Fast Five // Anaheim 2

There is something about racing at Angel Stadium of Anaheim that seems to stir up an elevated level of excitement and drama for the evening of racing. Round 3 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship was no exception. Beginning with a third consecutive week of a tarped track due to excessive amounts of rain, we once again didn’t see riders hit the track until timed qualifying practice. Lots of notable events at Round 3, and in no particular order, here are your “Fast Five” most talked about, most notable, and/or most memorable moments from Anaheim 2.

Malcolm Stewart is Back!

After what was probably an incredibly long off-season for the younger of the Stewart brothers, we finally saw the 2016 Eastern Regional 250SX Champion make his 2017 debut. Malcolm mentioned to Fox Sports Pit Reporter, Jenny Taft, that it was never a question of “if” he could go racing, but “when” – with bike transport being the biggest concern and one of the most cost prohibitive elements of racing. Luckily for the #47, Ride365.com stepped up big time as the title sponsor for the remainder of the 2017 season, including providing a rig. Ride365.com co-owner, Brett Cue, and Malcolm were both seen smiling from ear-to-ear all weekend, so excited to be back at the races.

The Stewart Racing deal was inked while burning the midnight oil, giving Malcolm only a mere couple days on his race bike before he lined up amongst the 450s for the first time. How would Mookie fair once we dropped the gate? Malcolm not only rode well for having minimal testing time on the race bike, but rode like he hadn’t missed a beat, or laps, for that matter. Stewart qualified 10^th fastest in practice, came in 2^nd in his Heat Race – earning a direct transfer to the Main Event, and would ultimately finish 18^th on the evening. We should expect that with some more testing time and an increase in fitness that we see the #47 running up in the front of the pack in no time at all. There is still a lot of racing left in the 450SX class.

Cooper Webb’s First 450SX Holeshot

Cooper Webb, the back-to-back 2015 and 2016 Western Regional 250SX Champion has come accustomed to being on the podium, and often on the top step of the box. In this podium “drought” – the last supercross podium appearance for Webb was a 1^st place finish at Santa Clara on April 2, 2016 – you can see the frustration in his eyes that he’s faced with being three races in and yet to make a podium appearance. But Webb is a fast learner. He is quickly adapting to the 450SX class and new timed race format. Although a rookie in the class, he’s ready for his first podium appearance in the premier class and of the season.

The pieces are starting to connect for young, scrappy, and hungry Webb, as evident by his 3^rd place qualifying time at Anaheim last weekend as well as earning a direct transfer position to the Main Event out of his Heat Race. When the gate dropped on the 450SX Main Event, Cooper was the first to cross the chalk, earning his first career 450SX Holeshot. Although the defending champion, Ryan Dungey, would quickly pass the #2 of Webb for the lead, Cooper has shown that he has the speed to run up front. His time is coming and we should expect to see Coop back on the box in no time.

“El Hombre” gets Disqualified after a run-in with Vince Friese

Vince Friese – a name that has become practically synonymous with “aggressive instigator” on the track. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Friese is capable of the envious “great start” as soon as the gate drops. That great jump off the gate puts Friese in the front of the pack early on, but it’s often not long before many riders are moving in for the pass. It’s typically in passing situations where tempers flare and rivalries are born. In Anaheim, it would be the #21 of Jason Anderson who would find himself in a Heat Race run-in with the notoriously aggressive passer, Friese. Of course, Anderson is no stranger to making aggressive passing moves of his own.

In the very short 5 minute + 1 lap Heat Race, we saw aggressiveness escalate rather quickly between the two, Anderson and Friese. Anderson would pass Friese and in the next turn, Friese attempted to take the line away from Anderson, which resulted in Anderson going down and the #25 of Marvin Musquin getting tangled up and going down as well, causing both riders to head to the Semis. While not necessarily a “dirty” pass by Friese, the incident certainly struck a chord with Anderson. As the two exchanged words on the way back to the paddock, words turned into tempers lost which turned into physical aggression, which would ultimately result in Anderson being disqualified for the remainder of the evening. Friese’s reputation is anything but clean when it comes to his ability to instigate and push the buttons of riders out on the track. Unfortunately for Anderson, Friese got the best of his temper in Anaheim. Anderson quickly apologized for allowing things to get physical between the two riders, but the disqualification had already been issued. Look for Jason to come back at Round 4 fired up and ready to produce results.

Ken Roczen’s Championship Dreams Shattered

Anaheim 2 was filled with newsworthy event after newsworthy event, but none more talked about than Ken Roczen’s Main Event Crash. The German rider has been nothing but fast and flawless out on the track thus far, taking every single Heat Race and Main Event win that he’s raced. But everything can change in an instant. Honda’s championship dreams were off to an incredible start this season with Ken Roczen brought in as an easily viable solution to end their championship drought.

Kenny started the night with his third Heat Race win on the season after qualifying 4^th during practice. During the Main Event, Ken got off to an unusually bad start for the #94, especially for this season, and was recorded in 7^th after the first lap. He would work his way up to 3^rd place before disaster struck. Nearly half way through the 20 minute + 1 lap Main Event, Kenny hit a soft spot on the track that would send him catapulting over the bars, slamming into the face of a jump. It was in that moment, the series changed. We would later find out that Kenny sustained a compound fracture of the left radius, a dislocated left wrist, and a dislocated left elbow. The #94 now faces a long road to recovery dotted with many surgeries along the way. Unfortunately for Kenny, and for the series, his 2017 season has come to a screeching halt for the Honda rider. It is unknown, yet, if Roczen will be back for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Season, or if we’ll have to wait until 2018 until K-Roc makes another run for the championship. Fans and riders alike will miss seeing the #94 the rest of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross Season. Best wishes on a quick recovery, Kenny!

Ryan Dungey Regains Points Lead in 450SX Class

If anyone was going to be the most viable option for giving Ryan Dungey a run for his money on his quest for a Supercross championship three-peat, it was likely to be Ken Roczen. Ken started off the season perfectly – winning all the heats he competed in and all of the Main Events. In Anaheim, however, Ryan Dungey would move into the lead very shortly after the gate dropped. The Champ maintained a lead the entire 20 Minute + 1 Lap Main Event and with Ken’s unfortunate crash, Ryan would also move into the points lead for the first time this season.

With Kenny out for the season, will there be anyone who can step up and challenge Dungey? Or is he headed to his third Monster Energy Supercross championship in a row?