2022 Minneapolis Supercross | Kickstart Recap & Photo Gallery

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CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE 2022 MINNEAPOLIS SUPERCROSS

The Monster Energy Supercross Championship always seems to start its East Region swing in one of two places: Texas or Minnesota. Feld Entertainment must flip a coin when it comes to deciding where we go each year, and this time the schedule called for the first trip to be to the Twin Cities for the 2022 Minneapolis Supercross, round eight of the championship. 

The move to the other part of the country brings lots of new to the series, like softer and more technical courses,  collection of football stadiums with rectangular track layouts, and 70-something competitors in the 250 East Region. Here’s a quick look at what we remember from a weekend up north. 

Jett

If that’s what 80-percent looks like from Jett Lawrence, then wow. The Team Honda HRC rider never seemed to near his “limit” in Minneapolis, as he was fourth overall in the final Timed Qualifying results and was so-so until the middle of 250 Heat Race One, when he went from fifth place to second. The pass on Austin Forkner in the very early moments of the 250 Main Event was the beginning and end of the battle for the top spot; from there Lawrence put in an excellent 15-minute ride his way to the win. His average lap time was 49.828, making him the only 250 Class competitor with a sub-50 second average.

Play back the post-race press conference when you get a chance. His demeanor at the table makes it clear that the preseason talk and “JETT” hype isn’t something he’s caught up in, let alone coordinating. Instead, he heaped praise on rivals Forkner and McAdoo, relished the chance to race, and talked about how he wants to live in the moment.

Austin

Everyone knows the last few years haven’t been the easiest for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Austin Forkner, something that’s put his career at a crossroads in 2022, but he’s doing his best to block out the distractions, believe in himself, and finish as high in the running order as possible. There were some stumbles for the 33, like a couple of close calls in the long rhythm lane and that Heat Race incident with Phil Nicoletti, but he didn’t seem to be rattled by it much. Forkner blasted off when the gate dropped in the 250 Main Event, a split-second reaction on the clutch and gear shifter that he said he hadn’t felt in years, and he went on to a second-place finish. All in all, this was a good race.

Cameron

Cameron McAdoo is determined to be in the title hunt from start to finish this year. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider has made steady progress through the last few years, impressive really considering the trajectory of his career at times, and Minneapolis was a display of his work in progress patience. Sixth place overall in Timed Qualifying and sixth in 250 Heat Race One were modest, sure, but the rider put himself in a prime position during the early moments of the 250 Main Event and held third place all the way to the finish. McAdoo was one of many who hoped to get through the opening round without issue, a feat we’d say he accomplished.

Jeremy

No one lived that “Just want to get through the opening round” mantra more than Jeremy Martin. The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider, who saw his entire 2021 SX season get wiped away in the opening lap of the first 250 Main Event, was second overall in Timed Qualifying but slow to get going in Heat Race One and hovered around the top-five. His Main Event performance was better, thanks in part to a fifth-place finish start, and he spent the whole race in a four-rider freight train that was rarely separated by more than few seconds. Fourth might not be what people expected of JMart, especially in a year that he considers to be his best chance at an SX championship, but he got through it in one piece.

Hampshire

RJ Hampshire had an RJ Hampshire day. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider was top-five fast in qualifying, nabbed the Heat Race win away from Jordon Smith with a last-lap pass, and ran with the pack for the full duration of the 250 Main Event, but a few scattered crashes through practice and a loss of position to Jeremy Martin in the feature were small blemishes. Still, Hampshire is healthy and in the fight for round two.

Pierce

Solid showing for Pierce Brown all the way around. The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing rider has shown plenty of potential in his brief career, a trend that he continued with the fastest lap in Free Practice and a surprisingly dominant Heat Race. The day wasn’t always easy for PB, who had a few small miscues during other on track sessions, but he ended it with a sixth in the Main Event and some win bonus money in his bank account.

Anderson

We got caught up looking at the results sheet for the 450 Main Event, Jason Anderson’s third victory of the year. Why? There were a lot of 21s on the PDF. Outside temperature? 21 degrees. Race duration? 21:21.795. Spooky. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider has made it clear he’s in this title fight and that unlike 2018, he doesn’t plan to get swept up the by the pressure or expectations. Was he the fastest in Minneapolis? No, and that was clear during Heat Race Two and something that he openly admitted in the post-race debriefs. But he was in the right place at the right time, and now sits within three points of the top spot.

Webb

It’s been a busy few weeks for Cooper Webb, apparently. The rider continues to work closely with Red Bull KTM on the 450 SX-F, and he commented about a new setup whipped up by The Man and the team on the podium. But more important than that is a supposed split from Michael Byrne, who had been hired in the offseason to oversee his training and on the bike program. We asked Webb about working with Byrne at Anaheim Three, a question he rebuffed by complimenting mechanic Carlos Rivera, and now it makes a little more sense.

As for his riding, Minneapolis was better for Webb, both with his riding and his luck. The laps at the head of the pack in the Main Event showed that yes, he’s still fast, but he dropped down the running order as the minutes clicked off. Crashes by others pushed him back to second place at the checkered flag, back just 2.833 seconds to Anderson, and give him some hope going into the next part of the season. It was humbling to hear Webb say that he needed to learn the pace and that the title is getting out a reach, but he maintained a level of confidence that this isn’t over yet.

Musquin

Marvin scored a much-needed podium in Minnesota. There were questions coming into the year that this could be it for the Red Bull KTM rider, as his contract for 2022 is just for Supercross and the development of the new 450 SX-F Factory Edition, something he’s been working on more in Southern California, but he still has what it takes to be in the mix. Fourth overall in Timed Qualifying and fifth in 450 Heat Race One, Musquin was on pace all day and put himself in a great position during the Main Event. As riders went through their share of ups and downs in the 20-minute race, Musquin made the most of his sixth-place start, averaged a 50.532 through the 26-laps, then picked up two spots when Malcolm Stewart and Chase Sexton went down. Is Marvin another rider that we can expect to be better on the East Coast?

Stewart

Every week Malcolm Stewart shows us why he wants to be considered a contender for one of the top spots in the point standings. Maybe it was the Euro SX style pits in US Bank Stadium or the cold air, but the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider was on it in Minneapolis. When Friese got the holeshot in Heat Race Two and caused Cooper Webb to ride cautiously, Stewart lurked a little further back, saw an opportunity to pick off both with quick moves, and launched into the lead with a quad into a tight turn. From there, it was a run to the checkered flag.

A podium seemed certain in the Main Event until the very last laps, as Stewart’s front wheel washed in the same loose soil that got Ken Roczen on the landing of the triple and put him onto the ground before he knew what happened. Frustrated by the fourth-place finish, but still positive about the situation and his 7-5-5-5-2-4-4 results, MS27 is now third in the standings.

Tomac

IDK, Eli Tomac seemed a bit off all day. How so? He was sixth overall in Timed Qualifying, ran a respectable second to the finish line in Heat Race One, started the Main Event outside the top-10, and got caught up in a mistake by teammate Dylan Ferrandis at the beginning of lap two. ET remounted at the very back of the field and put in a hard charge through the pack to end the night with a sixth-place score. Finishing this well was huge for his title hopes, because the cushion he’d built on the West Coast seemed like it was going to be erased in the early moments of the Main Event; instead, he holds a three-point advantage on Anderson going into Arlington.