2019 Las Vegas Supercross | Race Report

2019 Las Vegas Supercross | Race Report

Presented by Fasthouse

2019 Las Vegas Supercross 250 Class

Dylan Ferrandis scored the holeshot in the main event ahead of RJ Hampshire, Cameron McAdoo, Chase Sexton and Adam Cianciarulo. Knowing well that winning the race and hoping for a mistake by title rival Cianciarulo was the only thing he could do, the Frenchman put his head down and began to pull away right from the get-go.

The only title contender not in the top five at the start of the main was Justin Cooper, as he was mired at the start and started outside of the top 10. Cianciariulo was the first rider to make the move as he moved past Sexton early on. Once into fourth, AC seemed to stall out for a bit as he settled in behind Hampshire for several laps. With seven minutes left in the main, AC moved past the GEICO Honda rider in the whoops and into third, then set his sights on McAdoo in second. Sexton was next to pass Hampshire, doing so a couple of laps after Cianciarulo.

It all fell apart for AC when he went down in a rhythm section with four minutes left in the main event, badly bending his bars and snapping his front brake lever off. AC pulled into the pits on the next lap to get his front end straightened out, but the damage was done.

Up front, Ferrandis continued to ride a flawless race to bring home his third main event win of the season as well as the Western Region 250 Supercross Championship. Knowing well that the Eastern Region 250 Supercross Championship was well within his grasp, Sexton slowed as the race wound down and crossed the finish line in fourth, behind Hampshire and McAdoo, who made his first podium appearance of the season.

“It is going to be tough for me to speak in English right now,” said a tearful Ferrandis on the podium. “I just asked my mechanic to let me know on the pit board where Adam was and when he held up P10 I was thinking it was unbelievable. I am so happy right now. It is more than a dream come true. I am thinking of all the people on my team that have helped me. It is crazy I cannot believe it!”

“I cannot even explain how it feels right now,” said Sexton, who earned his first career win last weekend in East Rutherford. “That was the longest main event of my life. To get this championship in my second year of racing at 19 years old is just awesome.”

“I felt fine out there riding but got a little too close to the Tuffblock and the rear end kicked out and I went down,” said Cianciarulo. “I think I would have been okay but the bike was too mangled. I’ve been here before and I know what the bottom feels like, but I know the sun will come out tomorrow. I feel like a failure right now but I will wake up tomorrow and put my boots on and get back to work. Unfortunately, I came up short tonight but I am gonna get one of these things.”

After the barn-burner 250 main, the final 450 main event of the 2019 season was boring in comparison. Eli Tomac grabbed the holeshot at the start of the 450 main ahead of Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb and began to pull away from the first lap, knowing that all he could do was win and hope Webb encountered a severe mishap.

While Tomac ran away and Musquin ran a lonely second, Webb turned in conservative laps in third, comfortably ahead of Ken Roczen in fourth. In fact, there was no real action among the top five riders throughout the main event, as Zach Osborne ran a lonely fifth through the race. Honda HRC’s Cole Seely was the rider on the move in the main, as he worked into sixth after running poorly in the early stages of the race. 

At the finish, Tomac enjoyed a commanding lead that stretched out to over 10 seconds. Musquin was second, but it was Webb who crossed the finish line in third and earned his first 450 Monster Energy Supercross Championship. “I knew you could do it! 2019 Supercross Champion!” read Carlos Rivera’s pit board on the final lap…

“It’s been an incredible journey,” said Webb. “The change this year. I was a washed up 10th place guy last year and the Red Bull KTM guys took me in and transformed me into a champion. This is a dream come true. I never thought I’d be a 450 Supercross Champion but you have to dream big!”

“I was looking for one more step up than last year,” said Musquin. “I didn’t do much training in the off-season due to an injury. But I am not done. I had a good year and I have a good support group. My career is not over and I am looking forward to the outdoors.:”

“It’s all I could do tonight was get out front and win,” said Tomac. “It was a great way to cap off the season with a win. Congrats to Cooper on the championship.”