DETROIT — A common adage in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has long been that anything can happen at any given moment, and that sentiment reigned true during Round 11 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship inside Ford Field.
An exceptionally challenging race track, anchored by the most treacherous and demanding whoop section of the season, pushed the most talented racers on the planet to the limit and ultimately resulted in a dramatic shakeup of the 450SMX Class title fight as Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki’s Ken Roczen enjoyed a dominant performance for the landmark 25th victory of his career.
The 20 Minute + 1 Lap 450SMX Class Main Event kicked off with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado capturing his fifth holeshot of the season ahead of Roczen and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton, who made his return to action after missing three races. Championship leader Hunter Lawrence started deep inside the top 10 aboard his Honda HRC Progressive machine, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac, second in points, started outside the top 10.
Back up front, Prado was able to fend off heavy pressure from Roczen for several laps, but the German native seized control of the race lead just a few minutes into the action. Prado then battled briefly with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, the reigning Supercross champion, but the two came together and went down, which dropped them deep in the field.
Roczen quickly built a multi-second lead over Sexton, who moved into second, while Lawrence overcame one of his worst starts of the season to claw his way up to third. The top three settled in through the middle portion of the Main Event, with each finding a consistent rhythm that kept the lead trio within three seconds of each other.
Just before the halfway point of the moto, when both Sexton and Lawrence had made inroads on Roczen’s lead, Lawrence crashed hard exiting the whoops. He remounted but was forced to have his bike attended to in the mechanics area, which lost him a lap.
Roczen extended his lead once more to end the threat from Sexton, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart moved into third ahead of Tomac. Roczen continued to pull away and easily took home his second win of the season in his 173rd career start by a margin of 7.7 seconds over Sexton.
Stewart broke through with his first podium result of the season in third, followed by Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper in fourth, ahead of Tomac in fifth. Lawrence, meanwhile, soldiered through another fall to salvage 18th place.
A dramatic shakeup in the championship has moved Tomac back atop standings for the first time since the fourth race of the season, as he now holds a four-point lead over Lawrence with six races remaining. Roczen’s win moved him to within 14 points of the lead to establish a three-rider battle for the championship’s stretch run.
“I don’t know what to say, but this is exactly what I was talking about [people overlooking my ability to win]. This was a tough Main Event,” Roczen said. “I was definitely not the fastest in the beginning. I was playing a little bit with the track. I knew they were gaining on me, so I switched up my rhythms slightly. It was tough, because I wasn’t necessarily lighting the world on fire [with my speed] but the track was so tough. The whoops were a 50-50 chance you were going to make it through or end up on your back. I am so excited, you have no idea. We closed up some points, but we still have a lot of racing to go.”
The fifth 15 Minute + 1 Lap Eastern Divisional 250SMX Class Main Event of the season started with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Nate Thrasher leading the field to the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker and Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda.
Behind them, championship leader Cole Davies was mired in 15th place aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing machine. Thrasher held onto the lead for a couple laps but then crashed out of contention in the whoops, which handed the lead to Hammaker.
As the Kawasaki rider asserted his hold of the top spot over Shimoda, Davies was on a torrid march to the front. Thanks to an unparalleled level of speed through a challenging whoops section, the New Zealander easily broke into the top 10 and soon found his way into the top five before the halfway point.
From there, Davies charged into podium position and made quick work of a pass by Shimoda to move into second place. He then proceeded to erase a four second deficit to Hammaker and fittingly made the winning pass coming out of the whoops with just under six minutes to go. From there, Davies checked out on the field.
Hammaker easily held onto second, while Shimoda was forced to contend with ClubMX Yamaha’s Coty Schock, who initially got by his Japanese counterpart for a spot on the podium, only to give it back after a crash in the whoops.
Davies completed an incredible come-from-behind performance by a margin of 12.1 seconds over Hammaker for a third straight Main Event victory, while Shimoda rounded out the podium in third.
With his third consecutive win, Davies extended his lead in the championship standings to nine points over Hammaker, with Shimoda sitting 14 points back in third.
