Non è mai davvero facile trovare il predestinato all’inizio della stagione di qualsiasi campionato, sopratutto per il Monster Energy AMA Supercross, il 2022 è stato particolarmente difficile quando hai 8 piloti che potrebbero vincere il titolo e ancora di più che potrebbero vincere una gara e finire a podio!!!
Nella classe 450SX, Eli Tomac è arrivato al quarto round del campionato, Anaheim 2, con un punto di vantaggio in campionato e zero vittorie al suo attivo, tutti dietro di lui avevano apparentemente fatto una buona gara, ma anche una brutta gara e altri risultati per creare un divario di soli sette punti tra i primi otto piloti del campionato.
Per Eli Tomac, la strada stava andando nella giusta direzione, la sua nuova moto Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing sembrava già perfetta, alla prima prova nemmeno un “lamento” e sono conferme su dove e come lavorare per vincere, Tomac aveva segnato 6-4-2 e ora 1, si perchè il supercross è fatto di dettagli, se il motocross lascia andare alcune sbavature, il supercross richiede precisione e la si trova in tutto, dal grip, alla posizione, alla sensazione e vibrazioni, quelle che portano ad avere il tempo migliore e a vincere in una gara secca di soli 20 minuti! Eli Tomac sembra fatto per la sua nuova moto, un toro indomabile come lo definiscono in molti, la nuova versione della Yama è da un pò che non vinceva, l’ultimo fu Barcia in una vittoria che, a detta di molti, vuol dire poco nel round di apertura, ma Tomac aveva bisogno di questo stimolo, moto nuova, team nuovo, allenamenti nuovi ed ecco il risultato, vittoria!!!
Sui social e nel web lo si dava come perdente, come inadatto alla blu, eppure agli occhi dei tecnici non sembra così, tanto che è riuscito a tenere la tabella rossa e aprire un piccolo margine sugli inseguitori, solo 6 punti da Sexton, 8 da Anderson e 12 da Webb, questi i più pericolosi nella stagione, già alla quarta gara si sta delineando chi saranno i piloti a lottare per il titolo 2022, ma state calmi, siamo ancora all’inizio e le prossime 13 gare saranno importanti, fino a Daytona siamo sul filo del rasoio, considerando che la prossima è un TRIPLE CROWN dove può succedere molto!
Spenderemo poche parole sul resto dei piloti, in primis su Jason Anderson che sbaglia, ammette anche di aver fatto un entrata troppo tosta su Roczen, promette che lavorerà sull’aggressività, ma il SX è fatto anche di questo, è fatto di errori come quello che lo porta a perdere il comando anche se è stato il più veloce nel Main Event, gli errori si pagano e i conti aperti sono già troppi, insieme a Tomac è in lotta per il titolo e lo confermiamo!
Chase Sexton, poco incisivo ma efficace ad Anaheim 2, vince la heat e gira veloce nel main, purtroppo non aveva la velocità per prendere i due davanti, poco importa, un TRIPLE CROWN potrebbe essere a suo vantaggio, gare esplosive e partenze perfette sono gli ingredienti per segnare un altra vittoria, siamo ad attenderlo!
Cooper Webb, sta seguendo il carrozzone, solo un podio, risultati altalenanti e 4 piloti davanti a lui ad A2, 3 dei quali hanno la “stessa” moto e questo pesa per il Campione in carica, deve lavorare su molti aspetti, in primis la moto nuova!
Ken Roczen, corpo a corpo il suo punto debole, o ci lavori subito o non porti a casa nulla, il piatto è 1 e se vuoi mangiare devi essere aggressivo quando serve, ma lui ha un tarlo che è difficile da eliminare, i grossi infortuni ti segnano, la velocità e la tecnica ci sono, manca un ingrediente per portarlo alla perfezione, attendiamo, è in una posizione che lo vede solo attaccare e attaccare, nulla di più!
Degli altri, Malcolm Stewart, Justin Barcia, ecc. non ne parliamo, stiamo aspettando risultati importanti….forse a Glendale il Triple Crown farà la differenza!
