Green Flag: Sin City!
Saturday evening takes place Las Vegas the final of it Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship place. Of all American cities, Las Vegas is perhaps the most suitable place to host that final. Sin City is not only the capital of gambling (or what did you think), but also entertainment capital of the world. Yes, yes, they know how to sell themselves without any qualms, those Americans. Anyway, this weekend Las Vegas is the center of planet MX. Because in addition to the Final in the Supercross class, the kids from the AMA Supercross Lites West as their counterparts from the East in the Sam Boyd Stadium.
That means that tomorrow, not one, not two, but three riders will be crowned champions. Moreover, in Las Vegas the Lites riders compete against each other simultaneously in the famous East/West shootout. A victory undoubtedly brings prestige. In the AMA Supercross Lites East Championship heeft Justin Barcia undeniably the best cards. The Geico Hondadriver has 20 points more than his nearest pursuer Dean Wilson (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki). The Canadian Scot seems in the desert of Nevada to be faced with an impossible task, although of course you never know in Supercross. A crash in your heat and you have to qualify via the Last Chance Qualifier. In that ultra-short competition, only the first and second can qualify for the Final. But hey, it might as well have happened to Wilson. But let's be honest, Barcia is the big favorite for the title.
Then on the West Coast the title denouement has a bit more to it. Brock Tickle (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) starts in Las Vegas with a slim two-point lead So Tomac (Geico Honda). The son of mountain bike legend john tomac in turn has a twelve point lead Josh Hansen. Until last Saturday, Hansen was in second place in the standings. A bold move by Hansen on Tomac during the final in Salt Lake City however, went wrong and cost the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider quite a few points. But a gap of 14 points certainly does not seem unbridgeable to us.
Also Ken Roczen concludes his first AMA Supercross season in Las Vegas. The 17-year-old German finished second behind Eli Tomac in Salt Lake City. So the Supercross is starting to go better and better for Roczen. There isn't really much at stake for him in Las Vegas. The Red Bull Teka KTMrider no longer has a chance to win the title and does not have to ride for a teammate. Since Roczen starts in a free role in Las Vegas, his chances could be higher than ever. Ken Roczen winning the East/West shootout in Las Vegas for all the upcoming American talent would be something.
Any way you look at it, Ken Roczen is on his way to becoming the biggest star in the world Motocross World Championship to become. Because despite all the talk from some of his colleagues, the German is the only one who has the AMA Supercross Lites/MX2GP's dared. And to say that this year's GP calendar was completely tailored to that…
Anyway, the fact is that Roczen apparently effortlessly manages to combine two high-quality competitions, which take place on two different continents. That Roczen can compete in two more AMA Supercross competitions between the GPs of the Netherlands and the United States KTM is probably indicative of the trust placed in him. Roczen not only enjoys the trust of team manager Stefan Everts and KTM Sport chief Pete Beirer, but by extension also that of the entire KTM group. In addition to being super fast on both a motocross track and a supercross track, the German is also mediagenic. And KTM realized that very quickly. By the way, the fact that Roczen knows how to deal with the media is not something that only surfaced this season. As early as 2009, as a 15-year-old, he attended together with Stefan Everts Villa Vanthilt. In itself it was quite strange that Everts - then co-promoter of the GP Limburg in Lommel – had not chosen a Flemish MX1 rider. Anyway, Roczen was a talk show host Marcel Vanthilt in English as if he had never done anything else.
Roczen is without a doubt the poster child of German motocross and thanks to his media friendliness also the German motorcycle press. Unfortunately, certain German-language media tend to want to put the teenager from Mattstedt over the horse. Roczen already the predicate King Kenny Wanting to cling on is going a bit too far for us.
By the way, there will also be a battle for the AMA Supercross (450) title. With the big guns it seems Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) on his way to his very first title. In fact, the red-haired Kawasaki rider was already on his way to the AMA Supercross title last year, but a hard blow in the Supercross of Saint-Louis decided otherwise. Things could turn out differently tomorrow too. Chad Reed (22 Motorsports Honda) after all, follows 9 points from Villopoto and Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) on 12 points. In theory it even has James Stewart (San Manuel Yamaha)another mathematical shot at the title. But with a difference of no less than 23 points, that is actually no more than a long shot. If Villopoto is crowned AMA Supercross champion tomorrow night, he certainly won't have stolen that title. The Kawasaki rider scored one less time than his three main opponents. Due to crashes in the heat and in the LCQ in the Jacksonville Supercross Villopoto could not qualify for the Final. No matter how many times they bottomed, Reed, Dungey and Stewart still managed to score points in every round.
Actually, the cross party in Las Vegas starts tonight. Dan is in the Southpoint Arena in Las Vegas the 7e AMA Mini Moto SX on the menu. For those who cannot immediately understand this impressive title: this is the most important Pit Bike race in the world. Call it the unofficial Pitbike World Championship. Incidentatlly, Belgium will be represented tonight in Las Vegas by David Segers. Segers has three AMA pit bike titles to his name and is therefore one of the favorites in the Southpoint Arena. There will also be a battle for titles there soon and who knows, the Supercross weekend may also get a Belgian edge thanks to David Segers.
Photo Credits: Supercross.com, Geeco Bikes
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