2020 Salt Lake City One Supercross | Race Report

2020 SALT LAKE CITY ONE SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

250 Heat One

And the first start in nearly three months went to GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton, with teammate Jeremy Martin alongside. The third GEICO Honda rider, Jo Shimoda, sat behind in third but quickly lost the position to Pierce Brown. TLD KTM’s Pierce Brown then immediately began pressuring Martin for second place. Meanwhile, Jalek Swoll settled into fifth place and behind Shimoda. Back up front, Jeremy Martin was able to hold off Brown and remain in second place. While Chase Sexton sat up front with a comfortable seven-second lead on the rest of the field and took the heat race win. On the last lap, Short and Harlan both made slight mistakes while battling for the final transfer position, ultimately putting Harlan on the ground. However, he was able to quickly remount and both riders secured a spot in the main. 

250 Heat Two

The second 250cc heat race was off and the early lead went to Star Racing Yamaha’s Shane McElrath, with teammate Colt Nichols right behind him. Jordan Bailey sat in third place with Garrett Marchbanks trailing, but not for long, as the Pro Circuit rider made a quick pass on Bailey and entered third place. With two-minutes to go, Marchbanks closed in on the Star Yamaha duo but Shane McElrath remained in the lead. Back in the pack, Gaines made a pass through the whoops on Moranz and secured the final transfer position. As the checkered flag waved, Shane McElrath grabbed the heat race win. 

250 LCQ

The last chance qualifier holeshot and early lead went to the number 77 KTM of Kevin Moranz with Wilson Fleming right behind him. Chris Blose sat just behind the leaders in third place and began searching for a spot to pass. One lap later, Chris Blose dove to the inside of Fleming and took second place. Meanwhile, Fleming lost traction and went down, causing Neese to hit the deck while running in the final transfer position. That incident gave Coty Schock the final transfer position, but unfortunately Schock hit the deck and lost the position just a lap later. Back up front, Chris Blose took the lead away from Moranz and ended up taking the LCQ win. 

250 Main Event

The first main event start in Utah went to Star Yamaha’s Shane McElrath, with Sexton and Martin alongside. Chase Sexton settled into second place after a few corners and began trailing McElrath. After just a lap, Colt Nichols had to go into the pits to straighten up the bike after an early incident. Moments later, Jo Shimoda also entered the mechanics area with problems. Back on the track, Garrett Marchbanks made the move on Jeremy Martin for third place after an aggressive dive to the inside. Kyle Peters began moving up the pack, as he made the pass on both Bailey and Owen. After crashing on the opening lap, Pierce Brown began climbing through the field as he entered the top-10 with 7-minutes on the clock. Back up front, Shane McElrath continued to lead and opened up a three-second lead on Chase Sexton in second place. TLD KTM’s Pierce Brown continued to advance through the pack, as he. entered fifth place after passing Peters. As the checkered flag waved, Shane McElrath took the 250cc Main Event win in Salt Lake City. 

450 Heat One

The first 450cc start in Utah went to Monster Energy Kawsaki’s Eli Tomac, with Cooper Webb and Blake Baggett trailing. As Eli Tomac began to gap the rest of the field, Vince Friese, Chad Reed, Zach Osborne, and Malcolm Stewart all battled for top-5 positions. Zach Osborne made a quick pass on Reed and then began working on Friese for fourth place. Meanwhile, Aaron Plessinger began challenging Stewart for seventh place. With less than two minutes to go, Osborne was finally able to make the pass on Friese and secure fourth place. A few moments later, Malcolm Stewart rocketed through the whoops and passed both Vince Friese and Chad Reed. However, one section later, Stewart missed a triple and got shuffled back to seventh place. Back up front, Eli Tomac finished up a perfect heat race and took the win. 

450 Heat Two

The early lead for the second 450cc heat race went to HRC Honda’s Ken Roczen, with Adam Cianciarulo alongside. Justin Brayton sat in third place off of the start, with Dean Wilson just behind. Ken Roczen made a slight mistake in the rhythm lane on the third lap, allowing Cianciarulo to close up, but Ken was able to hold onto the lead. Meanwhile, Justin Barcia moved into the fourth place position, as Jason Anderson closed in on his teammate Dean Wilson in sixth place. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates traded lines for a few laps, but Anderson ultimately gained the position when he blitzed by Wilson in the whoops. Anderson then went on to pressure Justin Barcia for fourth place and made the pass on the final lap. Ken Roczen crossed the checkered flag first and earned the heat race win! 

450 LCQ

The 450cc last chance qualifier start went to Ryan Breece, with Gardener alongside. However, Breece cased a triple and allowed Gardener and Alex Ray to make the move. One lap later, Ray pushed Gardener wide and took the lead, but not for long, as Breece returned the favor and moved back into the lead. Just after being passed by Cunningham for third, Gardener lost traction and went down. A few laps later, Alex Ray moved alongside Ryan Breece and made the pass for the lead. Meanwhile, Kyle Chisholm made the pass on Noren and moved into third place. And like that, our friend Alex Ray took the win in the 450 LCQ and moved onto the main event. 

450 Main Event

The holeshot and early lead of the 450cc main event went to Blake Baggett with Adam Cianciarulo and Vince Friese trailing. After the third corner, Justin Brayton and Eli Tomac made their way past Friese, just as Cooper Webb moved fourth place. However, they all got caught up as Adam Cianciarulo hit the deck in front of them, while running in second place. That allowed Ken Roczen to close in on the group, as they all trailed Brayton and Baggett. Eli Tomac made a mistake while challenging Brayton, and both Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen made the pass on Tomac. Laps later, Ken Roczen missed a triple and allowed Tomac to make a pass and enter fourth place. All three championship contenders got by Justin Brayton and moments later, Eli Tomac made the pass on Webb for second place. With 12 minutes on the clock, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac caught and passed Blake Baggett for the lead. Meanwhile, Ken Roczen began challenging Cooper Webb for third place, as the two closed in on Baggett and second place. A few laps later, both Webb and Roczen made the pass on Baggett. A little further back in the pack, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammates Anderson and Osborne started trading lines but Osborne ultimately made the pass. Osborne then began reeling in Baggett and the fourth place position, and it would only take two more laps for Osborne to secure fourth place. Blake Baggett would continue to drop further back in the pack, as Davalos passed him for sixth place with three-minutes left on the clock. With two laps to go, Ken Roczen made a huge mistake and cross-ruts in the middle of the rhythm lane. Fortunately, Roczen was able to hold onto the bike and remain in third place. As the checkered flag flew, Eli Tomac took the first win in Utah.