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Eli Tomac: It feels great to get this win. It also feels good to get this win for everyone behind me. The team has been working so hard, and what we’ve been able to do and how we’ve been able to improve each weekend is awesome. We’ve just been inching our way forward and fine-tuning every week, so it feels so good to get everyone that result that we all work for. The track was so cool, with really technical rhythm sections, and my motorcycle was so good tonight. I could put it wherever I wanted to – inside, outside – and it was good for the distance, so that’s exciting for us.
Jason Anderson: To come away with second tonight was solid. I felt a bit off all day and that led to a few mistakes in the heat race which set me back as far as gate pick. When it came time for the Main Event, I knew I could put it all together aboard my KX™450SR and fight for a win on this track. I made the most of the start and came out of the first turn about fifth. I executed a few really quick passes to get out front and was leading the race until I mistimed that triple-triple line after the finish. I was able to get the rhythm clean the rest of the race and my speed was strong throughout. It’s nice to have a podium finish tonight, I just have a few things to clean up to improve for next weekend.
Chase Sexton: We changed a lot, triple clamps, shocks, forks and other things. The whoops were difficult, and it played with my front-end and I felt uncomfortable in those. We didn’t want to make any mistakes and we just have to get better. Eli and Jason rode good and I stalled it and only lost by a second, so we just have to be better and we hope we will next weekend. When I nearly crashed, I leaned into the rut and scrubbed really hard and then it got hairy and my feet came off and it was a scary moment and took me about a lap to get moving again. Any given night we can have a different winner and I expected to be in this group and I learnt a lot last year and I try not to make the mistakes I made last year. I just want to be racing these guys and learn from them.
Cooper Webb: “Extremely tough night tonight at A2. I didn’t get a great start and I was pretty buried in the pack early on. I was able to make some passes and get up to around seventh, and then ended up falling backwards a few spots. I was able to get back up, make some more passes and ended up eighth. Definitely not a great night at all, but the only thing we can do now is regroup and try to get better for next weekend in Arizona.”
Dylan Ferrandis: “We had a really challenging track, but I was feeling good on the bike, and the lap times were great all day. I finally got a good start in the heat race, which I was really happy about, and finished third. In the main event, I went on the outside, which wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t really have a nice spot on the inside. It was an okay start, but I got pinched in the first turn and was pretty far back in position. Then I just charged the best I could, made many passes, and finished fourth. The bike is good, and I felt strong in the whoops, so there are a lot of positives from today, but after the podium last week, I wish I would have finished on the box again. This season, the competition is tough, so it’s not always easy. I just gave everything I had, and fourth was my position today.”
Justin Barcia: “All-in-all, it was a good day. We were having a lot of fun in practice! I felt like it was one of my better practices of the year so far and I was getting comfortable on the bike. I got a really bad start in the Main Event and with how the field is so fast right now, I wasn’t able to get where I wanted to be so seventh was the best finish I could pull off tonight. I’m going to go back to the drawing board, get my starts dialed and we’ll be back in Phoenix and ready to be back on the podium!
Ken Roczen: “Our weekend was a nightmare. I’ve been struggling lately with my bike setup, just not really getting comfortable. It was a tough one for us but we did decent; when nighttime comes, it seems like we always get our stuff together. I got second in the heat race, and we got the holeshot in the main event. Things were going pretty decent. I struggled with the whoops so that was definitely not my strong point; I almost went down there once, and the same lap I got taken down by [Jason] Anderson – unfortunately left the door open. Probably not the right turn for him to put on a pass, but obviously it got me and I crashed pretty hard right there. I had to make a stop after that to get all the sand out of my goggles, and our night was pretty much over after that; I could only salvage 13th place, but we never gave up. We’re quite a few points down. It’s a bummer, but I’m looking forward to next weekend to get some consistency in and do some training and riding; I couldn’t really do that last week. Hopefully we’ll head to Phoenix with a bit more confidence and more riding time under my belt.”
Malcolm Stewart: We were struggling a little bit in practice but we really turned the night around once the gate dropped for racing. In the Main Event, I got a really good start – we’re slowly starting to get these starts now and I’m really excited about that. I know that we’re P5 but we’re still in the fight and we’ll be ready to go for Phoenix – it’s the Triple Crown baby! I’m excited for this one, it’s one of my favorite races and it’s always a good time. I love the stadium and just love the vibes there, so I’m really looking forward to it.