2020 Salt Lake City Three Supercross | Monday Kickstart

Rain had been forecast for days ahead of SLC Three and Dirt Wurx went through their usual steps to keep the course covered and dry during Saturday’s downpours and Sunday’s scattered showers. Things were decent in the morning, as the tops of most of the jumps were dry while the transitions had some standing water, but another band of storm shortly just before the “track viewing” took place…

Privateer life with Hunter Sayles and Kameron Barboa.

Which led to “all hands-on deck” work by the track crew to get the water-logged tarps off the track and to pump standing water out of different places. Decades of experience with different types of soil has made the Dirt Wurx staff experts at making the most of less than stellar conditions and we applaud their efforts, because the track was much better than many had feared.

There's heavy construction going on at the southend of the stadium. The original track map for the SLC finale had lanes of the course running outside of the venue, but now that we're here, it looks like they've gotten a headstart on some planned construction. Damn shame too, because running a part of the track outside and into a makeshift quarry would really made this spectatorless series feel like a video game.

Dueling red plates. After Wednesday night’s 250 Main Event saw Shane McElrath win and Chase Sexton finish fourth, the two riders entered Sunday’s race with red plates on their bike to note their tie at the top of the championship standings. Although we’ve seen multiple riders with the special backgrounds a handful of times since the inception of the red plate, including this year at Daytona with Roczen and Tomac, it takes some getting used to.

Mud prep. The tips and tricks that mechanics have for their bike setup is important (a can of mud release silicone detailer or PAM cooking spray goes a long way) but don’t overlook what can be done to your helmet. We caught Bell Helmet’s rep Kyle Vara dialing in the Moto 9 lids worn by the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha guys and his routine included sheets of thin foam applied to the top, the crown under the visor, and behind the mouthpiece. The texture of the foam keeps mud from sticking to the shell and adding unnecessary weight to the rider’s head.

Everyone knows to tape a spare goggle lens to the edge of the visor, but Bell Helmets has come up with a piece that takes things one step further. These clear plastic pieces are vacuum formed to fit perfectly over the top of the visor and feature a slight extension past the tip, which serves the same purpose as the goggle lens.

High octane. VP Racing shifted part of their production line to address the need for hand sanitizer and gallon jugs of the anti-bacterial solution has been passed out to teams in the pit area. This isn't the first time we've seen race gas used to fight COVID-19: we watched a factory mechanic dip his fingers in the fuel tank of his race bike at Daytona when the topic came up.

What's Lars doing? With engine mapping so dependent on temperature, humidity, and other weather factors, teams like Honda monitor those conditions through instruments like this handheld weather station.

The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team is known for their attention to detail and for SLC Three, Throttle Syndicate added some foil details to their Red Bull logos.

Rainy days. 450 Class riders kept dry and watched the 250 Class guys get through the slop of Sunday’s single Timed Qualifying session. We have to say that the rains came at a better time on Sunday, because it was just enough to keep the track wet (obviously) and kept the dirt from becoming the heavy, bike killing muck that we saw at Seattle a few years ago.

Hey, Kyle Peters is doing damn good. The Phoenix Racing Honda rider is coming off of his championship run in the Kicker Arenacross series and has been in the top-10 more often than not in the 250 East Coast region. A fifth-place finish in Sunday’s 250 Main Event is Peters best result thus far in 2020 and puts him 10th overall in the standings. Check the site for a special sit-down interview on SLC Quarantine Daily with KP later today.

Bummer for Jordan Bailey. The TiLube/Storm Lake Honda rider was quick in qualifying, sixth overall for those keeping track at home, but a crash in the Heat Race left him with a busted thumb and on the sidelines for the Main Event. Injuries are never good, but the extended break between 250 East Coast races will give him some time to mend it up and get back to the starting line. Hopefully this doesn’t impact his grip on the golf club…

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team is on it right now. Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne, and Dean Wilson have all spent time at the front of the pack at different points in the SLC stint with Anderson and Osborne’s podium finishes and Wilson’s single-lap qualifying speed. The boys have stated it not one special on the bike or a big change, just three guys enjoying their time at the races and with dialed in setups on their FC 450s, and it’s showing in their results.

