2019 East Rutherford Supercross | Race Report
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2019 East Rutherford Supercross | Race Report
Presented by Fasthouse
The penultimate round of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series rolled into Metlife Stadium under sketchy weather predictions, and the evening’s program was moved up a full hour to improve the chances of getting through the entire program before more rain was said to arrive. The result was some of the best racing of the year, with plenty of drama unfolding in both the 250 Eastern Regional and 450 championships. At the end of the night, a first-time winner and new points leader highlighted the 250s, while hot and heavy action in the premier division resulted in a familiar face up front.
2019 East Rutherford Supercross | 250 Class
The big talk of the day in the 250 division centered around points leader Austin Forkner, who crashed in practice at the Nashville Supercross three weekends ago and suffered a torn ACL and meniscus damage in his left knee. After undergoing extensive physical therapy every day since then, Forner showed up looking to salvage as many points as he could and preserve his championship chances heading into next week’s finals in Las Vegas. Forkner was surprisingly quick during the day’s qualifying sessions and surprised many by turning in the third-fastest time of the day behind Chase Sexton and Mitchell Oldenburg. Forker looked to be in pain throughout the day as he had a pronounced limp, but he qualified straight into the main event with a solid fourth in his heat race.
At the drop of the gate in the main event, JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Alex Martin led the way, but crashed out of the lead on the opening lap and handed the lead to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos. Forker pulled a really aggressive pass on Sexton on the opening lap, but both riders stayed up and Forker’s knee appeared unfazed by the impact, even though it was on his tender left side. Once into second, Forker looked as if he might actually pass for the lead, and many wondered if Davalos would check up for his teammate, considering the series points situation. As it turned out, Forker overjumped a single, then came up slightly short on a double that followed, and his injured knee gave out beneath him. As the five-time event winner pulled from the track, he pounded his fist on his handlebars in disappointment. Sexton took the position and gave chase to Davalos, but didn’t have to force the issue as Davalos appeared to be blinded by the setting sun in a corner that went from shade to sunlight, and missed a right-handed corner. Once in front, Sexton rode a flawless race en route to his first-ever Supercross win, and also took over control of the series points lead. Behind Sexton, Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha teammates Mitchell Oldenburg and Justin Cooper fought tooth-in-nail for the runner-up position, with Oldenburg prevailing at the finish line.
“This is unbelievable,” said Sexton, who piloted his Jade Dungey-tuned GEICO Honda to the popular win. “This win couldn’t have come at a better time. Forkner was trying to take me out which I understand because there is a championship on the line, but you don’t just saw someone’s front end like that.”
Coming into East Rutherford, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac was the rider with momentum on his side. As he traditionally does late in the season, Tomac has found his form in recent weeks and scored a commanding win at the previous round. Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb meanwhile, controlled the championship points but was under the weather for much of the week leading up to the New Jersey round and was simply looking to secure a top-five finish. As he has in other high-pressure situations this season, though, Webb rose to the occasion and snared the holeshot at the start of the 23-lap main event. Webb’s teammate Marvin Musquin came to East Rutherford with an outside shot at the championship, but those hopes were dashed when he went down in the first corner and rejoined the race in last. Though he would work up to fifth at the checkered flag, the damage was done and the best the likable Frenchman can hope for is to overtake Tomac for second.
Tomac wasted little time charging towards the front of the pack and took control of the lead with a clean pass beneath Webb in a tight corner. Webb, however, retaliated quickly in typical fashion, but eventually settled into second behind the hard-charging Kawasaki rider. A miscue in the whoops, however, saw Tomac crash out of the lead and drop back to third, leaving Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne to take over chasing Webb for the lead. The two-time 250 Supercross Champion looked the best he has since moving up to a 450, and the crowd went nuts when he executed a well-planned pass on Webb to take over the lead. Osborne led only a lap and a half, though, as he got cross-rutted and nearly rode off the track and into the Tuff Blocks that lined the next berm. Webb barely scooted past Osborne as he backed his FC 450 out of the Tuff Blocks, as did Rocky Mountain MC/ATV KTM’s Blake Baggett. Osborne regained his composure quickly, however, and passed back into second. The pass threw Baggett off rhythm and this allowed Tomac to smoke past into third, and he moved past Osborne a few turns later. Just as he closed in on Webb in the late stages of the race and looked as if he might win his sixth race of the season, Tomac made another mistake in the whoops and hit the deck for the second time, allowing Osborne to retake the runner-up spot for good.
At the checkers, Webb was glad to take his seventh with of the season and extend his points lead to 23 over Tomac with only one race remaining. “It was tough out there, and I was getting gifts handed to me left and right,” said Webb. “I rode pretty well but other guys were riding much better at times, but they all made more mistakes than me. It was really hard to lead out there because the track was so tough. I felt like crap all week and even this morning I was in the bathroom puking. It is crazy how life works out sometimes!”
