2019 Geneva Supercross | Friday Night Race Report & Results

December 6, 2019

2019 GENEVA SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

PHOTOS | JEY CRUNCH

There’s plenty to recap after night one of the 2019 Geneva Supercross. This year’s running of the long-standing race in Switzerland has top talent visiting from America against the usual front-runners in the French SX Tour in the SX1 and SX2 division, and on Friday night the riders diced on a technical track packed with obstacles at the Palexpo center. Justin Brayton and Justin Barcia, two past winners of the event, were bested by first-time attendee Martin Davalos through the course of the night in the SX1 class, while American Joey Crown came out ahead of the European contingent of SX2 riders.

A full replay of the night’s race is posted at the bottom of the page…

SX1 CLASS RECAP & RESULTS

It was stated above but needs to be made clear again: Davalos was practically unstoppable in the SX1 class. Aboard a Kawasaki KX450 with some Pro Circuit parts, the veteran rider aced the start in most races and led laps without a sense of franticness or pressure. The margin of his Heat Race win over Brayton was more than seven-seconds, a sizable amount on a relatively small track. He beat Justin Barcia straight up in round one of the Head-To-Head bracket and then banged bars with Brayton for the format win. The races with Brayton were very close and came down to contact between the two multiple times, with Brayton going down in both. But the Main Event win was by far the most impressive, as Davalos emerged from the tricky first turn at the front of the pack and immediately put distance between himself and the rest of the field. The early advantage was huge for Davalos and as the laps clicked off, he maintained a few seconds of distance between himself and second place Barcia all the way to the checkered flag. Davalos is in the top spot for the event’s overall win, which would certainly be a huge feat ahead of the 2020 season, which will see him aboard a Team Tedder KTM in Supercross.

Justin Barcia was the second-place finisher on the night. A common competitor at the European overseas events, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider was near the front each time out and won his Heat Race. The Main Event was a long pursuit of Davalos and although he mounted a charge midway through, Barcia was unable to make any sort of run at the lead. There was really no apparent reason Barcia was unable to match Davalos, as he managed to cut through lapped traffic in the Main Event and logged a series of speedy, consistent laps. That’s racing…

Justin Brayton’s day was a bit chaotic because the Team Honda HRC rider was forced to cobble together the necessary riding gear from sponsors and other riders when his suitcase failed to arrive earlier in the week. The missized boots and borrowed gear didn’t seem to be too unnerving for the experienced world traveler, as he was near the top of the results sheet in every session, but little issues like a mediocre start in the night’s final race held him back to third place at the checkered flag. Brayton is the only rider in the field that raced last weekend in Australia and now in Switzerland.

The SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts/Honda crew of Justin Hill, Malcolm Stewart, and Vince Friese swept spots four through six on the night. Hill came out ahead thanks in part to the best start of the trio and ran third for much of the Main Event, was passed by Brayton in the closing laps, and stayed close to the factory Honda rider all the way until the finish. Stewart, meanwhile, won his Heat Race after catching-passing-dropping Barcia in a small amount of time and then had to work his way from deep in the field to fifth place in the Main Event. Friese was involved in the typical first turn carnage in the Main Event and had to go down the track worker lane for a moment, but quickly regrouped and settled into a flow that garnered him fifth place.

This is an important weekend for Cedric Soubeyras, as the Team 2b Moraco rider continues to chase the French SX Tour title. Soubeyras could cruise through the two nights of racing and close in the championship, but instead has made it a point to run the pace of the American field. He was the top qualifier of the afternoon practice sessions, finished third in his Heat Race, and was sixth in the Main Event, the highest rank of any full-time SX Tour rider. Soubeyras holds a 25-point lead over Nicolas Aubin, who had a rough night and did not line up for the Main Event, with three races left to be run (the series ends with a double-header in Amneville next week).

SX2 CLASS RECAP & RESULTS

The SX2 Main Event was a battle for supremacy between Joey Crown and Brian Hsu, two riders widely regarded for their talents on a bike but unable to put together a full series. Both had experienced their share of issues through the day, as Crown crashed in practice and took down a flagger while Hsu had a first-turn pile-up and then a second hard get-off in his Heat Race. They put it in the past for the night’s final, worked from solid starts into the top spots, and clicked off laps that put them clear of the rest of the field. Crown got into the lead early and stayed steady through the whole race while Hsu followed closely behind and finished in second place.

Further back in the field was the battle for the SX2 title. Thomas Do entered the weekend with the point lead while Yannis Irsuti trailed closely behind, and the two found each other during the Main Event. Do had the upper hand in the early laps but was soon tracked down by Irsuti, which led to a stop and go battle that ended up with Irsuti in fifth place and Do in sixth. They are separated by three points with three races left.