HOUSTON — The 13th round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship also held within it the third and final round of the Triple Crown series, and the racing could not have been much more exciting for the 49,183 fans packed into NRG Stadium.
In the 450SX class, Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb took his sixth win of the season and stretched his points lead to 17 by winning the event by finishing second, first, and then third in the night’s three main events.
Webb’s victory made history as it is KTM’s first win in Houston in the 51 times the Texas city has hosted a Monster Energy Supercross round.
Webb’s teammate, Marvin Musquin, finished second overall, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson taking the final 450SX Class podium spot.
The first 450SX event saw Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen grab the holeshot and run off with the race, amassing over a ten second lead at one point. There was an incredible amount of action behind him, though. Webb, Musquin, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac were bar to bar around a berm on the first lap battling for third with Dean Wilson just ahead of them.
Musquin and Webb started a physical battle; the riders came together a few times, with Webb aggressively pushing Musquin off the track before the sand section, causing his KTM teammate to lose three positions. Webb eventually ran down Wilson for second, while Musquin battled back, nabbing fifth from Tomac right at the finish line jump.
In the second 450SX event Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy got the holeshot at the stripe but Cooper Webb grabbed the lead away from him right away. Behind them, Roczen tangled with the back of Dean Wilson’s bike and hit the ground hard, pulling out of the race with what looked like a right foot or ankle injury. Musquin was back in fifth but charging hard from the opening laps, and Tomac was attempting the same but from back in 10th.
It took Musquin three minutes to get into fourth and nearly another three minutes to put his KTM into third. With just over four minutes left on the clock Musquin got past Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely and started to chip away at Webb’s lead of just over two seconds. Musquin got close but pushed too hard and went down on the final lap in the sand section, eventually winding up third behind Webb and Wilson.
In the final race of the night, Savatgy once again grabbed the holeshot but before the pack had left the second corner Musquin was leading it. Webb was in sixth but moved quickly up to third, passing Tomac on the way. Musquin pulled a little breathing room on Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne, who sat in second with Webb and Tomac closing in quickly.
A little before the half way point both Webb and Tomac got around Osborne almost simultaneously but had over five seconds to pick up if they hoped to catch Musquin. After just over six minutes of racing Tomac and Webb traded positions a couple times, with Tomac making the pass stick and taking off after Musquin. He got the lead as narrow as three and a half seconds before Musquin pulled it back out to win comfortably.
It was enough for second overall on the night for Musquin. Webb’s third-place finish got him the overall win as well as the Triple Crown championship-within-a-championship title. It’s also a personal milestone for Webb since in neither of his two previous 450SX Class seasons has he made it to the thirteenth round – and in 2019 he leaves it healthy and with a 17-point lead.
“It was a tough night. You always forget in the Triple Crowns how many laps you end up doing,” Webb said. “For me it was good to go out and get a win, which is great. I knew the laps were going to be tough. I had a little gap, so I kind of knew where I needed to be, so it was good. It was a great night for us KTM guys going one and two, and like you said, I was able to win again, which is sweet. I’m stoked on that, and it feels good to be up here on the top.”