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/1441959
ROUND 1 / JANUARY 8, 2022 ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA P62 SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES the big bowl turns. The unusually soft texture of the track grabbed his front wheel, unsettled the bike and put him up over the main line. Sexton temporarily gave second place to Adam Ciancia- rulo for one lap before reclaiming it. Sexton however, had another huge mistake and hit the deck in the whoops just after re-passing Cianciarulo for second. The younger of the two Honda riders, Sexton, set the fastest time of the 450 main event, but settled for fifth at the end of the night. "I kind of feel like an idiot for making those two mistakes," said Sexton, even mentioning that he was "riding off emotion" when his second unforced error happened. "That was frustrating because it's not the first time I've been the fastest but didn't get the win." Meanwhile, Roczen, who is still seeking his first Supercross crown, proceeded to ride a mistake-free race up front. He led every lap of the 22-lap feature race. Surprisingly, Roczen said afterward that he basically wrote himself off before the night even started. The number-94 has been openly transparent during the pre-season press confer- ences about dealing with a "non- Covid" illness and how it derailed his December training program. "I have a few years under my belt and I'm just not that worried about it come race time," Roczen said after the race. Roczen also dealt with racing without his usual race mechanic, Jordan Troxell, MYOWNRACE 7 AARON PLESSINGER 9TH 450SX Anaheim 1 marked Aaron Plessinger's first gate-drop with his new team. The newest of the Red Bull KTM riders got off to a 25 MARVIN MUSQUIN 4TH 450SX Marvin Musquin came into Anaheim fresh off a win at the off-season Paris Supercross and looked to be a threat aboard the new KTM 450 SX-F. Musquin ran inside the top 10 for a majority of the race but contact with Malcolm Stewart put both riders on the ground. The number-25 remounted and ba led to the finish line, edging out Honda's Chase Sexton by just 0.014 seconds at the checkered flag. "I made a couple mistakes and I lost contact with Cooper, and then Malcolm passed me," said Musquin. "I tried to pass him to the inside but unfortunately, he railed the corner, and we hit each other—he didn't know I was coming—and we both went down. I got up and came back to fourth place; that was amazing. I'm pumped on the push and with the results, to be honest, with all the drama that happened during the main."