Eli Tomac wins hard-fought heats in Glen Helen!
After Hangtown last week, a lot of questions arose about the AMA450 classes. Was anyone strong enough to beat Eli Tomac one week later or could the Kawasaki pilot go for a two-for-two? In addition, as Europeans we were looking forward to whether one of these competitors could actually be Marvin Musquin. Does the Frenchman have it or not? And what about the evolution of Ken Roczen…
Miracles do exist: Ken Roczen is almost back to normal
In the first heat we got a holeshot from the HRC Honda pilots. Christian Craig preceded his teammate Ken Roczen at the start and then the entire field followed suit. However, after only half a lap we saw Christian Craig crash brutally and disappear from the race, giving Ken Roczen the lead. It didn't take long before the German got Eli Tomac in the wheel. However, we did not immediately expect what happened next. Ken Roczen went into battle with Eli Tomac without any qualms and both managed to pull away from Jason Anderson and Marvin Musquin, among others.
The leader of the Honda team and the leader of the Kawasaki team made it an entertaining duel. This was until after fifteen to twenty minutes we saw Ken Roczen's tank becoming more and more empty. Eli Tomac smelled blood seeping into the water and attacking it. The first time was also the good meal. The Kawasaki pilot steamed through to victory at alarming speed. Behind the reigning champion we saw that Ken Roczen had a slightly more difficult time, allowing Marvin Musquin to get past him. The French KTM pilot had already gained the upper hand from Jason Anderson earlier in the race. This Jason Anderson finished fourth behind the three mentioned above and ahead of Blake Baggett who completed the top five.
Jason Anderson just hands over victory
The second moto started with a nice holeshot from Supercross champion Jason Anderson. The Husqvarna pilot immediately took a lead of about three seconds on the first lap. This was possible because of a crash right behind him involving Blake Baggett, Justin Barcia, but also Marvin Musquin, who we saw maneuvering over a wheel. He gradually built this lead of three seconds to ten seconds over Marvin Musquin who clearly did not have the speed or the right feeling in this moto. Yet it took a while before Eli Tomac, who started extremely poorly, caught up with the Frenchman and was able to pass him.
Halfway through the race, victory seemed to be in store for Jason Anderson, with an eight-second lead over Eli Tomac and an even larger lead over Marvin Musquin. This, on the other hand, was not taken into account by Eli Tomac. The Kawasaki pilot only really came into his element in the final laps, while the course was completely destroyed, he clearly did not answer Jason Anderson's lap times. The gap melted like snow in the sun and in the penultimate lap Eli Tomac had his prey. Jason Anderson eventually finished second at about sixteen seconds and Marvin Musquin gained just under fifty seconds in third place. The top 5 was completed by Justin Barcia and Weston Peick.
What about Kenny Roczen in the second series?
The Honda pilot entered the pit lane after the second lap of the race because of strange noises from the engine. However, these turned out to be innocent and he continued his way from place thirty-eight. But just to show that he is almost back to normal, the HRC pilot pulled off a great catch-up race and finished in the top ten, eighth!
1. So Tomac
2. Marvin Musquin
3.Ken Roczen
4.Jason Anderson
5. Blake Baggett
6. Justin Barcia
7. Weston Peick
8. Kyle Cunningham
9. Dylan Merriam
10. Phil Nicoletti
11. Kyle Chisholm
12. Bradley Taft
13. Ben LaMay
14. Brandon Scharer
15. Toshiki Tomita
16.Cody Cooper
17. Bradley Lionnet
18. Chris Alldredge
19. Alex Ray
20. Cade Autenrieth
1. So Tomac
2.Jason Anderson
3. Marvin Musquin
4. Justin Barcia
5. Weston Peick
6. Benny Bloss
7. Phil Nicoletti
8.Ken Roczen
9. Blake Baggett
10.Cody Cooper
11. Kyle Chisholm
12. Alex Ray
13. Brandon Scharer
14. Cade Autenrieth
15. Toshiki Tomita
16. Dare DeMartile
17. Ben LaMay
18. Bradley Taft
19. Felix Lopez
20. Dustin Pipes
1. Eli Tomac (1-1)
2. Marvin Musquin (2-3)
3. Jason Anderson (4-2)
4. Justin Barcia (6-4)
5. Ken Roczen (3-8)
6. Weston Peick (7-5)
7. Blake Baggett (5-9)
8. Phil Nicoletti (10-7)
9. Kyle Chisholm (11-11)
10.Cody Cooper (16-10)
1. Eli Tomac, 100 points
2. Marvin Musquin, 86
3. Jason Anderson, 73
4. Justin Barcia, 73
5. Blake Baggett, 60
6. Weston Peick, 60
7.Ken Roczen, 53
8. Phil Nicoletti, 49
9. Benny Bloss, 42
10. Kyle Chisholm, 39
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven – Photos: Monster Energy Media & Husqvarna media
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