2022 Foxborough Supercross | Monday Kickstart

The daytime program schedule in Foxborough saw riders take to the track for free practice at 7:00 a.m. and the temperatures were definitely chilly. We spotted many riders doing calisthenics to warm up before taking to the track

Calisthenics is just a fancy work for jumping jacks, right?

Mitchell Oldenburg and Vince Friese of the Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Motoconcepts Honda team both rode all three practice sessions in Leatt RaceVests, customized with their names and numbers. "I love vests, man, " Oldenburg told us. "Even casually, I like wearing vests to stay warm."

We noticed that Jett Lawrence stayed warm in his big brother's custom Alpinestars parka. Perhaps it matched his pants better than his own...

Who needs an energy drink helmet sponsor? John Short sports signage from Firm Automotive, a diesel engine specialist from his home state of Texas.

RJ Hampshire sported a new Rockstar Energy Fly Formula helmet at Foxborough. According to a team insider, when one of. the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team riders are highlighted in the brand's excellent Grit and Grind video series, he is treated to a custom helmet paint job that differs from the normal all-black color scheme.

Twisted Tea/Yoshimura/HEP/Suzuki's Brandon Hartranft broke into the top 10 in the 450 championship point standings with an 11th in the Foxborough main event. After the race, Hartranft was not pleased to have been knocked off the track on the opening lap, but when he learned that his comeback through the pack was good enough to break into the top 10 in points, his mood improved.

It's good to have Benny Bloss back in action aboard the Team Tedder KTM. The amicable rider suffered a badly broken ankle in the off-season and had to wait until St. Louis to throw his hat into the ring. Bloss was 12th in the main.

Derek Drake has been turning in steady performances aboard his Bar-X Suzuki, and it's great to have him healthy and racing full time after so many heart-related issues have held him back since he made his professional debut a few years ago. Drake was 12th in Foxborough and sits 10th in the East Coast 250 point standings.

Movin' Marv: The Red Bull KTM rider has gained momentum as the series has worn on, and the Frenchman rode a steady race that saw him work his way up to third by the checkered flag, passing opponents such as Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Justin Barcia along the way. When asked if he wisjes he were staying active for the MX Nationals, considering his recent momentum, he replied, "No, it's been in the plan since before the off-season to take. the summer off and I am looking forward to it. While it feels good to have a win and some podiums this season,, I am ready for some time to relax."

Crowd favorite Gared Steinke kept the two-stroke dream alive by fielding a very potent sounding Husqvarna TC 250 in the 450 class. Stank Dog was 11th in the 450 LCQ.

On press day, Austin Forkner told us that his goal for the remaining races was to get on the podium as many times as he could. While he was pleased with his heat race win the week before in Atlanta, he wasn't satisfied with his main event performance and vowed to better it in Foxborough. And better it he did! Forkner had nothing to lose in Gillette Stadium and came from well outside the top five to earn a popular win aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki.

Gerhard Matamoros took a wild ride through the rhythm section before the whoops and sent his KTM 250 SX-F flying into the catch nets without him. While he was able to remount and race through the program, he could only muster 14th in the 250 LCQ.

Long-time 250-class veteran Martin Davalos certainly has a wealth of experience to share with the Firepower Parts Honda team...

Kyle Chisholm certainly went out with a bang in his last showing on the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha YZ250F. The Floridian earned the first 250 heat race win of his career in spectacular fashion - leading, going over the bars, and passing for the lead on the last lap - and finished a solid fourth in the main event. Search our homepage for a great Checking in With Kyle Chisholm interview that we posted on Saturday morning.

Justin Barcia was all smiles early in the day at Foxborough, but fifth in the 450 main left him in a very unfriendly mood.

It's easy to be good friends with Doc Bodnar of the Asterisk Mobile Medic Unit, but he's definitely not someone you want to be up close and personal with once the gate drops! Jett Lawrence and Doc B share a laugh before the day's events got underway.

How cool were the Damon Bradshaw-inspired Troy Lee helmets of Pierce Brown and Justin Barcia last weekend? Definitely our favorites of the year.

Gerhard Matamoros was the first rider to send his bike into the safety nets, but he wasn't the last! Hardy Munoz catapulted himself and his bike into it so violently in the final 250 qualifying session, that it broke one of the telephone poles! The track crew scrambled to repair the damage before the final 450 qualifying session.

Most of the 450 A session riders used the downtime while the safety net was being repaired to scope out the whoops, which had been cut down after the first set of timed qualifiers.

