Cycle News

SUPERCROSS ROUND 9 / MARCH 4, 2017 ROGERS CENTRE / TORONTO, ON, CANADA P68 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES the off-season to my train- ing," Osborne said. "I moved to Florida to train with Al- don Baker. Just riding with those three 450 guys [Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin and Jason Anderson] everyday has been one of the tough- est things I've ever had to deal with. Just getting my butt handed to me on a daily basis, it's a big ol' slice of humble pie every time we go out. I just try to take my knocks during the week and know that on the weekends I'm going to be good enough and fit enough. It's an unreal feeling." CN 450SX Main 1. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 2. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 3. Broc Tickle (Suz) 4. Chad Reed (Yam) 5. Blake Baggett (KTM) 6. Cole Seely (Hon) 7. Davi Millsaps (KTM) 8. Dean Wilson (Hus) 9. Justin Barcia (Suz) 10. Justin Brayton (Hon) 250SX East Main 1. Zach Osborne (Hus) 2. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) 3. Christian Craig (Hon) 4. Colt Nichols (Yam) 5. Dylan Ferrandis (Yam) 6. Joey Savatgy (Kaw) 7. Jordon Smith (KTM) 8. Kyle Peters (Suz) 9. Cameron Mcadoo (Hon) 10. Anthony Rodriguez (Yam) Many of the racers will tell you that the tracks have been absolutely brutal so far in 2017, and there's no end to that trend in sight at the moment. While changing the race format for this year to timed races rather than basing race lengths on lap counts seemed like a no-brainer for TV, track design, and so many other reasons, one perhaps unforeseen consequence is that the tracks get much, much more beat up due to the higher volume of laps, especially on tracks with short lap times. The track in Toronto was no exception. "We could tell as soon as we went on the track walk it was going to be the way it was in the night show, just broken down and more of a survival race in jumping the jumps and making sure you're clean every lap, rather than burning heaters for 20 minutes," 250SX winner Zach Osborne said. "For me, it was kind of just another day. Like it's gnarly at the tracks we ride with the 450 guys; everyday it breaks down. I think that's really helped me this year with bike setup and confidence when it gets the worst in the main. I think that's been one of the biggest benefits to being there." RCH Suzuki's Broc Tickle was pumped to get his first podium in Toronto, and he expects more of that from here on out. "I've been with the team ever since they started, so it's been awesome," Tickle said. "We've made progress every year and it's been really good. I got two podiums last year in outdoors and that was awesome, then I got hurt unfortu- nately. But the whole off-season, like I said, was the best we've ever had as a team. We put in a lot of work and finally now it's showing. I'm stoked and happy to be where I'm at." Things got heated for Broc Tickle and fellow Suzuki pilot, JGR's Justin Barcia, in their heat race in Toronto. Neither made the main event out of the race, as Tickle only managed fifth and Barcia sixth, but they don't call Barcia "Bam Bam" for nothing. After the heat race, Tickle and Barcia re- portedly had words, after which Tickle reportedly took a swing at Barcia. It's unclear if he connected or not, but the FIM fined him and gave him last gate pick on the starting gate for semi two, which Tickle won. Considering Jason Anderson was DQ'd from round three in Anaheim for hitting Vince Friese on the helmet, we're going to go ahead and believe Tickle failed to connect with his haymaker, as surely the FIM would've DQ'd him if he had. Right? Speaking of Jason Anderson, the first turn was less of a "turn" and more of a "chicane" with a quick jog to the left followed immediately by a hard turn to the right. Somewhere during the start of the 450SX main event, Anderson locked up with another racer whose footpeg apparently made quick work of Anderson's rear spokes. He was forced to pit for a new rear wheel and could only man- age 19th place, two laps down from the leaders. Bad luck continued for Red Bull KTM's Trey Canard in Toronto when he went down in the first timed prac- tice session and hit his head. He sat out the rest of the night, but will likely be back in action in Daytona, provid- ing he passes the appropriate tests in the AMA's concussion protocol. Briefly... cont. on page 70

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