks that came before it, Round 8 did not disappoint. Here’s a look at the five most talked about moments from the night of racing in Raymond James Stadium.
5. The talk of the town from fans and riders alike was the massive sand section on the Tampa track. This was the first time Monster Energy Supercross had returned to Tampa since 1999 and Dirt Wurx and the design team wanted to do it up right for the return. What would a visit to Florida be without a trip to the beach? The sand section occupied nearly the length of the field and evolved lap after lap. As riders approached the sand section after a technical rhythm section, really the only option was to straight send it and hope for the best. Florida is known for its beautiful beaches, but when you bring that super fine white sand onto a Supercross track, it’s bound to mix up the competition. Riders had trouble through the section all day and ultimately, it was who could keep the weight on the real wheel and who wasn’t afraid to send it who would prevail.
4. Two of the presumed title contenders, Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin, have come to be each other’s fiercest competitor each week. In Tampa, the two spent almost the entire Main Event battling for position. Racing was incredibly close between Musquin and Tomac, and after both battled shoulder injuries earlier in the season, it’s great to have them both back to their pre-injury speed and glory. Tomac made a decisive pass before the sand section when Musquin left the inside line open. This was a line Tomac had taken many times in practice and was waiting for the perfect moment to make the pass. Musquin was able to catch Tomac and regain the lead before Tomac made a second pass that stuck. Tomac claimed his fourth win of the season and now sits 7th in points.
3. Sitting second in points has not been kind to any rider in the premier class this year. First it was Ken Roczen, who got his hand stuck in Cooper Webb’s swing arm in San Diego, shattering his hand and causing a world of damage that would end his season just as he was heating up. Then in Dallas, Justin Barcia got landed on by Tyler Bowers, breaking the metacarpal in his right hand. It has not yet been determined if we will see Barcia again before the end of the Monster Energy Supercross season. Now, in Tampa, Cole Seely was also bitten by the 2nd place curse that has been looming like a dark stormy cloud. While Cole was navigating the tricky rhythm section before the sand section when he was launched from his bike, he took a hard hit resulting in a broken pelvis in multiple places as well as a broken sacrum. This injury would be the end of his Supercross season.
2. Justin Hill was just starting to pick up steam as the Western Regional 250 riders reached their break. However, he has been very vocal about his desires to hop on a 450 if the moment arose. Unlucky for the other Justin on his team, the #19 of Justin Bogle was injured at San Diego and will be away from the races for an undetermined amount of time. While Malcolm Stewart has been the fill-in rider brought on to keep Bogle’s anime warm, the team decided to let Justin Hill take a stab at the RM-Z450 in Tampa. I’m sure not many of the 450 riders thought much of the fact that they would be facing a new competitor during Round 8. Much to their surprise, Hill made an incredibly bold statement Saturday night and showed his competition he’s more than ready to play with the big boys. He won his heat race and then went on to make an impressive charge in the main event, even hitting a quad that most of the veteran 450 riders didn’t even want to touch. He would ultimately finish his first-ever 450SX Main Event in 6th place.
1. Tampa was an especially meaningful race for the long-time veteran rider Chad Reed. While he’s spent much of the season building and recovering after his off-season ankle injury, Tampa will end up being the race that many will be talking about for years into the future. Up until this race, the record for most Main Event starts by any rider ever was held by the great Mike LaRocco at 227. In fact, other than Chad Reed, no rider has even come remotely close to holding, let alone breaking. But the historic night was upon us Saturday night when an LCQ win for the two-two meant that he would be lining up for Main Event start number 228. Chad Reed is now the all-time leader in Main Event Supercross starts. He has so much of his career to be proud of, but this moment is absolutely one for the history books!