Detroit seen from the sofa: the entirety of American Supercross is presented to you from another angle with 3AS Racing, specialist Off Road. With more than 300,000 references in the catalog, 3AS necessarily has the part you need.
PFFF…. I don't know if it was a full moon or not in Detroit, but it has to be said that something happened on Saturday evening... The circuit, which looks quite basic, caused the drivers some problems, and not lower. The fault, perhaps, has a very short track which made the finals count many laps, which dug the ruts in a land that was both soft but slippery on the surface according to the main interested parties. In any case, it was carnage!
And just like that, Eli Tomac now has a gigantic lead in the provisional, he who was even more under threat from Jason “Justin” Anderson less than two weeks ago. It must be said that it didn't happen by itself, Eli went to look for this one, after a start just in the top 10. His return to the front in the first laps of the Final is part of those sporting moments that command respect. But at the Tomac, without contact or inappropriate aggressiveness, just by going faster than the others, and that's it. Own. Hyper fast in the whoops (his two overtakings on Webb and Barcia, WAHHH), meteoric in the bends, precise everywhere, ET3 was the best on Saturday evening and intended to show it to the whole world. What he did, moreover, to win his fifth final of the season. And Detroit in a row! Even if the other championship bosses hadn't self-eliminated, he would have come away from this race mentally pumped up anyway after such a show of force. But there, with a 42-point lead, the Yamaha rider is even more firmly in control of a championship that is reaching out to him, except for injury of course. He can even start managing from now on as his lead is so wide. Note that Eli would have already validated the option that allowed him to join Star Racing next year. We're betting that it might not be too bad outdoors either. Strong. Eli has lost so many SX titles along the way that it would only be fair for him to take this one.
Very nice demonstration in Detroit by Malcolm Stewart, once again, in terms of speed and piloting. BUT, again, there is a real problem with the US SX rule. How can a driver who makes a big mistake leave the track, skip an entire section of whoops, and go back to fighting with the drivers right behind without being punished? "Yeah but he didn't gain any advantage, he even lost places yeah yeah. Well, fortunately again, he made a huge mistake, HE HAS TO PAY THE PRICE. This rule drives me crazy, especially since it is different in the USA, in GP, in the French Elite championship... See Cyril Genot last week in Elite, Lupino at the Motocross des Nations, Tim Gajser in MXGP at Mantova... it doesn't okay, there is something wrong with this system and a serious questioning needs to be done for the "governing authorities", as they say of the men in ties who dismantle the buffets of petit fours every weekend on all the grounds of MX/SX of the world. Ah, there you go, it's better now that it's released. Nobody important reading this yet crisp chronicle, I doubt that it will evolve, but at least it relieves. In short, the AMA officials being apparently visually impaired, MS27 nevertheless took a very good second place, and, above all, tied for provisional points with Jason Anderson. Ironic, again.
NAN, NAN, NAN, NAN!!!!
Justin Barcia was down in Detroit, with a finger that was apparently attacked by a piranha this week. The GASGAS driver did the job, however. First with a great start, then hanging on, to the Barcia, while passing between the drops. Or the red cross flags, in this specific case, before resisting Marvin Musquin. Casually, our guy is having his best season in a long time, as we said in 1950, with a fourth podium and only three points behind the Anderson/Stewart duo. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that he would become Mr Regular? Nah, don't be like "me, me". Nobody believes you.
Author of the holeshot (according to the AMA, nothing to add…), Marvin Musquin missed a podium that offered itself to him like a tipsy Monster Girl to a factory driver on a Vegas night. Once again, the Frenchman was too tender. Already, he should have doubled Justin Bogle in a hurry, given the hungry hyenas he was dragging in his wake. Which would certainly have changed the face of his final. Then, there was a way to get Barcia before, rather than falling stupidly. A missed opportunity to make the podium, therefore. Too bad, they will become increasingly rare.
Justin Brayton took advantage of the battlefield to avoid the bodies here and there to take a superb fifth place in general indifference. Not bad for a 64-year-old guy! No, we are exaggerating a little, but congratulations all the same to JB10. A guy you can only be a fan of when you talk to him, as I had the chance to do in Paris to interview him. The next SX world champion? It wouldn't be more surprising than that.
Vince Friese and Shane McElrath have in common to have achieved the best performance of their 450 careers in Detroit with their sixth and seventh places respectively. Without appearing once on the screen! But it shows the best of both.
