2022 Seattle Supercross | Race Report & Results

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The 2022 Seattle Supercross proved to be another exciting round of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, as the night’s Main Events were shaped by the hard passes, wild crashes, and dominant rides put in by competitors in the 250 West Region and 450 Class. 

Hunter Lawrence | 1st Place | 250 Class

After a five-week break from racing and an unfortunate showing in Anaheim Three, Hunter Lawrence seemed eager to get back to racing in Seattle. The Honda HRC rider started the day off on the right foot, as his fastest lap time in timed-qualifying was good enough for fourth place overall, rewarding him with second gate pick in 250 Heat One.

Hunter was fourth in line as they rounded the first corner, but made a quick pass on both Harrison and Swoll to find himself in second place at the end of the first lap. Hunter Lawrence then went after Thury and the lead in the option lane before the triple, where he momentarily held the lead. However, Thury went back after Hunter following the finish line to retake the lead. 

After an eventful first lap, Hunter was then shuffled back to fourth. Though, he latched on to Craig after being passed and followed the points-leader through the front-runners. When the checkered flag waved in 250 Heat One, Hunter Lawrence sat in second place.

Hunter’s night really seemed to come together in the 250 Main Event, as the Honda HRC rider grabbed a fourth place start and made a quick pass on Shimoda to take over third. Mosiman and Craig then made contact just a lap later and Hunter benefited from the incident and picked up second place. Lawrence then began to work on Mosiman and close-in on the GasGas. After a slight mistake from Michael, Hunter found himself just inches behind and went for the pass a few sections later to take over the race lead.

From that point, Hunter was faced with lapped traffic but managed to keep it together and hold a steady lead on Craig and the rest of the field. The Honda HRC rider crossed the finish line first and claimed the race win in Seattle.

Christian Craig | 2nd Place | 250 Class

All in all, Seattle Supercross was another impressive round for Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Christian Craig. Sure, it might not have gone the way he would have liked but, in the end, Christian yet again proved he could battle his way back into a podium result after unfortunate incidents. 

As for qualifying, Christian came out swinging and finished on top in the first timed session. However, his 48.193 in the second and final timed session was bettered by Mosiman late in the practice, resulting in a second place finish. 

After a bad jump off of the gate, Christian had to fight for it in 250 Heat One. The 250 West Coast championship points-leader made an impressive pass early-on, where he carried his momentum from the whoops into the inside of the following left-hander and advanced from third place to first. Following that move, Craig laid down a few more fast laps and ultimately won the heat. 

At this point, you may be asking where those hardships we foreshadowed above came into play. Well, then the 250 Main Event rolled around. Unlike his Heat Race start, Christian Craig snagged the holeshot and the early lead in the Main Event with Michael Mosiman just behind. Though, Mosiman seemed to have a faster pace early-on, as he was all over the points-leader and made an aggressive pass after two laps that put Craig on the ground just before the finish line. Craig managed to remount quickly and then sat in fifth place.

Christian then began his charge to the front that we’ve seen so many times this year and before we knew it, he was back on Mosiman’s rear wheel pressuring for second place. The Star Racing rider opted for an inside rut when Mosiman jumped wide and came out of the corner with the second place position. Christian then set his sights on Lawrence but was unable to catch the Honda HRC rider and was forced to settle with second place in Seattle. 

Michael Mosiman | 3rd Place | 250 Class

From the second bikes touched the track in Seattle, Michael Mosiman was on it. We suspect some of the blame for Michael’s impressive riding to lie on the fact that he was able to use the five-week break to heal his nagging injuries. 

Regardless, Michael’s speed was apparent when he logged a 47.815 in the second session of timed-qualifying, the fastest lap of both the 250 and 450 classes. Though, the second 250 Heat didn’t go as well for Mosiman, as a bad start led to a race full of battling and Mosiman only found himself in fourth place at the end of the Heat.

As for the Main Event, Michael was off to a much better start and trailed Craig into the second corner. Mosiman’s pace was unmatched early-on, as he was all over Christian and ended up taking the points-leader wide and down in the corner before the finish line at the end of the second lap. The contact between himself and Craig in that pass came back to bite, as he bent his rear brake rotor in the incident and spent the rest of the Main Event with no rear brakes. No rear brake and all, Mosiman only gave up two positions and settled for a third place finish in Seattle.

Eli Tomac | 1st Place | 450 Class

Eli Tomac leaves Seattle now having won five races in a row and the chances of him wrapping the 2022 450 Supercross Championship up a few rounds early seems inevitable. 

The day started off as expected in the first round of qualifying, as Eli shot to the top of the leaderboards early-on with his fast lap time. However, he was forced to settle with third fastest at the end of the final session of qualifying, as his 48.017 was a few hundredths off of the fastest times logged. 

The second 450 Heat held some great battles, as Eli Tomac looked to have the holeshot after a great jump, but Jason Anderson snuck around the inside to take the early advantage. However, Malcolm Stewart passed both Eli and Jason in the second corner. Eli and Jason then battled for second place before Jason upped his pace and went after the lead. Eli lurked behind the battle for the lead and made his pass on Malcolm shortly after Jason did to claim second place in the Heat Race. 

As for the Main Event, Eli Tomac made it quite easy for himself after grabbing another great start and taking the early lead. From that point, Eli logged fast lap after fast lap and ultimately found himself with a 12-second lead on second place at the halfway point. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider then seemed to manage his already massive lead to the checkered flag, where he claimed his fifth race win in a row. 

Jason Anderson | 2nd Place | 450 Class 

Jason Anderson made the best out of a challenging night of racing in Seattle and found himself on the podium for another time in 2022. Jason was never really in the picture in timed-qualifying, as the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was over a second off of the leader’s pace and sat in seventh place at the end of the sessions. 

However, the cameras were all over the number-21 Kawasaki in 450 Heat Two, as he snuck around the inside of Eli to place himself up front. After experiencing some pressure from Eli Tomac, Jason seemed to have upped his pace and ultimately reeled in Malcolm Stewart. Anderson then went quad-three-three in the rhythm lane before the whoops to take over the race lead. And after just a few more laps, Anderson claimed the Heat Race win. 

As for the Main Event, Jason grabbed another good start and rounded the first turn in fourth place. Jason then passed Marvin Musquin to take over the third place spot. Around the halfway point, Justin Barcia drifted wide while tripling in and landed on a tuff block, sending him over the bars. The crash dropped Justin from second place to fifth, and handed that position over to Anderson. Jason Anderson crossed the checkered flag in second place and claimed another podium in Seattle.

Marvin Musquin | 3rd Place | 450 Class

Marvin Musquin was another rider that seemed to be on it the very second his wheels touched the track in Seattle. The technical course proved to be no challenge for the Red Bull KTM rider in timed qualifying, as he landed in second place on the leaderboards with an impressive time late in the final session of riding.

The second place in qualifying placed Marvin in 450 Heat One, where he trailed Justin Barcia into the first turn and followed the GasGas rider to a second place finish. 

Marvin Musquin grabbed another good start in the Main Event and rounded the first turn in second place, this time just ahead of Barcia. However, Justin made a quick pass on the Frenchman, but then went down at the halfway point to re-gift Marvin a podium position. Marvin crossed the checkered flag in third place and added another podium finish to his records.