While we’re on the topic of the Husky team, how about Zach Osborne’s newfound confidence on the big bike? A hard practice crash just before Atlanta left Osborne with fractured vertebra, partially collapsed lungs, and a busted wrist, things he had to heal up during the time off. Osborne has explained in the past that his riding style and desired setup didn’t mesh with the 450, something that he and the team addressed with some testing, and the work has paid off with holeshots in the last two Main Events and plenty of laps led. This sort of speed and confidence could certainly make the outdoor season interesting.

It's still business as usual for race teams during the motos. Mechanic carts full of spare parts, stands, umbrellas, wheels, and more are allowed to be kept near the track in case of a catastrophe.

Locked and loaded. To cope with elevation at places like SLC, Denver, and Thunder Valley teams will lower the hook of the holeshot device so that the bike’s front-end stays down all the way to the first turn.

Here’s hoping that Garrett Marchbanks is okay. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider had a hard slam on the opening lap of the 250 Main Event and was unable to get off of the track without help from the Alpinestars Mobile Medical staff and a red flag. Marchbanks was able to get himself upright, which is a good sign, but the need for a backboard and a lack of updates has led to some concern. The Kawasaki press release stated that Marchbanks spent the night in a nearby hospital so that they could monitor his back and ribs.

Shout out to Enzo Lopes. A hard crash on Wednesday night left the ClubMX rider with a dislocated shoulder but no serious damage, so he gritted through the pain on Sunday afternoon with the help of a Toradol shot and logged another top-10 finish. His brush with Chase Sexton in the 250 Main Event was not good, but honestly, that was the least painful outcome of that sort of crash.

Carter Halpain was good on Sunday. The 3D Racing rider qualified eighth overall in the 250 Class and finished 250 Heat Race One in third place, which were career-best results, then finished 14th in the Main Event. Was it the mud or is this the start to something for the Texan?

Hi, Benny!

Wet and wild. Getting a good start was crucial at SLC Three because any lag at the launch meant that riders would be caught up in the wave of mud from other riders. By the way, did anyone else see the wheelies that guys like Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton rode to the first turn? Power to the ground, indeed.

Moments before impact. Whoops are always a challenge in SX and Sunday’s set was especially difficult because of the muddy entry, slick faces, and a rhythm that was difficult to maintain all the way through. Fredrik Noren got out of sorts during his Heat Race and veered left into the Suzuki Tuff Blocks, which tossed him over the bars and into the dirt.

These two have had their share of battles over the years and Sunday’s Heat Race scrap was one of the best yet. Cooper Webb got to the front early and was credited with leading the opening lap, but Roczen soon got around and clicked off five laps in the front position. A late pass by Webb proved to be key and he ran off to win the sprint moto by an impressive 12 seconds.

Starting blocks of the stars. Zach Osborne's carbon fiber steps in the foreground are made by Nihilo Concepts, while the other two sets are made by factory Yamaha for Aaron Plessinger (middle) and Justin Barcia (rear). Yes, tall AP7 uses blocks.

With mechanics being kept away from the starting line as an effort to promote social distancing, gate prep is entirely on the riders. Guys are allowed to take just necessities like a towel and brush to clear off the roost and dirt...

But they needed much more than a single rag to get rid of the muck that covered the slick plastic panels on the gate.

CLo is leaving nothing to chance with the face mask.

Before and after. Justin Hill came to the starting line in fresh gear and with a spotless SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts/Honda but had an off-track excursion during the Heat Race and went face first into one of the many small swamps that were between lanes. Covered in mud and unable to see, Hill remounted his bike and accidentally cut part of the track, which resulted in a one position penalty from the AMA. His ninth-place result was still enough to transfer him through to the Main Event.

Good job, Kyle Chisholm. The TiLube/Team Chizz privateer is someone you can count on to make it into the Main Event one way or another, but Sunday's push to get the LCQ win is a good reminder that he knows what he's doing and how to race his way to the front.

