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 2 / JANUARY 14, 2017 PETCO PARK / SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA P56 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES My Own Race: 57 JIMMY DECOTIS 6TH 250SX WEST Geico Honda's Jimmy Decotis almost had his dream-race-come-true in San Diego. Decotis has had the speed to run at the front for quite a few years, but in San Diego, he finally got a holeshot. Early in the race, while leading, Decotis became one of a few rac- ers to get into the 53-second range, and he managed to lead the first 10 laps, but once he came under pressure from the guys who eventually beat him, Decotis made a couple of costly errors that dropped him out of podium contention. He looked dejected as he walked over to the press conference. "It's just...that sucked," Decotis said. Even with the late-race errors, Decotis managed his best finish of the year so far with sixth place. 21 JASON ANDERSON 4TH 450SX Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Jason Anderson got off to a mid-pack start in the main event, which wasn't ideal, but he moved forward throughout the main to eventually pass Eli Tomac for fourth place around the halfway point. But by then, the top three were too far gone for him to worry about. "I had to come through the pack again tonight," said Anderson. "I got fourth, but I'll be better next weekend. The track was kind of sketchy, but I'm pumped with how I rode. I just want to be up in the front. Kenny and Ryan are smoking us at the moment. We're not really able to catch them...to actually feel like you're going to make up time on them and catch them is impossible. They're riding way too good right now." 14 COLE SEELY 5TH 450SX Honda's Cole Seely started near the front, but couldn't match the early pace of the leaders. Eventually, he lost fourth place to Eli Tomac, then lost fifth place to the hard- charging Anderson before eventually passing his way back by Tomac in the late going. "I think Kenny and Ryan are always going to be raising the bar," Seely said following his season-best fifth-place finish in San Diego. "They work hard, but so do we. We've had a long history of having some good battles. Unfortunately tonight it was for fourth and fifth, but we'll get there. I think it's a step in the right direction, at least for me tonight. It's really just finding my groove. I hadn't raced everybody, other than Monster Cup, since June, with my hand injury. So I'm still a bit nervous. Still getting some knots in my stomach, but we're getting better." 30 MARTIN DAVALOS 4TH 250SX WEST Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Martin Davalos had his work cut out for him chasing down early leader Jimmy Decotis in the main event, but he eventually found his way by on lap 11. By that point, though, Davalos had Shane McElrath, Justin Hill and Aaron Plessinger breathing down his neck. A couple of late-race errors made it impossible for Davalos to keep that freight train behind him. "I took some positive things out of this race," Davalos said. "It's still kind of frustrating that I lost the race with a lap and a half to go, though. I made a mistake twice in the rhythm section and it allowed the guys behind me to catch up. It's only the second race, but I just wanted to win so badly. Hopefully we get some good weather this week so I can get some solid training in. I'm looking forward to the next round." 3 ELI TOMAC 6TH 450SX At Anaheim I last week, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac explained that he got arm pump in the main event, which not only halted his charge toward the front, but came as a bit of a surprise to him, as he's not accustomed to suffering from arm pump. At round two, Tomac again had a great early race charge, only to fade in the late going. "The day started off well," said Tomac. "I had a great start in heat one and led for the majority of the race. My jump out of the gate in the main was great, but I let off early and came around turn one inside the top 10. I quickly made my way into the top five but just hit a wall around the halfway mark and lost my momentum." Although he didn't say it was arm pump, Tomac is known as among the fittest racers in the sport, so it seems likely that arm pump is still a problem for the Kawasaki pilot.