For the third to last round of Supercross in 2022, the series returned to Foxborough, Massachusetts for the first time since 2018. Saturday was a big day in the Supercross realm, as both Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac had the opportunity to clinch their respective titles with rounds in hand. A wrinkle into things was that this was another day race as well. Getting prepared to go race much earlier than usual, and then dealing with potential shaded areas on track create their own problems. This was a big day as well for R.J. Hampshire and Jason Anderson, who still could keep their title hopes alive.
Be sure to catch up on all of our Supercross coverage.
Heat Racing Recap
250 East Class
Ramyller Alves picked up a surprise holeshot and early lead before GasGas’ Pierce Brown took over the point. Jordon Smith also got by, as Brown pulled out to just over a 1.2-second lead. For Lawrence meanwhile, he had a clean start, just not a very good one, which almost ended up costing him a top-five gate pick in the Main Event later on. However, he got by Smith on the last lap to get into second. Brown meanwhile picked up a five-second win to open things up in New England.
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Kyle Chisholm snuck around the inside as the entire field got tangled up behind him in turn one. Hampshire and Austin Forkner most notably in that group. The bars on Hampshire’s bike got bent on the initial crash, initial being used because he went down again in the whoops before getting his back to the mechanics’ area. He would try in vain to get back into a transfer spot. With under a minute to go, Chiz went down and gave the lead up to Josh Varize. Then on the final lap, Chiz got by, but the big story was Forkner and Varize both going down hard in the second to last corner.
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450 Class
Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin made it a Red Bull KTM one-two start, and it was the latter to end up leading lap one. The outgoing champion tried to hold off Anderson for second, but only could for so long. El Hombre then got by Musquin but went down seconds later in a 90-degree corner after the triple. No fault of Musquin here, Anderson just fell over on his own. The No. 25 after that, went on to a Heat Race win, with Anderson in second, and Webb in third. Interesting note for the latter, at some point in this heat, he received damage to his silencer, and then it fell completely off the bike before the finish.
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Chase Sexton led Malcolm Stewart and Tomac to the end of the first lap, then proceeded to stretch out to a two-second lead over the latter. This was, start to finish, a perfect run for Sexton in this Heat Race. he looked silky smooth and was putting down monster lap times the whole way. The last transfer spot here ended up being decided by literal bike lengths. Alex Martin finished behind both Freddie Noren and Ryan Breece, who were all lined up around the inside of the final corner nose to tail.
250 East Class Roundup
Be sure to check out our thoughts on Jett Lawrence’s 250 East Supercross Championship win.
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Getting that champagne smell embedded into the opposing locker room months in advance? Bill Belichick has done it again, chess when everyone else plays checkers.
No. 33 Austin Forkner – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki (1st Place)
It has been a hot minute since Forkner placed himself atop a Supercross podium. To be exact, this was his first Main Event win in just about 1 year and 10 months, with his last win being at Salt Lake City 5 in 2020. Forkner did an excellent job of erasing the gap to Brown and Hampshire out front, then proceeded to hold off Lawrence behind just enough to secure the win.
Although this is yet another year where injury has taken him out of title contention, getting a win yesterday is gigantic for the Pro Circuit rider. This was all after that brutal wreck in Forkner’s Heat Race mind you. On a final note, and this is a sneaky big one, this win puts Forkner in a big tie for fourth on the all-time 250/125 Supercross wins list. Only Jeremy McGrath, Nathan Ramsey, and James Stewart have more than his 12 wins.
No. 44 Pierce Brown – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing (3rd Place)
It was all looking so well for Brown yesterday, not that his day ended up bad. Once he got into the lead, he pulled out to a lead upwards of five seconds. Hampshire was able to erase that gap before the two got tangled right before the triple. After surviving that, both Forkner and Lawrence got by, leaving Brown to be the final man on the podium. The big takeaway here is that the Utah native has the speed to be a frontrunner in the 250 class, that enough was shown.
No. 54 Mitchell Oldenburg – Phoenix Racing Honda (4th Place)
Perhaps the sneakiest best story in this 250 class is the potential points finish of Oldenburg. As a reminder, a bike issue in Minneapolis during Heat Racing action ended up costing him a Main Event Spot. Essentially spotting the field a free round, Oldenburg, after a fourth in Foxborough, has a legitimate chance to end up top three in points with one round to go. He’s just six points back of Brown, and 17 back of Hampshire. Keep an eye out in Salt Lake City.
