Since the last edition of MotoOnline.com.au’s The US Report we’ve seen quite a drastic change in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship with the series heading to the east coast and select riders missing from action. Obviously the most notable rider missing from action for us Australian fans is Lawson Bopping.

The talented rider from New South Wales was contracted to race the 2016 Motul MX Nationals with DPH Motorsport, something he knew all along and had planned to return home for. But he did admit he was not ready to head home as the series made its way to the east coast. The fact of the matter is that racing the east coast rounds is just too expensive, the exact reason why the 250SX class is split into two classes.

The cost of Bopping racing the west coast rounds alone would be staggering, which is all the more reason why his 2016 supercross stint was very impressive. He turned a lot of heads, made a tonne of TV appearances, was covered by a lot of media outlets and even made his way on to the PulpMX show with Steve Matthes. Don’t be surprised if Bopping is offered some form of support in 2017, he’s surely proven he has the talent and drive to make things happen in the US.

Image: Simon Cudby.

Speaking of the series moving east, it’s been quite an action-packed start to the east coast portion of the 17-round championship. The Atlanta round saw Martin Davalos return to the top of the 250SX podium after what seemed like an eternity away from the box. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing pilot seems to show blistering pace for brief periods of time before totally dropping off the radar, it’s really quite odd and something that has been happening for a number of years.

At that same round we saw the absolute down to the wire battle between Red Bull KTM teammates Marvin Musquin and Ryan Dungey. Now before anyone gets into the whole James Stewart issue, here’s what Red Bull KTM team manager Roger DeCoster had to say about the incident in Stewart’s defence.

“After the race a lot of blame was given to James,” said DeCoster. “I just want to make things clear that the mistake from Marvin was not directly caused by James and we shouldn’t blame him for it.”

Image: Simon Cudby.

Following 19 laps leading the 450SX main event with immense pressure from the defending champion, the French rider did not give in, he rode an amazing race and pushed the pace the entire time. You have to feel for Musquin after the last lap incident, but it clearly was not caused by Stewart. Musquin took a chance, tripling into a section where he could have easily doubled and maintained the lead. It clearly didn’t pay off, but he also finished the race safe and in second position.

Quite a few riders in 2016 can not say the same about finishing the race safe, a prime example is Wil Hahn of the Monster Energy Kawasaki team, this guy can’t catch a break. After coming together with Andrew Short and Phil Nicoletti on the opening lap of the 450SX main event in Atlanta, Hahn has once again been sidelined with multiple injuries. You have to feel for the former east coast 250SX champion, he’s out there giving it his all and ends up in hospital more than anyone else in the sport currently.

A positive side to Hahn’s misfortune? His factory ride is now open until he returns and our friends over at RacerX have today reported the possibility of Josh Grant filling that ride. Grant is super talented, a former main event winner and would be a great edition to the championship after finishing seventh in Daytona on a privateer setup – let’s hope it’s true!