That's What HE Said 2

Think there was anything to talk about after San Diego? You know it.

450 Class

Jason Anderson (1st)

"My starts saved me tonight," said Anderson. "I felt great riding, but this track was hard to push on and make a pass. I had to be really patient, but I feel like I picked apart the lines and got by everyone. I felt pretty good."

Marvin Musquin (2nd)

"It's great to be back on the podium. I've been working really hard and feel I've made a lot of progress. We made some good bike setup changes going into the Main Event, which really helped get me comfortable and have a good race. I'm looking forward to continuing to build from here."

Cole Seely (4th)

"It's frustrating for sure, but I'm trying to take away the positives. I've got good speed, rode aggressive in the heat race, and my starts have been better, so I just need to put it all together. I just need to figure out that last missing piece that's keeping me from winning races. I started making little mistakes; I'd start to feel the front end tuck and would have to back it down a little bit, and in all the spots that I had to back it down, those guys caught up with me and made passes. After that I got tight and just couldn't keep going forward. I held on and pushed as long as I could but I wasn't getting the traction I felt I needed. I didn't predict that the track was going to get so slick. During our briefing after the heat race, I said I wanted to keep the bike the same and liked the way it handled. In hindsight, I should've made some adjustments, but I need to continue working on it and hopefully get a win soon."

Broc Tickle (5th)

"I feel like we're getting closer to where we need to be. I've been putting in the work during the week with the team and it's finally starting to come together. I know what I'm capable of and I know that I tend to get stronger as the season goes on, so we're going to take this top-five finish and keep building."

Weston Peick (7th)

"San Diego was a bummer, plain and simple. I was feeling well all day. I was the sixth-fastest rider in practice, which was better than where I have typically been qualifying. I got off to a decent start in the heat race, made a few bobbles, and worked my way up to third. I was feeling solid in the main event. I probably would have come out of the first turn in the top five, but [Ken] Roczen went down and I fell. The bike got stuck on top of me. I got back going and riding really well, passing from 17th up to seventh place. I would have liked to pass [Justin] Brayton and [Broc] Tickle, but I'm happy with the progress I'm making. The Suzuki RM-Z450 is working really well."

Dean Wilson (9th)

"Today was definitely more progress," said Wilson. "I was far outside gate in the Main Event and rode a steady race to end up ninth. It's good, and my shoulder is slowly healing. I think I'm only going to get better from here. Tonight was a good night to build off."

Josh Grant (11th)

"I was feeling really good and knew if I got a good start in the main event, I had a chance at the podium," said Grant. "After getting caught up in the first corner carnage, I was way back and just tried my best to charge for 20 straight minutes. Eleventh place isn't terrible but I'm hungry for more. I'm looking forward to the east coast dirt."

Malcolm Stewart (17th)

"I wasn't feeling that good all day, until the main event came. I went down in the first turn, got back going, and climbed up to 12th place. Then I hit a tuff block and went down. Overall, I was riding well. I just need to clean the mistakes up and make it happen in order to get the results I feel I should be getting."

Ken Roczen (21st)

"I'm completely devastated with the outcome of tonight. The first thing I thought about on the ground was my team and all the hard work we've put in to get back to this point. I came into the corner with good speed, got on the gas, and then caught a ton of traction in the rut, lost my balance, and whisky-throttled the bike into [Cooper] Webb. My arm went in between his wheel and swingarm. We've already made the necessary calls to Dr. Viola and are going to get everything fixed up so I can get back out there as soon as possible."

Eli Tomac (22nd)

"I felt great on the bike all through qualifying and into the heat race," said Tomac. "I got off to a decent start in the main event and ended up catching my handlebar on another rider in the first corner, which caused us both to go down. It's unfortunate that these things happen, but it could be worse."

250 Class

Justin Hill (1st)

"Perfect days don't come very often, so I'm basking in the goodness of going 1-1-1…fastest qualifier, heat win and main event win. Everything was clicking with the team and my RM-Z250. I was ripping the whoops and rhythms in practice, doing what I needed to do to get the top qualifying time. We watched film after practice and decided to leave the bike alone, because it was working really well."

Adam Cianciarulo (2nd)

"I am really happy to grab my best finish before the break," said Cianciarulo. "I rode a little tight for awhile and let Justin (Hill) slip away from me. It's going to be interesting coming back to an east/west shootout mid-season, but it's going to be good to get a little break now. I am going to enjoy being at home for a while."

Chase Sexton (3rd)

"My strategy in the main event was to calculate everything around me. At one point I thought I could trail him [Adam Cianciarulo] and execute a wham-bam pass towards the end. Then I realized there were some people behind us that were riding well, and if we tangled it could jeopardize the win. I started increasing my intensity and pressing harder. I knew I had the speed. For the most part I was trying to be calm about picking up the pace and not do anything rash. I had good runs through the whoops and knew where I could gain. The pass was made before the whoops so I could pull away in the sand section. I had a couple ideas on accident avoidance in order to stay ahead. Once I got a small gap I tried to get back into a zone click away good laps."

