Eli Tomac racked up the win inside Lumen Field for his fifth straight Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory this season.
The win in Seattle pulls Tomac into a tie for fourth place on the historic 450SX Class wins list.
Jason Anderson pulled in another podium finish with a strong second-place run, and Marvin Musquin repeated his previous week’s finish with a spot on the podium in third place. In the return to Western Regional 250SX Class racing after a five-week hiatus, Australian Hunter Lawrence came out with a big win, his second of the season. It earned Lawrence enough points to pull him into second overall in the division’s standings.
Eli Tomac wasn’t the fastest qualifier and didn’t win his heat race, but he had the class covered when the gate dropped for the twelfth 450SX Class Main Event of 2022. Tomac shot into the lead ahead of Justin Barcia, Musquin, and Anderson. Anderson moved into third spot before one lap was completed in the 20-minute plus one lap Main Event. From there, Tomac showed the others the fast way around a track that was slick and rutting up deeper as the race progressed.
Four minutes into the racing, defending champion Cooper Webb moved into tenth place while recovering from a poor start. Ahead of him the top group was slowly spreading apart. Then, just before the race’s midpoint, Barcia jumped off-line, landed on a Tuffblox, and went down hard in a rhythm lane. Barcia remounted in fifth behind Tomac, Anderson, Musquin, and the day’s fastest qualifier Malcolm Stewart. In the closing laps Webb reached and clung to Barcia’s rear wheel but could never make the move past.
Tomac took the win in front of a loud and enthusiastic Washington crowd, who hadn’t had a Supercross event in the Pacific Northwest since 2019. It was Tomac’s fifth-straight win, tying his personal record, and placing him into an all-time-wins tie for fourth with retired champion Chad Reed. It also pushed Tomac 54 points ahead of his nearest competitor for the 2022 championship.
“It was a perfect main event and another great weekend in Seattle,” Tomac said. “I got the holeshot and put in a big sprint early in the race. The track was really good for the first half and then really tough in the second half of the race. Once Justin (Barcia) made the mistake, I had a pretty nice lead so I was just able to maintain it and try and get through the track. It was just another unbelievable weekend for us and the team. We’ve got some great momentum and love what we have going on!”
Jason Anderson grabbed his first podium since Round 8.
“The track was pretty tough tonight, so I definitely had to be smart about choosing my battles and taking what the conditions allowed,” Anderson said. “With the wet weather during the week, the dirt was soft but, it also broke away and had more rocks than normal. I made the most of it and I’m happy with how I managed my night by getting better each time I went out on the track. It’s nice to go into the upcoming off-weekend with another podium and have a bit of positive momentum again.”
Marvin Musquin kept up his podium streak in Seattle that covers both 450SX and 250SX racing; the Frenchman has podiumed at every Seattle Supercross in which he’s competed.
“To get on the podium tonight is huge!” Musquin said. “My speed was good today and my starts were good too. I didn’t have the pace in the first few laps but I tried to focus on myself. Malcolm was there behind me until the last lap, so I had to stay really focused and charge really hard. I closed the gap a little bit but that track was super tough so I’m pretty happy to be healthy and moving to the next round having a weekend off.”
Western Regional 250SX Class
After a five-week break, Christian Craig grabbed the holeshot in the thundering return of the Western Regional 250SX Class. Craig was just ahead of Michael Mosiman and Jo Shimoda.
Hunter Lawrence crossed the holeshot stipe in seventh. Craig tried to quickly gap the field, but Mosiman stayed right with him. Two minutes into the 15-minute plus one lap race Hunter Lawrence made his way into third place. Soon after that, up front Mosiman aggressively passed Craig for the lead. Mosiman’s contact pass sent Craig over the berm and onto the ground; he remounted in sixth and started his charge forward.
Five minutes into the race Lawrence caught Mosiman and a lap later took the lead. Mosiman was dropping slightly off the pace with a bent rear brake rotor from his contact pass on Craig. A little after the midpoint Craig got by Mosiman without incident and into second place. Late in the race, Shimoda put in a valiant charge on Moisman. He briefly took over third place on the last lap, lost it again, then nearly crashed himself out with a last turn, last ditch effort. Mosiman held on for third and Shimoda recovered from his off-track excursion to earn fourth place.
“We were grafting all day, to be honest – every session, we were chasing the track, chasing the bike, making changes,” Lawrence explained. “It’s kind of nervous, not knowing the outcome. We had to have a lot of faith in the team, and we all worked really well – it felt really good for the night show. My line in the whoops may not have been the fastest, but I knew it would be okay if it was my most consistent line. I’ve still only done 17 main events, so I’m still learning. Honestly, I’m just trying to better myself every night and during the week, build and be a better rider in the future.”
The series now takes a one-weekend break. The racers will next line up in two weeks at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, April 9.
The event will be the final of three 2022 Triple Crown events where the top racers face each other over three races in one night. It will also be a return to the Eastern Regional 250SX Class series after two weekends without a race.
450SX Class Results
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha
2 Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki
3 Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
4 Malcolm Stewart, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
5 Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS
6 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM
7 Dean Wilson, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna
8 Justin Bogle, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Suzuki
9 Mitchell Oldenburg, Aledo, Tex., Honda
10 Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., Suzuki
450SX Class Championship Standings
1 Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (281)
2 Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.Mex., Kawasaki (227)
3 Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., GASGAS (222)
4 Malcolm Stewart, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna (221)
5 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., KTM (208)
6 Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM (206)
7 Chase Sexton, Clermont, Fla., Honda (183)
8 Dean Wilson, Murrieta, Calif., Husqvarna (151)
9 Dylan Ferrandis, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha (141)
10 Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Honda (133)
Western Regional 250SX Class Results
1 Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda
2 Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha
3 Michael Mosiman, Minneaola, Fla., GASGAS
4 Jo Shimoda, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
5 Vince Friese, Menifee, Calif., Honda
6 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha
7 Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., GASGAS
8 Jalek Swoll, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
9 Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Yamaha
10 Derek Kelley, Riverside, Calif., KTM
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1 Christian Craig, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (171)
2 Hunter Lawrence, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Honda (145)
3 Michael Mosiman, Minneaola, Fla., GASGAS (141)
4 Vince Friese, Menifee, Calif., Honda (117)
5 Jo Shimoda, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki (106)
6 Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (94)
7 Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Yamaha (94)
8 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Yamaha (90)
9 Carson Brown, Ravensdale, Wash., KTM (83)
10 Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., GASGAS (79)