Earlier today, Daniel Blair posted a screenshot of a $1000 penalty issued to Malcolm Stewart for urinating in the stadium, but not in a restroom or porta-potty. We called him. "Bro, after the parade lap the nerves kick in and everyone has to go," he said. "There was one porta-potty and it was full with a line. I crawled between two dozers parked in the tunnel, where no one could see, but someone saw me coming back out zipping up my pants, and complained." Kind of harsh, don't you think? We've seen countless riders at MX Nationals stopping on the parade lap to pee on the track...

Richard Sterling filled in for Marvin Musquin's long-time mechanic Frankie Latham in Foxborough as Latham's wife was hospitalized. Hope all is well, Frankie!

SGB Unlimited rider Cade Clason is doing all he can to break into the top 20 in the 450 class point standings. Currently, he sits 21st and is in a close points battle with Ryan Breece and Justin Starling.

Counting the days until the new Bell Moto 10 graphics come out. This holographic design Eli Tomac has been sporting is among them.

That Nick McCampbell...always smiling!

Freddie Noren wasn't pleased with his 15th in Foxborough. "I know that 15th is good," he said. "But after finishing 11th in Atlanta, I want more!"

The track surface in Gillette Stadium can only be described as challenging. The soft dirt was littered with small rocks, and the tops of most of the berms turned into silt. Dust was a problem throughout the day, and riders and announcers alike referred to it as "moon dust." How do they know what moon dust is like, anyway? Haha!

Pickup kits were running rampant in Massachusetts. This was our favorite...Twisted Tea for life!

JB at speed.

Jason Anderson told us on Friday that his biggest goal was to make it hard on Eli Tomac. "I have nothing to lose," he said. "I'm gonna send it and try to win." After winning the race, he joked, "Maybe I actually did Eli a favor because now he can win the championship in his home state next weekend!"

While Kyle Chisholm was busy filling in on the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha team, his Manluk Racing Yamaha YZ450F sat patiently waiting in display for this weekend and the next.

Justin Rodbell didn't make the 450 main in Foxborough, but the kid from Maryland has come a long way in the East Coast 450 events, earning points in several of the main events.

A big deal is made about Benny Bloss being 6'5", but did you know his mechanic is even taller?

Mitchell Oldenburg's Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Motoconcepts/Honda CRF450R...ready and waiting for the series to return to the west this weekend in Denver.

SGB Unlimited's Alex Ray didn't have the day he was hoping for in Massachusetts. A severe bone bruise in his right wrist made it impossible for the popular privateer to complete more than a couple of laps of his heat race. On a brighter note, Saturday was ARay's 29th birthday!

WWAD?

Jettson has the coolest fans...

Jett Lawrence's inner circle includes his agent Luca Mirtle and trainer Johnny O'Mara, himself a former 125 National and 250 Supercross Champion.

Two two-timers. It's been fun watching Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Motoconcepts Honda riders Mitchell Oldenburg and Vince Friese take turns racing the 250 class on opposite coasts. Thus far, Friese's third at Anaheim 3 is the duo's best showing.

Dean Wilson's Rockstar Energy Husqvarna sat idle and on display with the Atlanta St. Jude graphics still intact. We got sympathetic butt paints while gazing at his machine.

Club MX riders Jace Owen and Enzo Lopes have been enjoying great seasons aboard their Yamaha YZ250Fs. Lopes sits fifth in the East Coast 250 championship which Owen is eighth.

Jett Lawrence went above and beyond the normally scheduled autograph sessions. There's a reason the young Aussie is a fan favorite!

Ahm the Shock Doctor helmet dryer... No longer produced, the high-tech gadgets are quite the hot commodity in the pro pits these days. Ahem...we have one for sale. Ha!

Another pickup kit...this one with proper customization.

The largest pickup kit we saw in Foxborough.

A family that pickup kits together stays together.

Anyone who watched the 250 main event knows that Jett Lawrence was fighting the internal battle of playing it safe or hanging it out for the win. Ultimately, he played it safe and wrapped up his first Supercross championship. Look elsewhere on our homepage for a telling Checking in With interview with the new champ.

We noticed that Vince Friese's Leatt pants had a custom Velcro belt sewn onto the waistband. The holeshot specialist is very particular about his riding gear, and likes his pants to have as little movement as possible as he launches off the starting line.

Defending Supercross Champion Cooper Webb and Jett Lawrence shared some laughs before opening ceremonies.

Troy Lee/Red BullGas Gas's Pierce Brown took control of his heat race with this pass on early leader Ramyller Alves and raced on to the win. It looked like he might do the same in the main event after passing Cullen Park for the lead, but nerves got the best of him at the end of the main and he tightened up, allowing Forkner and Lawerence to to close in and find their way past. Count on a win from Brown in the future!

We suspected that he was playing it safe, but Jett Lawrence said that his starts were off all day. Lawrence was mired in the back half of the field as he raced past us on lap one of the main.

