SUPERCROSS
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD
ROUND 1 / JANUARY 6, 2018
ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA
P54
450SX
"You can't win the championship at round one, but you can
lose it." This adage is often repeated because it's true. No
racer ever wants to dig a hole for themselves at the open-
ing round, and although there have been racers in the past
(such as the GOAT, Ricky Carmichael) who have managed
to win titles after a DNF at round one, it's a rarity.
Supercross is an unpredictable sport, and often just
when things are going really well, everything comes apart.
Just ask Honda's Ken Roczen.
Tomac was considered the favorite to take the title by
most people coming into the opener, and everything was
going his way early in the 450SX main event. He started
out front, which is rare for him, and he was the only racer to
record a lap time under 53 seconds. And he did that three
times in a row to start the race. Meanwhile, his predicted
rivals Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson and
Ken Roczen rounded lap one in fifth, sixth and 12th, respec-
tively.
Then, all by himself out front, Tomac went down hard in a
tricky section. "I almost went down in that same spot a few
laps after that," Musquin said after winning Anaheim I for the
first time in his career.
Ken Roczen's
comeback was a
success after his
Anaheim II crash
last year. He didn't
leave anything on
the table en route to
fourth place.
Eli Tomac (3) and
Justin Barcia (51)
fight for the early
lead in the 450SX
main. Barcia went
on to finish third.
