SUPERCROSS
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD
ROUND 17 / MAY 7, 2016
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA / SAM BOYD STADIUM
P76
250SX
POINTS LEADERS
HANG ON
California boys aren't exactly
known for their mud-riding prow-
ess, but Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy
made the point that he was the
man to beat in the Las Vegas
quagmire immediately. With
nothing to lose, sitting 16 points
behind Yamalube/Star Racing
Yamaha's Cooper Webb (who
was nursing an injured wrist),
Savatgy came from behind to
dominate the 250SX West heat
race, where he was the first one
to jump one of the track's triples
and the finish-line jump in the
mud—both of which many riders
were having trouble with before
the rain came down.
His best lap time in the heat
was more than a second faster
than the times put in by second-
or third-place riders.
But the heat races happened
at a time when the rain was still
falling. By the main event, rain
hadn't been falling for about an
hour, which actually made condi-
tions worse as the soupy mud
began to thicken up. The track
had changed majorly, and none
of the racers decided to take
a sighting lap because of the
conditions.
Still, Savatgy did everything
right: He grabbed a massive
holeshot, and despite a near-fall
on lap one that saw him stop
for a few seconds up high in a
berm, he led every lap on his
way to a seemingly effortless
(all things considered) victory.
However, in the larger picture,
Savatgy needed injured Webb to
finish 13th or worse in order to
win the championship. If Webb
finished 12th and Savatgy won,
they'd tie in points and Webb
would win the title on the first
tiebreaker (the number of wins
on the season). For a while early
in the race, Webb was outside
the top 12, but in the end, he
squeaked by for the champion-
ship with an 11th-place finish,
winning his second-consecutive
250cc West title by one point