AJ Catanzaro fielded a KTM 125 SX in the 250 class. Some of. the jumps required him to stretch a bit!

Jett, working forward slowly, but surely.

Jason Anderson got his mistakes out of the way in his heat race. Seconds after he made this pass for the lead on Marvin Musquin, he pushed the front end and went down. There were no such bobbles from El Hombre in the main!

Justin Brayton finished a quiet 10th aboard his Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/Motoconcepts/Honda. Two more races in his career...or are there? We've heard whispers from JB and the rest of the MCR team about the new World Supercross Series coming up...

Two more chances for defending Supercross Champion Cooper Webb to earn a win this season. Let's go, Coop!

Mitchell Oldenburg, Austin Forkner, and more were collected in a scary first-lap crash in their heat race. Both recovered quickly and qualified directly to the main event.

The calm before the storm. On the last lap of the second 250 heat race, leader Joshua Varize bobbled in the whoops and was unable to do the triple that followed. Kyle Chisholm leaped past, and Varize dove to the inside as he double-singled over the obstacle, hoping to dive beneath Chiz in the next left-hander, not knowing that Austin Forkner was close behind, also doing the triple. The two collided in spectacular fashion, but both remounted in time to transfer directly to the main.

Honda HRC's Chase Sexton qualified fastest and raced to second in the 450 main. The 450 class sophomore is a threat at nearly every race but hes been haunted by spectacular crashes at times.

Fourth for Malcolm Stewart is getting old. "I want to win one of these last two races," he told us. "Maybe it will happen in Salt Lake, I really seem to like that dry hardpacked stuff."

What would a Marvin Musquin heat race win be without a heel clicker? We asked Marv if he practices them to stay ready for the opportunity, but he said that once you have a heel clicker in your bag of tricks, there's no need to practice them. Ha!

Phoenix Honda's rookie Cullen Park snagged the holeshot at the start of the 250 main and led a couple of laps. Ninth at the finish, he was stoked to get his career-best result.

Cooper Webb's muffler fell off towards the end of his heat race and forced him to slow his charge towards the front. Once it cooled off, this track worker returned the expensive part to the Red Bull KTM team.

Aigoo!

Check out the ruts in the face of this jump in one of the tricky rhythm sections...

How close was the finish of the 250 main? Winner Austin Forkner hugged the last corner so tightly to protect his lead, that jumping the finish line was an impossibility.

Good sportsmanship is always nice to see.

All the feels.

Victory.

Pierce Brown was glad. to have his mom on hand, all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Looks good on your, Jettson!

Hunter Yoder qualified for his second main event of the series in Foxborough with a seventh in his heat. The Californian was 15th in the main event. Good work, YoDirt.

The 250 podium: winner Austin Forkner is flanked by runner-up and East Coast 250 Champion Jett Lawrence and third-placed Pierce Brown. Every time we see the new podium spark shooters, we can't help but think of the Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial hair fire.

Congratulations, Christien DuCharme!

There's a Moto Memes caption in there, somewhere.

Foxborough marked Pierce Brown's second podium showing. We're sure there are many more to come.

The first lap of the main event always yields some close racing. While it was exciting to see Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac battle up front, there would be no denying Jason Anderson.

Club MX/Yamaha rider Alex Martin absolutely killed this rut, multiple laps in a row. AMart rode a lot better than his ninth place might look on paper.

Hello there...

Twisted Tea/Yoshimura/HEP/Suzuki teammates Justin Bogle and Brandon Hartraft had a great battle in the middle of the 450 main. Hartraft worked past to greet the checkers in 11th, but Bogle crashed out late in the race and was credited with 22nd.

On press day, Eli Tomac told us that his race strategy would depend on his start and the effort and risk it would require to win. When he started the main in second, ahead of championship rival Anderson, we expected to see a familiar number three runaway but it was not meant to be. Tomac never looked comfortable as he faded into the pack, but nonetheless, his championship in Denver is inevitable.

Malcolm Stewart made a great pass on championship leader Eli Tomac late in the main event en route to fourth at the flag. "Any time you can pass Tomac, it's a good night," Malcolm said afterward.

1-2-3.

One might thing that being on the floor, close to the action, is the best seat in the house. We beg to differ...

The track rutted up in every bowl corner. Malcolm Stewart was masterful in the low line before the whoops, lap in and lap out, en route to fourth in the main.

How close was the racing in Foxborough? Three riders in one photo, several laps into the main!

The whoops in Foxborough were small by 2022 standards, but they were no less treacherous. Of course, Marvin made them look basic as he jumped through...

We asked Jason Anderson what has made the difference for him in 2022. With five wins thus far in the season after three dry years, he said, "It's everything: the new team, the new bike, being married and happy at home....life is good, man!"