Justin Bogle, meanwhile, offered himself as he does from time to time a little moment of Warhol-style glory by leading two laps in this final. We know the talent of the boy, and to see him like this for a few minutes evolve at a level that should be his without these accumulations of injuries, it's nice. And since it's free, let's take advantage of it. Plus, we barely remembered there were yellow bikes, so to see two in the top 10 is Christmas and Mardi Gras combined. Congratulations also, therefore, to his open space colleague Brandon Hartranft, ninth, who also achieved his best performance in the SX450. Like the tenth Cade Clason, by the way. And the eleventh Ryan Breece. And the twelfth Justin Starling. And the thirteenth Alex Martin. And the fifteenth Logan Karnow. And the sixteenth Kevin Moranz (author of a hell of a start from the outside!). Sure it's easier when half the factory riders are lying lifeless on the ground. The only one to eat the sheet, suddenly, is good old Dean Wilson. For once there is an opening, Deano misses.
Let's talk a bit about our major absentees from the Detroit results... Cooper Webb has indeed regained form, we're all OK, but it was still a bit stuck on this one, before it turned frankly to the vinegar. He, who is the incarnate racing intelligence, this time completely failed in a sequence, wanting to make a triple that no one was doing. A cagade with serious consequences for him as for Chase Sexton, who had no other choice but to use the small body of the Coop 'as a vulgar Air Protek that JLFO would have inadvertently thrown on the track. We will appreciate in passing his extraordinary willingness to want to save points even with one hand. Much less the fact that he does it by skipping part of the field… As a result, the AMA, for once awake, asked him to return to his niche.
Chase Sexton, meanwhile, was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… A moment in contact in front, he lost the thread a bit before coming back towards the head. A funny final for the Honda driver, before the disaster. Fortunately, no sores, as for Coop. A miracle.
Jason Anderson had done it right, burying the hatchet with Mookie. After a moderate start, he rushed to the head of the race like Dédé de la Fédé on the famous freebie buffet, before seeing Eli return to his mirrors. But even doubled, JA21 had not said its last word before losing the front, then its senses. A DNF that definitely buries, I'm afraid, his chances of SX titles this year. With this kind of performance, however, Jason has raised his financial claims drastically with managers. And he too is unscathed and ready to return to battle. #teamnotsofried.
Finally, we finish this 450 sofa in Detroit by Dylan Ferrandis. It started average (who said as usual?), it went up correctly when, suddenly, it was possible to pull the chestnuts from the fire, as we said around 1888/89. But when it's not your season... It's a big long in a sequence that cost Dylan the podium. The Yam pilot felt like he had hurt his wrist, forcing him to stop immediately. Another lost opportunity. When is the outdoors?
A word about poor Joan Cros, so close and yet so far from the final. Let's go!
Much less drama in 250 in Detroit, in a category that is usually not stingy. The problem is this young Jett Lawrence. After his failed Triple Crown at the McAdoo in Atlanta last year, one could expect to see other mistakes by the Honda rider that would have given spice to this championship. Nay, as Molière said. Good start, a supersonic passage in the whoops to overtake Stilez Robertson and… Ah, no, we thought for a moment, thanks to the latecomers who hampered him and prevented him from jumping the finish double that the youngster was in danger . He then gently kicked forward again, and recovered enough of the lead to manage. This championship is his, like the one that could be his father, Christian Craig, on the other coast. The first East/West confrontation (April 16 in Atlanta) promises to be daunting…
Cameron McAdoo has recovered well after an average start, and takes a good second place, which is the best he can hope for at the moment in the current state of things.
Pierce Brown is progressing race after race, and signs here his first podium of the season, and his second in all after Daytona last year. This after winning his heat. Given the absences, he positions himself as a credible third man, between two falls from RJ Hampshire.
An RJ who wrestled part of the Detroit finals with his soul mate Jordon Smith. The two have known each other and have been evolving together for years, with the same destiny: one moment or another, it loses the front or it gets one of space. Seeing them fight both, we only wonder one thing: when and how it will end badly… This time, it passed, however, without falls. Congratulations to RJ and Jordon, who signs his best final of the season.
Behind, could do better for Oldenburg, not bad for Phil Nicoletti. On the other hand, it will be necessary to do better than a good final in the year for Stilez Robertson if he wants to keep his place… Starting in the lead and finishing eight on a regular basis, that will not amuse Roger De Coster for long.
Good comeback from Enzo Lopes, despite new clutch problems, and going through the LCQ.
Finally, Kyle Chisholm, although off to a good start, did not do as well as we expected, after a stall. Party postponed, Chizz will get us a good one before the end. Starting next week at Indy? Who knows ?
By Richard Angot.
