Anderson’s jump foils Roczen in 450SX finale
Daring strategy yields late lead and narrow win
Ken Roczen has undergone double-digit surgeries, so just getting back on the bike and competing is a victory. But the win Roczen wanted eluded him Saturday night before 49,841 at NRG Stadium.
Jason Anderson made a move and outjumped Roczen for the lead, then didn’t make any mistakes at the end and held off Roczen to win the 450SX main event in Round 2 of Monster Energy Supercross.
“It worked out perfectly,” said Anderson, whose time of 21 minutes, 2.261 seconds over 23 laps beat Roczen by 3.244 seconds “I knew it would be a battle and I made the move. I’m excited I got the points lead. We’re working hard and we want to take this all the way.”
Anderson, racing for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna, won here in 2014 on the smaller 250SX bike. Anderson finished second in Anaheim last week in Round 1 of the series.
Roczen, who led early on his Honda, couldn’t fend off Anderson, who had the fastest bike Saturday, with an average lap time of 54.880 seconds.
“It was good we got second place,” Roczen said. “I’m having a lot of fun.”
Yamaha rider Justin Barcia, who got the hole hot, finished third. Honda’s Cole Seely was fourth.
The series returned to Houston following a twoyear absence. This year was an earlier date than the traditional spring date.
Plessinger prevails
It was redemption for Aaron Plessinger, who caught Joey Savatgy to win the 250SX main event after Kawasaki’s Savatgy got the hole shot and led the first 12 laps. But the final six laps belonged to Plessinger of Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha, who finished second at Anaheim last week and was fourth here in 2015, the last time Houston hosted the series.
“I made up my time on the jumps,” Plessinger said. “It was a great battle. I never quit and it paid off.”
The race was tight and intense before Plessinger passed Savatgy, who finished 4.638 seconds behind the winner. Plessinger’s time was 16:46.368.
Chase Sexton and Shane McElrath finished third and fourth, respectively.
“You can’t win every time you go out there, but I got some points,” Savatgy said. “This is a step in the right direction.”
Saturday marked the 50th time a 450SX race was held in Houston. The first 450SX race in the city was in 1974. From 1974-2002, the Astrodome was the site of the Houston Supercross. The Astrodome hosted 36 races, including doubleheaders from 197783. From 2003-15, the event was held at NRG Stadium.
Musquin’s bad luck
Supercross champion and KTM Factory Racing’s premier rider, Marvin Musquin, who had won every race since his $1 million purse at the Monster Energy Cup in October. But misfortune befell Musquin, who won in Anaheim.
On Saturday, Musquin crashed his bike in heat 2 of the 450SX, completing only four laps. Musquin’s wreck prevented him from participating in the lastchance qualifier, in which the top four spots transfer to the main event.
In the sport, the quality of dirt factors into the quality of racing. NRG’s soft dirt surface made for traction and different lines that opened up the track and gave the riders options, creating different passing spots where riders could make up time. Riders also took advantage of the 180-degree corners for passing. NRG was set up as a technical track, meaning riders faced obstacles and tricky sections.
Roczen and Anderson won the two heat races in 450SX. Roczen led all eight laps, edging Seely by 0.876. Roczen’s winning time was 7:03.016. Anderson also got the hole shot, leading all eight laps. His margin of victory over Justin Barcia, exceeded six seconds at 6.276.
McElrath and Adam Cianciarulo captured their respective heat races in 250SX. McElrath finished eight laps in 7:15.692 with a margin of victory of 01.514 over Mitchell Oldenburg in heat 1. Leading every lap, Cianciarulo had a commanding seven-second win over second-place Sexton in heat 2. Richard Dean is a freelance writer.