2020 Tampa Supercross | Race Report

2020 TAMPA SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

250 Heat One

The first start of the 2020 East Coast 250cc series went to Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jordon Smith, but Shane McElrath quickly got around the Kawasaki rider and into the early lead. A large number of racers went down in the second corner, holding up a lot of privateers. The Star Yamaha racer looked exceptionally well for his first race on the new bike, as he had a 3-second lead on the rest of the field in just one lap. Garrett Marchbanks moved past Short and into the third-place position, just behind his teammate Smith. With just two minutes to go, both Jordon Smith and Marchbanks had issues in the sand corner and went down, but they were able to get back up quickly and remained in podium positions. Kyle Peters made a late-race pass on Short for fourth place. On the final lap, Marchbanks made the pass on Jordon Smith in the sand corner and snagged the second place position. All and all, Shane McElrath took the heat race win with a dominating 12-second lead. 

250 Heat Two

The second start in Tampa and the second East Coast 250cc start went to GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton, followed by his teammate Jeremy Martin. Rookie Jalek Swoll came through the first corner in third place, followed by GEICO’s rookie Jo Shimoda in fourth. However, Josh Hill made the pass on Shimoda for fourth just before Swoll went down in the whoops, giving up the position. Shimoda got back around Hill and then the two began battling for the third-place position, however, Josh was able to secure the position over Jo. With a minute to go, RJ Hampshire began making moves and passed both Shimoda and Hill, placing him in third place. Back up front, Chase Sexton continued to lead as him and teammate Jeremy Martin lead the rest of the field by 15-seconds. Last year’s Champion, Chase Sexton took the heat race win. 

250 LCQ

Thurman on the number 981-KTM snagged the holeshot in the LCQ, just ahead of Sayles. JGR’s Jimmy Decotis sat in third place at the end of the first lap but quickly got around Sayles for second place. One lap later, Decotis caught and went to pass Thurman for the lead, but Thurman dove to the inside and was able to hold off the JGR rider. Meanwhile, Isaac Teasdale moved into the final transfer position into the Main Event. With just over a lap to go, Decotis was able to complete the pass on Thurman for the lead. One lap to go and Jalek Swoll was running out of time to enter a transfer position, he dove to the inside of Teasdale on the final corner but after a not so great run through the whoops, Teasdale was able to re-pass Swoll and take the final transfer position.

250 Main Event 

The first Main Event start of the 2020 East Coast 250cc championship went to Jordon Smith but Shane McElrath quickly grabbed the lead in the second corner. Jeremy Martin dove to the inside of Jordon Smith at the end of the first lap and took away second place. As Chase Sexton closed in on Smith and Martin, Shane McElrath began to check out, upfront. A few minutes into the race and McElrath made a slight mistake in the sand, while leading, and went off track, he was able to get back on course quickly and remained in the lead. Chase Sexton made the pass on Jordon Smith for third and immediately set his eyes on teammate Jeremy Martin. As the GEICO Hondas battled it out for second place, Smith closed back in on the group. Just as he closed in, Jordon Smith fell victim to the sand section and went off track. After the drama, Chase Sexton secured second place and Jeremy Martin sat comfortably in third place. Eight minutes left on the clock and Garrett Marchbanks entered the mix as he passed his Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate for fourth. Meanwhile, Star Racing Yamaha’s Shane McElrath sat upfront with a nine-second lead on second place and the rest of the field. With five minutes to go, RJ Hampshire dove to the inside of Jordon Smith and then got around Marchbanks for fourth place a few laps later. With just over a lap to go, RJ Hampshire went off track and in a freak accident got stuck between the track and the finish line tower, costing him those two positions he just earned. As the checkered flag flew in Tampa, Shane McElrath took the win aboard his Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha!

450 Heat One

The first 450cc start of the night went to Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, right alongside Vince Friese. After just the second corner, Tomac seemed to already be checking out from the rest of the field. Malcolm Stewart quickly got around his teammate and into second place. Last weeks winner Cooper Webb moved into third place and began tailing Mookie. Behind the leaders, Dean Wilson began moving through the pack as he got around Friese and into fifth place. With a minute to go, Aaron Plessinger moved into the final transfer position into the main event and then passed into eighth place. Back up front, the leaders remained in the same order and Eli Tomac took the heat race win, followed closely by Stewart and then Webb.

450 Heat Two

The last heat race start of the night went to Zach Osborne, but Adam Cianciarulo quickly advanced into the lead. Blake Baggett gets tangled up in a crash with a few privateers early on in the race. Back up front, Ken Roczen got around Osborne and moved into second place. Broc Tickle led Justin Barcia in fourth place, as the two trailed Osborne in third. Roczen caught the rear tire of Adam Cianciarulo and the battle for the lead was on, but a minor mistake from Roczen in the sand gave Adam the advantage he needed to hold onto the lead. After his first lap incident, Blake Baggett managed to make some passes and move into a transfer position. With just over a lap to go, Adam Cianciarulo made a small mistake heading into the sand that allowed  Ken Roczen to make the pass for the lead. As the checkered flag flew, HRC Honda’s Ken Roczen snagged the heat race win. 

450 LCQ

Chad Reed snagged the holeshot and the early lead in the LCQ, followed by all three of the HEP Suzukis. Behind Reed, Cunningham and Breece battled for second place. With just a minute to go, Cunningham closed in on Reed and began challenging for the lead, however Cunningham made a mistake in the sand and allowed Reed to get away. Chad Reed took the LCQ win and went on to the main event. 

450 Main Event

Vince Friese grabbed the hotshot in Tampa, but Adam Cianciarulo quickly got by Vince and into the lead. Eli Tomac sat behind Friese in third, but not for long, as the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider dove to the inside and made the pass on Vince Friese. Malcolm Stewart followed Tomac by Friese and the two entered the top-three comfortably. Behind the leaders, Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen advanced past Friese. With 13-minutes on the clock, Eli Tomac closed in on his teammate and the battle for the lead was on. In an attempt to pass for the lead, Tomac nearly went down in the sand section but was able to save it and hold onto second place. One lap later, Eli Tomac used the same line through the sand, but executed it perfectly and rocketed by his teammate and into the lead. A few positions back in the pack, Cooper Webb caught the rear wheel of Malcolm Stewart and took him wide to make the pass for third. Less than a lap later, Ken Roczen also got around Malcolm but then threw it away as he tucked the front end and went down. At nearly the same time, Adam Cianciarulo went down through the whoops and went from second place down to tenth. Though, the crash didn’t seem to affect Roczen’s groove too much, as he got back around Stewart after just a few laps. As the last checkered flag of the night flew, Eli Tomac took home another main event win and the red plate.