"I didn't get off to the best start, some of the ruts in front of the gate were pretty messed up but I got a decent enough start," explained Sexton. "These guys were riding good. I passed Joey [Savatgy] and got up behind these two They were battling pretty hard and I was trying to be there in case anything happened. But nothing happened and then I got held up by a lapper and they kind of dropped me. But it was a good race. Track got pretty tough at the end, so I'm just happy to get third."

Joey Savatgy (4th)

"Today was a rough one after going down in practice," said Savatgy. "With this being the last race for a while, we had to tough it out and go after some points before the break. I wish I could have made it to the podium to help cut into the points even more, but all things considered it was an okay night."

Shane McElrath (5th)

"The track was very tough as the night went on and I feel happy to be able to leave here with a solid result and healthy," said McElrath. "It would have been nice to capitalize on the points leader having a bad night, but that's how it went. We have some time now to regroup and come back to showcase a great final four races."

Christian Craig (6th)

"Honestly I don't even know what to say at this point because I'm just sounding like a broken record," said Craig. "Felt awesome all day in San Diego. Really thought it was my night. Qualified third and was riding awesome—everyone on the team was pumped on how I was riding. I finished second in my heat and felt tight the entire time. In the main I got a terrible start and passed a few guys early on but just couldn't get up where I should be and where I'm capable of being. Luckily we have a few weeks off so I can figure out whatever is going on right now and break this trend."

Kyle Chisholm (7th)

"Another solid night in the books for me and the team," said Chisholm. "I enjoyed the track all day and found a good flow from first practice that I used throughout the day. I'm happy with another solid finish but I really want that Top 5. We're close and I'm going to use the break to work on some areas that need improvement."

Mitchell Harrison (9th)

"I had a pretty good qualifying session and great starts all around," said Harrison. "I had a decent start in the Main, but my arms got tight. I can't wait for the break and I'm looking forward to coming back strong."

Phil Nicoletti (11th)

"I finally rode well, even though the result doesn't show it. The bike handled awesome through the whoops. I felt strong, despite being banged up from the previous race. I had a brain fart on the second lap of the main event and tucked the front end in the sand. I tried to put in clean laps after the crash and worked up to 11th place. My entire body hurts, so it will be nice to take a week off now that the 250 West series takes a break. I'm going to head back to North Carolina and spend my time there training and riding."

Hayden Mellross (12th)

"I did the best I could tonight and that's all I can really ask for," Mellross commented. "This food poisoning has been kicking my butt all day and my usual race-day energy just wasn't where it needed to be. I rode smart and consistent and worked my way up. I'm excited for the break so I can rest up and come out swinging for the home stretch of the series."

Alex Martin (22nd)

"After last weekend being so positive, it was tough to have to bow out tonight but it was the best decision I could make for me," said Martin. "The track bit a lot of people today so I had to make sure I wasn't putting myself in a spot where I could have gotten hurt worse."

Team Personnel

Jeremy Albrecht (Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team Manager)

"It was a race filled with highs and lows. The obvious highs being Hill showing the capabilities of the Suzuki RM-Z250 and winning the 250 main event. Peick again showed a lot of promise. If it wasn't for the first turn crash I really think he could have been in one of those front spots. Unfortunately, Bogle was landed on by another rider in his heat race when he failed to jump the triple. It was a pretty bad crash that left him with a broken upper arm. He was obviously in a lot of pain afterward. I feel bad that it happened, because Justin was starting to find his groove. Stewart was feeling under the weather all weekend. Despite that, he fought hard and looked to have a good finish in the bag until he crashed and fell back to 17th. Nicoletti was in a great spot on the opening laps of the 250 main, but he lost the front end and went down. I'm looking forward to building on our results at the next round."

Erik Kehoe (Team HRC Honda Team Manager)

"Cole had another great start tonight in the main event and led almost half the race again, but things started to unravel toward the second half and he fell back a few spots. Fourth definitely isn't bad, but I know he's frustrated with that after the way the race started. He's got the speed and fitness, so we just need to figure out what's holding him back those last 10 minutes. It was a rough night for Kenny. Looking at the way his arm got sucked into the wheel though, it could've been worse, so we're grateful it wasn't. We'll see what the doctor says about his hand this week and find out what the prognosis and recovery time is."

Rich Simmons (Cole Seely's Mechanic)

"I'm disappointed with tonight. This is the second week in row that Cole has been riding really well and put himself in a great situation right off the start but was unable to make it happen all the way to the end. He just made some small mistakes the second half of the race and couldn't maintain his original pace once those guys got around him. He's so close to a win and I know he wants it, so we'll just keep chipping away at it."

Oscar Wirdeman (Ken Roczen's Mechanic)

"This is such a bummer and is not the way we wanted things to turn out. We were alright all day, but the main just didn't go our way. Kenny struggled again in the first qualifying session but we made some changes and came out strong in the last one, giving him a good qualifying position. His heat was okay; he got a terrible start but rode fast, moving into fifth by the end. Then in the main, he went down in the first turn and then again with Cooper [Webb]. I only got to see it when they replayed it on the big screen, but it was still hard to get an idea of what exactly happened. It could've been much worse, so I'm happy about that, and hopefully he'll be back sooner than later."

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