No. 11 Kyle Chisholm – Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (5th Place)
Sadly, Lawrence rudely winning the East Championship early with a round in hand overshadowed the real highlight of the day, a Chiz Heat Race win. Sarcasm aside, Chiz looked great in his heat, and then backed that up with another strong Main Event run, rounding out the top five in Foxborough. Support Troy Dog’s plea to get Star to give him a contract as well.
Dear Star Racing Yamaha,
SIGN CHIZ TO A TWO YEAR DEAL IMMEDIATELY.
Sincerely,
Everyone ❤️— Troy Dog (@troydogvurb) April 24, 2022
No. 140 Cullin Park – Phoenix Racing Honda (9th Place)
To the disdain of most PulpMX Fantasy players, Park not only took the holeshot in the Main Event but ended up leading the first lap and a half of the race, snagging those 15 FFL points. As for the race itself, the former Arenacross rider was in a podium spot for the opening five laps, and a top-five spot for the next two. That isn’t much compared to some of the top guys in this class, but this was an excellent showing for Park, whose ninth-place run ends up being a season/career-best.
250 East Class Foxborough Top 10
1st No. 33 Austin Forkner
2nd No. 1(E) Jett Lawrence
3rd No. 44 Pierce Brown
4th No. 54 Mitchell Oldenburg
5th No. 11 Kyle Chisholm
6th No. 24 R.J. Hampshire
7th No. 80 Enzo Lopes
8th No. 38 Josh Varize
9th No. 140 Cullin Park
10th No. 81 Jace Owen
450 Class Roundup
No. 21 Jason Anderson – Monster Energy Kawasaki (1st Place)
At least for one final time, El Hombre lives to fight another day. To stay alive, all he needed was to beat Tomac straight up. Not only did Anderson accomplish this goal, but he put Tomac into preservation mode from the start. The pair made slight contact which stalled the No. 3 YZ450, costing Tomac a decent bit of time. Save for a couple of surges from Sexton, this was all Anderson the entire way once he got the lead. His five wins in 2022 are the most he has ever had in a single season and puts him at 12 in his career. That has him tied with David Bailey and Erza Lusk for 18th all-time in the premier class.
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No. 23 Chase Sexton – Honda HRC (2nd Place)
Sexton did a great job avoiding mistakes on Saturday and rode flawlessly the entire day. It just so happens that Anderson just happened to be a bit better. As long as the No. 23 can have days like yesterday, he will be contending for a ton of these Main Event wins for years to come. Far from a bad day with that in mind, especially considering the current Championship situation.
No. 25 Marvin Musquin – Red Bull KTM (3rd Place)
If not for a 10th last week in Atlanta, Musquin would have been on a five-event podium streak, but 4-out of-5 isn’t too bad either. Looking back at 2021, Musquin’s results were better in the home stretch of the season, and that once again is the case here. Additionally, it no longer seems like Musquin is a bet to hang up the boots. If he does hit the open market, every factory team with space should be calling up his agent ASAP. If this run says anything, the old Frenchman can still be a race-winning rider and a big part of any program.
No. 3 Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha (7th Place)
After the bike stall right out of the gates, Tomac opted to play it safe and not go for the jugular in Foxborough. In hindsight seeing how good Anderson looked, this was the right call. Now with just Denver and Salt Lake City left to go, the points lead for Tomac sits at 43 points. Next week, the Cortez, Colorado native has the opportunity to do something extremely rare in motorsports at the national level, that being winning a major Championship in your backyard. As long as he finishes 13th or better, he will do just that. Expect that great 2019 Denver crowd to be even better next weekend with what is on the line.
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450 Class Foxborough Top 10
1st No. 21 Jason Anderson
2nd No. 23 Chase Sexton
3rd No. 25 Marvin Musquin
4th No. 27 Malcolm Stewart
5th No. 51 Justin Barcia
6th No. 1 Cooper Webb
7th No. 3 Eli Tomac
8th No. 62 Vince Friese
9th No. 26 Alex Martin
10th No. 10 Justin Brayton
Week 15 PulpMX Fantasy Supercross Lineup
250 East: R.J. Hampshire (All-Star +3), Kyle Chisholm (-2), Hunter Yoder (+15), Jarrett Frye (+9)
450: Jason Anderson (All-Star +2), Justin Brayton (-1), Ryan Breece (+5), Logan Karnow (+12)
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
