Preview: 2022 450SX Supercross Championship
Today, Saturday, January 8, the 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship begins at Anaheim's Angel Stadium. In the 49th season, the search is on for Cooper Webb's successor. The KTM rider won his third title last year.
According to many, the 26-year-old Webb is the favorite for the coming season. Here we look ahead to the upcoming title battle.
Webb will face 2020 champion Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen. The German has 19 victories, but he has not yet managed to win the most important title in the USA. There is a lot of pressure on Roczen's shoulder, the last time Honda won this was in 2003 with Ricky Carmichael. Besides Tomac and Cooper, Jason Anderson is the only rider behind the starting gate who managed to win this championship. In 2018 Anderson rode with Husqvarna but from this season he is a Kawasaki rider!
KTM:
Webb is the big favorite and he has two strong teammates. Marvin Musquin is likely in his final season. The Frenchman won the 250SX EastCoast in 2013, but he never became a real title contender in the toughest class. The two-time world champion can certainly win a match, but whether he will succeed in his wonderful career remains to be seen. After many years of being a Yamaha rider, Aaron Plessinger is switching to KTM. It is now known how good the same switch has been for Webb. After two 25SX titles, he couldn't get a foot in the door in the premier class. He subsequently managed to crown the switch to KTM with two titles in three seasons. Plessinger has won two 250SX titles but has yet to capture a 450SX victory.
In addition to the factory team, KTM also has three riders at Team Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM-WPS-BBMX. Joey Savatgy has stayed but Max Anstie and Shane McElrath are new.
Yamaha:
After a long collaboration with Kawasaki, Tomac has left the brand to switch to Yamaha. The 29-year-old rider is Dylan Ferrandis' new teammate. The 450MX champion will try to take his progression from the 'Nationals' into the stadium. The 27-year-old Ferrandis will mainly have to improve his starts because the SX races are much shorter than the MX heats in which he can fight back.
Sling:
In addition to Roczen, Team HRC USA also has Chase Sexton. The 22-year-old motocross rider is perhaps the most complete rider after the 'big' three. He has the speed to win games. If anyone can join the title fight, we believe it is Sexton, which would give Honda two contenders in 2022. With Justin Brayton, Honda has another big name in their ranks, the 37-year-old American will compete for Team MotoConcepts this season and is in its last full season.
Kawasaki:
Anderson is a former champion but has not won a match since winning the title. The Alpinestars-clad rider has Adam Cianciarulo as a teammate, but he is injured again. That is a never-ending story for 25-year-old Cianciarulo, who will be in action this weekend. Can he recover enough to finally win a match in 2022? Anderson has the tough task of replacing Tomac, can he finally take another win in 2022?
GasGas:
What has become clear in recent years is that Justin Barcia can certainly win a match. In fact, 'BamBam' managed to win the opening competition of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Last year he did that with the GasGas and immediately made himself immortal for the third Austrian brand. According to our predictions, Barcia will have to be satisfied with a place in the top eight.
Husqvarna:
Due to the departure of Anderson and the retirement of Zach Osborne, Husqvarna had to look for a new leader. In addition to Dean Wilson, Malcolm Stewart will represent the brand. The 29-year-old Stewart has two 250SX titles, but he has not yet managed to win in the premier class. He worked very hard on his physique last month with support from Aldon Baker, will that be enough to really break through and take victories in the coming season? Dean Wilson has remained loyal to the team but he will probably have to be happy with top ten finishes.
Suzuki:
HEP Motorsports will also be the only Suzuki team in this championship in 2022. Adam Enticknap and Brandon Hartranft have remained while Justin Bogle has traded Anstie. Of this trio, Enticknap will have the most difficulty qualifying for the finals. Hartranft had some start-up problems in 2021, but later in the season he started to improve.
The calendar will consist of seventeen races which will be held in just eighteen weekends. After a brief absence, Anaheim returns to the calendar, Las Vegas is missing again.
Door: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photos: Manufacturing
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