View From the Floor: Conflict and Resolution 6

This week we take on a few rumors, and try and make things right.

GuyB
1/28/2018 7:35am
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This may not be the season anyone expected, but with a resurgent Eli Tomac, and a pack that's not quite sorted out yet, it's keeping us transfixed. What you see on TV any given week is only part of the story...

This week's schedule was a little earlier than normal, and when the sun hasn't set by the time opening ceremonies go down, it's time to break out the flame cannons.

Ken Roczen heads out for opening ceremonies. Being at A2 the previous week for the anniversary of his big crash obviously had him a little spun mentally, but he was back in full form this weekend.

Chad Reed is closing in on Mike LaRocco's main event start record. He'll catch that one in a few races, but for the second week in a row, he had to get to the main via the LCQ. The injury he's dealing with is obviously hampering him, and watching him pull off a boot even a few weeks ago it was obviously very painful. It may not be pretty at the moment, but we'll take races with Chad in them over the option.

Juliocesar Zambrano got one of those dream starts in his 250 heat, leaning in ahead of Chase Sexton, and the Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha duo of Mitchell Oldenburg and Aaron Plessinger. He didn't make the corner, but it was a moment of glory. Next time!

One of the highlights of the night? Justin Brayton scored a great start, and held off all the top guys to score a heat race win.

Afterwards, Justin and Tony Berluti were obviously really stoked. Justin's really happy with his bike, and it shows.

The Bullfrog Spas/Smartop/MotoConcepts Racing crew might not always get the respect they deserve, but they do put quality riders and bikes on the track. Scoring a heat race is huge for a team like them, but they also have bigger goals. Mike Genova was rightfully proud of Justin Brayton scoring a heat win. This was also cool, as some of the corporate crew from Bullfrog Spas were on hand for the night's action.

You want close action? Yeah, we've got that. How about three wide over this triple with Tyler Bowers, Michael Akaydin, and Matt Bisceglia? Michael went down later, and ended up not being able to come back for the LCQ.

Dean keeps a watchful eye on Malcolm Stewart during their heat race.

A crash in his heat (which he described as "Not ideal," sent Joey Savatgy to the LCQ. He got a massive holeshot in that one, and made it to the main. Another tip-over there hampered his night, but with the way Aaron Plessinger was riding, it would have been tough to hang with him.

There's a set of barriers around the start area, and just the rider and mechanic are allowed inside. But there's often a lot of hustling around behind them by other team personnel (like here with Wil Hahn and Jeremy Coker from the Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha squad), as the riders make their gate selections.

Last week there was a lot of chatter in the Vital MX Forum about how hard Adam Cianciarulo had hit the ground in practice, and how some untrained observers had said he'd been K.O.'d and shouldn't have raced. We hit that head-on (no pun intended) with Adam, and you can hear what the had to say below.

Adam Cianciarulo Audio

Bradley Taft grabbed his best result yet of the season, carding a sixth-place finish. In the shark tank that is the 250 West, that's a great result. You can listen in to his post-race thoughts below.

Bradley Taft Audio

A second win of the 250 West campaign moves Aaron Plessinger back to the top of the points heap. He looked like a completely different rider than the one that was on the number 23 at A2.

Shane McElrath was a little fired up afterwards about the contact between he and Aaron Plessinger (and he made a heck of a recovery to stay off the ground). Intentional? We'd say Aaron gets a pass on this one. If it happens again? That might be another story. You can click the start button below to listen in and get Aaron's thoughts on it.

Aaron Plessinger Audio

Cooper Webb on his way in during opening ceremonies.

Cooper was all the way on the outside of the gate for the start of the 450 main, and grabbed eighth this week...his best of the year so far.

Cooper Webb battling with Cole Seely during the main event. Check out the audio below to hear Cooper's thoughts on where he's at, and how overblown the A2 "conflict" got between himself and Justin Barcia once the Internet got ahold of it. Yeah, we reported on it, but it wasn't as big a deal as others made it out to be.

Cooper Webb Audio

The common question has been whether Yamaha keeps Justin on board for the rest of the Supercross season. We'd guess that'll get resolved publicly soon. Check out the audio below to hear from Justin.

Justin Barcia's season has been nothing short of amazing of him so far, and he's only nine points out of the top spot in overall points. It's interesting to watch the career paths of riders out there. Justin has been on a heck of a rebound...something we don't often see.

Justin Barcia Audio

Rocketing out of the first turn, Eli Tomac had a clear track in front of him.

Barcia and Roczen kept the pressure on, but Eli Tomac grabbed his second straight win.

Standard operating procedure after the riders have cooled down and finished spraying champagne at the podium is to get them out of wet gear and into something dry and warm. It's all part of the health management during the cold weather months.

Let's pack this one up, hit the road, and see you next week in Oakland!

Related:
Aaron Plessinger
Chad Reed
Cooper Webb
Dean Wilson
Eli Tomac
Jason Anderson
Joey Savatgy
Justin Barcia
Justin Brayton
Ken Roczen
Malcolm Stewart
Michael Akaydin
Shane McElrath
Tyler Bowers
Wil Hahn
Christian Craig
Matt Bisceglia
Mike Genova
Tony Berluti
Jeremy Coker
6 comments

View replies to: View From the Floor: Conflict and Resolution

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4csHATER
6 years ago
thanks for providing such awesome content. i am pumped to say aarons dad has became an awesome friend of mine. Super pumped to see the kid doing big things. love this ohio energy in the stadiums every weekend.
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David934
6 years ago
I think photo of Webb at opening ceremonies is one of my best! Amazing