Okay, enough wondering how Jason Anderson will do at altitude. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider has explained that he went to New Mexico a few weeks early to get used to elevation and has shown no issues through the first three races. Sunday’s Heat Race win and third-place Main Event finish were the first big success Anderson has had since splitting from Aldon Baker’s training program, which should serve as proof he knows what it takes to do well without someone’s full-time direction.

FLY Racing Fan Zone. Have you bought a cutout to feel like you're at the race? For 25 bucks, a photo of you can sit in the endzone and have access to special content by SX. lovemyposter.com/sxsf

The Manager's Tower has turned into the Official's Tower. Located just behind the starting gate, AMA refs like Toolie can keep an eye on guys as they prep their gate and communicate to each other about things happening on the track,

Chase Sexton and Shane McElrath were inches apart when they entered turn two, where McElrath made use of the inside line and spooked Sexton enough into going off the track. Both riders said that there was no contact, just close racing, and they explained moves like this are fine in the post-race press conference. This incident led to Sexton’s other opening lap issues, including that contact and crash with Lopes, but he was saved by the red flag and complete restart.

Look closely at Colt Nichols’ clutch lever. No, that’s not some special bend by ARC. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider must have had a run-in with someone in the first start of the 250 Main Event and tweaked it to where just two fingers could reach it. We have to think that Star Racing’s practice routine of riding without a clutch or brakes probably paid off for Colt at this time…

It’s been said over and over since we got to Salt Lake, but damn, the Star Racing bikes are good. Everyone looks to be even in the first 15 or 20 feet out of the gate, only to see the blue bikes get an advantage when the rider clicks up to the next gear. McElrath demonstrates.

Privateer pileup. Chase Marquier went down early after the second start of the 250 Main Event and was right in Lorenzo Locurcio’s chosen line, which resulted in a massive collision between the two. Marquier’s bike was twisted up to the point that he was unable to finish the race, while Locurcio got back up and did eight laps before also pulling off.

The excellent battle between Shane McElrath and Chase Sexton was cut short when McElrath ran into lapped rider Coty Schock, tucked the front-end, and went down. Sexton inherited the top spot while McElrath remounted with wet and muddy gloves, something he later said caused his hands to become cold and painful (anyone that’s ridden motos in the winter months knows the feeling). We have to say that McElrath handled the mistake very well, especially considering the implications it had towards his championship pursuit.

We wrote in Race Preview that Chase Sexton had to finish ahead of McElrath to keep his hopes for a successful title defense alive, no matter if it was for 17th and 18th in the running order, so this win and the three points he scored over McElrath are huge for the GEICO Honda rider. That Team Honda HRC is ready to put a young rider like Sexton on a factory 450 raised a few eyebrows, especially since some saw last year’s 250 East Coast SX championship as gift from Forkner’s crashes, but multiple Main Event wins and an ability to come through in stressful situations has shown that the red team has made a smart decision.

These next few months will be big for Justin Brayton. Signed to Team Honda HRC for just the Supercross season (remember Sexton steps up to the 450 outdoors), the veteran racer has been his usual steady and speedy self through the thirteen rounds so far. His 9-9-7 scores show that Brayton totally has what it takes to be at the top level of the sport in his mid 30s, but he’s openly stated that he needs certain support from Honda (suspension, front brake setup, etc) to stay on the track. Could these things get channeled through to a place like Penrite Honda, a team that Brayton already has ties to through his Australian SX success? We’ll have to wait and see.

That was awesome. Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac have given us plenty of memorable motos and these past two races being some of the best yet. You’d be hard to find two guys more opposite than Webb and Tomac, as Webb is a bit brash and boisterous while Tomac says just enough to get his point across and says the rest through race results. These last two rounds of SX have been great, made only more interesting by Webb’s starting line quips to see if the rest of the riders were ready to race and the passes that he exchanged with Tomac. With Roczen now struggling with breathing issues, it could certainly come down to these two duking it out for the remaining race wins.

Crackin' an OG.

And that's it for Kickstart. Cheers to the Dirt Wurx crew for what they'll have to do in the next few days to get the track ready for Wednesday night...