Cycle News

Cycle News 2019 Issue 01 January 8

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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SUPERCROSS ROUND 1 / JANUARY 5, 2019 ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA / ANGEL STADIUM P58 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS iii My Own Race: 2 COOPER WEBB 5TH 450SX Cooper Webb made his "official" Red Bull KTM debut at Anaheim 1, and although it wasn't perfect, he definitely turned some heads. He would've had the holeshot in the main event had he not slid out. Despite the setback, he got up and was the fastest racer on the track for most of the main event, eventually passing his way up to fifth place with a few laps remaining in the race. "In the heat race, I didn't get off to the greatest of starts and I didn't ride to my potential, so I had a bad gate pick in the main event," Webb said. "I had a pretty outside gate but I nailed the start and I was first in the first turn, but unfortunately, I fell over. It was slicker than I thought, but I was able to get up and really put my head down and charge really hard to come back to fifth. I guess I had the fastest lap of the race, so that was really cool and I'm feeling confident and good with that result." 94 KEN ROCZEN 2ND 450SX Ken Roczen, who won the first heat race, had a solid opening night at Anaheim 1. Although he started outside the top five in the main event, he followed Barcia through the top few guys to snatch second place in the main event. "It's good to get out of here healthy and with a solid podium," Roczen said. "The conditions were tough; they can obviously play in your favor but they can also bite you bad. For about half of the main, we were still jumping the big doubles in the middle but it was definitely sloppy and sketchy out there. It was really all about consistency. There were ruts everywhere so you had to try not to make any mistakes. Once we got into the lappers that's when it got really bad. I got held up a couple times, which cost me time. I'm pumped though; I'm leaving with a heat-race win and second in the main, so I couldn't have asked for a better first race." 34 DYLAN FERRANDIS 2ND 250SX Dylan Ferrandis had a strong night, but a couple of unforced errors cost him, including falling on his own in the first turn of his heat race while out front. Still, he recovered for a strong runner-up finish. "For sure, the track was good in practice, but in the heat race and the main event, the rain was a disaster," Ferrandis said. "We did the best we can, but nobody's injured, and that's the most important thing." 12 SHANE MCELRATH 3RD 250SX Shane McElrath didn't have his usual "stuff" at A1, but third wasn't too bad for the two-time 250SX A1 winner. McElrath admits he struggled in the soggy conditions at Angel Stadium, which didn't seem to improve despite some grooming between races. "The track crew did what they could, but they kind of just pushed around what was already on top and we just had to push that stuff out of the way again," McElrath said. "It was tough, because you couldn't really judge anything, and that's where I struggled the most. But Colt was riding good, and I couldn't catch him, and I couldn't keep Dylan behind me." 156 JACOB HAYES 8TH 250SX Jacob Hayes (CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha) made his long-awaited AMA Su- percross debut at Anaheim 1 and he came away satisfied. The 25-year-old 2018 Arenacross champ finished a solid eighth in his first-ever supercross main event. "I'm just so happy to be here," Hayes said. "It's been a long time coming to get out here and race supercross. I grew up racing with guys like Jason Anderson, but my career just didn't go the same way for whatever reason. But I'm here now and I love it. The main event, I was just trying to stay consistent in the mud, and it paid off, and I hope I can do even better when it's dry next weekend."

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