Round seven of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship will go down as the closest 450SX Class finish in history after an inspired ride by Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb. The early laps appeared to be the return of the 2019 pre-season favorites, but Webb charged from seventh to take the lead in the final corner in an aggressive squeeze at the top of the final berm to nab the win, and simultaneously the points lead, from Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen. In the second round of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, Austin Forkner repeated his win at the previous round to take an eight-point lead in that class.
When the gate dropped on the 450SX Class Main Event it was Ken Roczen and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac nearly side by side, with Roczen edging out Tomac for the holeshot. Within three corners Tomac was in the lead and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin had jumped into second. With Webb back in seventh it looked like this would mark the return of the old guard; before the first lap was over Roczen had re-taken second place and the three looked sure to fill the podium, only the order was in question.
A little over three minutes into the race Roczen overtook Tomac and found his flow. Two minutes later Tomac lost the front end in a rutted turn and picked himself up in seventh. From there he dropped slowly back, finally finishing in twelfth. Just past the halfway mark Webb made it around Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS’ Blake Baggett and set his sights on his teammate Musquin, who had closed the gap to Roczen to under two seconds. Webb could now see the win 3.6 seconds ahead. He got past his teammate in the whoops with under four minutes on the clock and began to reel in Roczen; Webb had some better lines including quadding a section that Roczen was tripling.
Webb nearly pulled the trigger heading up to the white flag but saved his blitz through the whoops until the final lap, where he then cut across the bottom of the final berm and rode Roczen aggressively high. Both riders came out of the turn off balance and wide open. Webb won the drag race to the finish line an incredible .02 seconds ahead. What would have been points leader Roczen’s first win of the season instead turned into Webb’s fourth – the only rider with multiple wins after seven rounds – and Webb’s re-taking of the points lead. The Texas crowd of 57,614 went wild for the North Carolina star who has emerged as the man to beat in his third season in the 450SX Class.
In an unpredictable season with some of the best racing the sport has ever seen, it’s sure to be another great night when Monster Energy Supercross drops the gate again this Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
- 450SX Class Results
- 1. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM
- 2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda
- 3. Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
- 4. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM
- 5. Joey Savatgy, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki
- 6. Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
- 7. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
- 8. Dean Wilson, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
- 9. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
- 10. Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., Honda