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/1086032
CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 56 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 26, 2019 P55 ing by the points leader in the whoops before taking off for the win. Webb hung on for a much- improved second place over Savatgy, Musquin (who started fourth and finished fourth, even after a fall when he ran into the back of Savatgy after Savatgy made a big mistake in front of him), and Reed. Roczen finished sixth after starting at the tail end of the top 10, with Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha), Wil- son's teammate Zach Osborne, Wilson, Barcia's teammate Aaron Plessinger, Baggett and Brayton rounding out the top 12. In the final of three main events, Webb went back to his old settings, but it was Baggett who got the holeshot over Savat- Also that year, Aaron Plessinger com- peted in the KJSC in Minneapolis, where Reed went down while battling with Carmichael in the main event and ended up sixth. Back in 2002, during Reed's first year in the U.S. (after winning multiple Australian SX titles and spending a year competing in the MXGP World Championship), Reed won the 125cc (now 250cc) Eastern Regional SX Series main event on a Yamaha YZ250F, and that same night, current YZ250F factory racer Colt Nichols competed in the KJSC. RACING YOUR IDOLS Eli Tomac let us in a little bit on what it's like to race with someone you looked up to as you were coming through the ranks. "I remember my first year, like, it's intimidating!" Tomac said. "I was racing Chad [Reed] and James [Stewart] and those guys, and just going down the rhythm lanes with them, it's intimidating! Those are the guys you watched and looked up to; those are the guys I did. It's just cool. It's cool he's [Reed] still out there digging it." At one point during the night, Tomac passed Reed, and then Reed passed him right back. "I mean, we were just going at it!" Tomac said. Reed replied, "It's always good to pass the kids. It doesn't matter which one, but like Cooper [Webb] said, the guy that was on fire tonight [Tomac], it was nice [to pass him back]. It was good. I tried to latch onto the back of him, and I found a few good lines from him." BIG NUMBERS Chad Reed also brought up a good point in Detroit: After pointing out it was the 132nd podium finish of his career, he asked Webb and Tomac, "Do you even have that in starts, guys?!" The answer to that is, no. Tomac has 84 career 450SX starts, and Webb has 33, which means they combine for 117 career starts, 15 short of the total number of podiums Chad Reed has gotten in that class. JGR PODIUMS Chad Reed's podium finish in Detroit was the first podium for the JGR team since Weston Peick finished third at the Las Vegas Supercross finale in 2015. The team was on Yamahas at that time. The last time a racer got a 450SX podium finish on a Suzuki was Broc Tickle in Toronto in 2017. COOKED Justin Hill said he just lacked energy in Detroit, which contributed his dis- appointing 13th overall placing in the 450SX class. "Ultimately, I cooked myself last week trying to gain my cardio back," Hill said. "I'll be cutting my training off by Wednesday, so I can be fresh for next weekend." FRIESE OUT FOR 2019 Vince Friese (Motoconcepts/ Smartop/Bullfrog Spas Honda) was a no-show at Detroit. He tore his ACL in a crash during qualifying a week ago at the Arlington Supercross and had surgery to repair it prior to the Detroit SX. He's out for the rest of this sea- son, since he doesn't race outdoors, but should return to action in 2020. SMITH INJURED Jordon Smith (TLD/Red Bull KTM) has been the toughest competition points leader Austin Forkner has had so far in 2019, but when he went down late in the main event in Briefly...