Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1039781
SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY CUP MONSTER ENERGY CUP / OCTOBER 13, 2018 SAM BOYD STADIUM / LAS VEGAS, NEVADA P68 almost completely stock, with the exception of his Pro Circuit exhaust and piston. Still, the champ (run- ning the number "2RV" so as to not confuse the scoring system, since Cooper Webb is the current number- two in supercross/motocross) qualified a solid eighth, just over a second slower than 2018 SX champ Jason Anderson, who qualified third. Villopoto ended up 13th overall in the races, one spot behind Webb, who fell early in the second main event and was 12th with a 6-19-9 score. RV said he was just getting the bike more dialed in for the AUS-X Open, which he has raced the last couple of years in Australia, but there are rumors that he'll be showing up and racing a select few AMA Supercross rounds in 2019. If he does, he'll likely have to choose a different number. SECOND $1 MILLION WINNER A new wrinkle was added to the big money on the line in Las Vegas, as a fan named Jesse Hebert, who works the front desk at a law office near his home in Greenbelt, Mary- land, successfully predicted that Eli Tomac would win the Monster Million and was awarded with an- other $1 million of his own. Hebert said he's been riding since he was 14 and he's a big motocross and supercross fan. At one point he also indicated that he's going to spend at least part of the money on some new dirt bikes. REED/MUSQUIN In a weird racing incident during the second main event, defend- ing event champ Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) and Yoshimura/ JGR Suzuki's Chad Reed ended up stuck together underneath the over/under bridge that made up the landing from the finish-line jump. "I just jumped a little long," Reed said. "When I jumped long, those ruts, there's a little soft dirt in there and unfortunately that dirt just grabbed Briefly... iii My Own Race: scary. I was pretty far back and still finished strong and passed a few guys. In the last race, a few of us got together in the first turn and we ran off the track so I came out last again. I put my head down and made some passes and I ended up coming back to ninth. Not the greatest results on paper but I felt like my riding was good. Overall, just to go there without any expecta- tions and to see how I operate and how the team operates was our main goal. I kept fighting and showed some good speed and I'm happy to get the off-season going and get the pro- gram going with [team trainer] Aldon [Baker] so we can get better for Anaheim." 33 JOSH GRANT 6TH (8-3-8) Josh Grant showed up as a privateer, although he got to use his 2018 factory suspension on his KX450. Doing it otherwise on his own with the help of family and friends, Grant suf- fered with his starts in the first and third main event, but grabbed third place in the second main. "It's Vegas and you've got to get a start," Grant said. "It's really the main thing. But we're just out having fun. That's the main goal here. Richard and I talked about it a little while ago and we're like, 'this is it. We're out here to have a good time and have fun.' So, whatever happens, happens. I'm riding good and I've kind of got a little point to prove out there. They know who they are and we'll just keep doing what we're doing." Grant is still unsigned for the 2019 season. place in the second main event that came after his bike stalled on the starting line and the rest of the field took off without him. Savatgy made a fantastic 450cc debut, ending up third overall, one point behind Anderson, with a 5-6-2 score. Amateur All Stars Factory Connection Racing's Jo Shimoda returned to the Mon- ster Energy Cup for the second time as an Amateur All Star and improved on his past perfor- mance with a hard-fought win in 2018. Shimoda went 2-4 for third overall in 2017, but led every lap of the first Amateur All Stars moto, just holding off 2017 class champ Seth Hammaker in the process, then recovered from a mediocre start in the second moto to, once again, hold off Hammaker for much of the race before ending up third. The 1-3 score gave Shimoda the overall.