The Others...Raider Nation

Was it the race you were looking for? Round 5 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championships did not disappoint inside the Black Hole of the Overstock.com Coliseum in Oakland, California. 

Qualifying times were surprisingly fast on a very technical track. Adam Cianciarulo’s 51.551 put his Pro Circuit Kawasaki in the top spot. The number 707 of Robin Kappel would take the final spot in the night show with his 57.367. In the 450 class it’d be Josh Greco’s 59.619 at the cutoff, while Justin Barcia put his Yamaha on the leaderboard with a 51.798.

250 class Heat Races were won by KTM’s Shane McElrath and and Star Yamaha backed Aaron Plessinger. We’d see privateers like Jean Ramos, Killian Auberson and Ryan Breece also make the transfer directly to the Main Event. Cole Seely and Justin Barcia took the 450 Heat wins, while an impressive 4th in Heat Two for Tyler Bowers put him in the 450 Main.

With one last shot, Husqvarna’s Mitchell Harrison took the 250 LCQ win. Chad Reed has been racing in a true privateer fashion with only himself listed as a sponsor. He’d win the 450 LCQ and join the Main Event field.

The man on a mission right now seems to be 250 class contender, Star Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger. He’d work from a start outside of the top 5 to take the lead and fighting the flu could not hold him back from another series win. Joey Savatgy would take second, while defending series champ Justin Hill landed his first podium of the year. Just when you thought Eli Tomac was the guy in the 450 class, he’d once again manage a way to watch points slip away and although only five rounds in, his championship hopes are fading out of sight. A 13th in Oakland will not help his points chase. The Main Event looked like it would be Honda and Ken Roczen’s first win of the season but Jason Anderson wasn’t giving up until the checkers flew and would make a last lap pass stick for the win. Blake Baggett Would join the podium for his first time of the season as well, putting his Rocky Mountain KTM on the third step.

A big shoutout to Ben Lamay and Alex Ray who have made 5 of 5 450 Mains. In 250 action we are continually impressed by the 63 of Hayden Mellross. He’d land another top 10 finish in Oakland. 

Ben Lamay

Hayden Mellross

And now...The Others

250

5. 141 Robbie Wageman 
6. 53 Brad Taft
7. 149 Tallon Lafountaine 
8. 321 Bradley Lionnet 
9. 170 Michael Leib 
10. 707 Robin Kappel
11. 817 Jason Clermont 
12. 424 Tyler Custer
13. 427 Deegan Vonlossberg 
14. 952 Ludovic Macler 
15. 160 Jess Petrie
16. 122 Chris Howell 
17. 383 Casey Brennan 
18. 71 Josh Mosiman 
19. 138 Blake Lilly 
20. 188 Gage Schehr 
21. 77 Ryan Surratt 
22. 52 Mitchell Oldenburg 

450

5. 84 Scott Champion
6. 12 Jake Weimer
7. 722 Adam Enticknap 
8. 262 Connor Pearson 
9. 78 Ronnie Stewart 
10. 80 AJ Catanzaro 
11. 447 Deven Raper 
12. 981 Austin Politelli 
13. 330 Cade Autenrieth 
14. 214 Vann Martin 
15. 73 Brandon Scharer 
16. 86 Dylan Merriam 
17. 509 Alex Nagy 
18. 976 Josh Greco 
19. 90 Dakota Tedder 
20. 526 Colton Aeck 
21. 211 Tevin Tapia
22. 48 Henry Miller 

Next week we will show appreciation to the armed forces with military appreciation. Keep an eye out for one off graphic and gear sets to honor the event.

-Kyle Pesci