Eli Tomac won his first Supercross race in the 450 class rebounding from a disastrous 20th place last week, thanks to several crashes, to jump into the Top 10 for points as Jimmy Albertson became the first MotoSport rider to make the Main for the 2015 season.
Tomac grabbed the holeshot with Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen in tow but quickly lost it to Roczen, last week's winner. In fact, Tomac fell behind the lead several bike lengths before making a race of it on Lap 6. Tomac and Roczen exchanged front-runner status several times in a thrilling back-and-forth during the next few laps until Tomac took the lead for good on Lap 8 and the win without much effort thereafter.
"That was one of the (most fun) races of my life and to come away with a win is a cherry on top," said Tomac. "To beat a guy like Ken, we respect each other and race each other hard. It's just great. We definitely put our biggest effort into this and this is what we came out here to do."
Jimmy Albertson finished 20th at Phoenix
Roczen took the runner-up spot as Dungey battled and beat Weston Peick for third. Peick, a former MotoSport rider took fourth, his best ever finish in Supercross. Dungey who took fourth last week, moves into second-place in the points standings, just one ahead of rookie Jason Anderson, last week's second-place winner who took sixth. Davi Millsaps, who finished 19th last week, took fifth and he is now in 12th place. Anderson drops a place to third for points and Trey Canard, who finished third last week but eighth this week, falls to fourth-place, one point ahead of Peick.
Another tough week for Fredrik Noren
On the homefront, Albertson needed the LCQ to get in but got his first Main of the season and finished 20th. His teammate Mitchell Oldenburg on the Arma Energy/MotoSport.com/Yamaha team finished seventh in the LCQ. Nick Wey and Adam Enticknap, privateers sponsored by MotoSport did not get out of the LCQ. Fredrik Noren who rides for the MotoSport.com/GPI/Honda Racing team finished 16th in the LCQ. Noren cut his finger last week requiring stitches in a Heat race which gave him trouble.
Tommy Hahn finished 10th in the 250 class at Phoenix
In the 250 class, Cooper Webb also got his first career Supercross win after running up short to Zach Osborne for the holeshot and then dropping to third as Malcolm Stewart took the lead. Webb managed to pass Osborne on Lap 2 and then slipped by Stewart on Lap 4 and led the rest of the way. Stewart finished second, a career best, and last week's winner Jessy Nelson took third for his second podium trip of the year. Nelson retains the top spot in the point standings as Webb, who finished seventh last week, jumps to second. Tyler Bowers took fourth and keeps his third place position.
Josh Hansen finished 13th at Phoenix but remains in Top 10 for points
As for MotoSport riders, veteran Tommy Hahn looked strong taking 10th place, four spots better than last week's performance. Josh Hansen, who finished ninth last week, grabbed the 13th spot and is now in 10th place for points, tied with Michael Leib.
The Supercross season heads back to Southern California for Round 3 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Practice for A2, as it's called, starts at 12 p.m. (PST) and gates drop for the Main event at 6:30 p.m. (PST). Buy tickets online or at the box office, 2000 Gene Autry Way in Anaheim.
2015 Monster Energy Supercross Phoenix Results
Phoenix Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Eli Tomac
- Ken Roczen
- Ryan Dungey
- Weston Peick
- Davi Millsaps
- Jason Anderson
- Andrew Short
- Trey Canard
- Jake Weimer
- Chad Reed
Phoenix Supercross 250SX Class Results
- Cooper Webb
- Malcolm Stewart
- Jessy Nelson
- Tyler Bowers
- Aaron Plessinger
- Justin Hill
- Zach Osborne
- Shane McElrath
- Zach Bell
- Tommy Hahn - MotoSport rider
2015 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ken Roczen (47)
- Ryan Dungey (38)
- Jason Anderson (37)
- Trey Canard (33)
- Weston Peick (32)
- Andrew Short (30)
- Eli Tomac (26)
- Justin Barcia (25)
- Broc Tickle (22)
- Jake Weimer (22) 10. Chad Reed (22)
250SX Class Season Standings
- Jessy Nelson (45)
- Cooper Webb (39)
- Tyler Bowers (38)
- Zach Osborne (36)
- Justin Hill (33)
- Aaron Plessinger (32)
- Shane McElrath (28)
- Malcolm Stewart (23)
- Zach Bell (22)
- Josh Hansen (20) - MotoSport rider 10. Michael Leib (20)