Foxborough Supercross - The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Monster Energy Supercross made its first trip to Foxborough this weekend for round 15 of the series, and we weren't really sure what to expect. It rained the night before the race and in turn was very muddy during practice. Then, by the time we reached the 450 semi races they were watering the track! This resulted in a constantly changing track that got rougher and rougher as the day went on, leading to an exciting couple of main events. The 250 class saw an intense battle form between the top four, and eventually ended with Martin Davalos taking his first win since the first round of the season. In the 450 class, Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey once again battled it out for the first few laps of the main event but it was clear this was Kenny's night. He pulled away from Dungey pretty easily and was able to take the checkered flag. Dungey, however, barely made the podium after getting passed by Eli Tomac and almost getting beat by Jason Anderson. It looked to be an off night for the Dunge. Now with all of that being said, let's get into the best and the worst of Foxborough.

250 Class

The Good: Martin Davalos

Marty got the train back on the tracks this weekend by claiming his first win since the season opener in Atlanta. Unfortunately, he's out of the championship completely at this point due to his absence from the Toronto round. This season really is a bummer for Marty and the Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna team because it looked like he could have won the title this year. He has had the normal Davalos speed, but he has also become more consistent and less crash-prone which was good to see. At this point though, all he can really do is win these final two rounds and then look forward to the great outdoors.

The Bad: Aaron Plessinger

Aaron had a great opportunity to take over the East region points lead in Foxborough, and I really thought he'd do it. Well, it didn't happen as he got a bad start and struggled working his way to the front.  The thing that I found the most interesting is how hard it was for him to move forward. Generally, this year he has gotten bad starts, but he's also been very good at working his way through the pack. That wasn't the case in Foxborough, and as a result he's now five points behind Malcolm Stewart in the standings. He needs to re-group and focus everything he has on winning the final two rounds of the championship.

The Ugly: Darryn Durham

Darryn's season started out great with a seventh and several of us thought he'd have a solid year. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. He got injured at the second round of the series and missed four rounds as a result. It sucks because the number one thing I was hoping he would do (besides get some solid top ten results) was stay healthy.  The injury he sustained was out of his control, but it has definitely affected him as he's had some very rough races since his return. There's no doubt he is probably riding below 100% and in a bit of pain, but I'd love to see him put in one more solid result before we head outside.

450 Class:

The Good: Ken Roczen

Ken looked good all day and was flat-out dominant during the main. He passed Ryan Dungey early, and just rode away from him. Granted, Eli Tomac did get pretty close towards the middle of the race, but Ken picked up the pace and eventually dropped him. The only problem is that he's finding his speed and starts a little too late. Dungey has a forty-three point lead with two rounds to go, so while it's great to see Ken finally displaying the speed we expected to see all year., the Supercross championship is over. But, if he carries this momentum into the next two rounds and ends the season with a couple wins, he could be the title favorite heading into the outdoor nationals.

The Bad: Chad Reed

At this point, I'm not sure how to rate Chad's season. He looked strong at the beginning and had some podium rides, but he hasn't been in contention for the win since. Instead, he's become a consistent top ten guy which would be great for most riders, but that's not what we expect from Chad Reed. One big issue that has plagued him like many of the other top riders is his starts. They've been bad more races than not recently, and it's weird seeing that, as starts have never been a huge problem for Chad. At this point, I think Chad Reed, Trey Canard, and Eli Tomac should have a boot camp where they work on starts for an entire week. Maybe then they could all at least start inside the top ten every week. Other factors could be that Chad is not comfortable on the Yamaha, or the fact that he's not getting any younger while the riders around him seem to be getting faster and faster. But I still feel like the biggest problem is his poor starts. Let's hope he gets it figured out this week, because he only has two more rounds left in the season to grab a podium.

The Ugly: Blake Baggett

Could this season get any worse for Yoshimura Suzuki? James Stewart's season went so bad there aren't even words to properly describe it, and now Blake Baggett missed the Foxborough main event after getting a top five the week before. He was the Good last week! I'm not sure if I cursed him by writing about him, or it's all because I put him on my fantasy roster... But I did not see this coming. I should mention that he did crash in both the semi and the LCQ, which ultimately led to his DNQ. Furthermore, his crash in the LCQ ripped off his footpeg (see below) which makes riding just a little difficult. So it wasn't a situation where he just flat out didn't qualify, it was a situation where he couldn't stay off the ground. Look for him to make the main event with ease next week and be back in contention for the top five.

The Ugly Bonus: Mike Alessi & Vince Friese as Lappers

What in the world was going on with Mike Alessi and Vince Friese? Did they forget what the blue flag means? Zone out during the race? Convince themselves that they were actually in first and second, and that the actual leaders were trying to pass them for position? I just don't get it. Mike continued charging even when the leaders were basically on his back wheel, leaving Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen to search for a way around him. Then good ol' Friese decided to run Dungey high for some reason. Getting lapped isn't fun...we get it. And we don't expect for the riders getting lapped to pull off the track, but they should let the leaders by... Jeez.

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