Image: Octopi Media.

The race for the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross championship has intensified following Orlando 2 with Cooper Webb going back-to-back and leading a Red Bull KTM 1-2, as Justin Cooper won the 250SX West season-opener.

The holeshot was taken by Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) with Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Musquin, Justin Bogle (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS) and Vince Friese (Smartop Bullfrog Spas MCR Honda) in tow.

Cianciarulo got around Barcia quick as Webb slotted into third right away. Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Malcolm Stewart maintained fourth early on, as Roczen was buried in 12th, locked into battle with Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and teammate Jason Anderson in the opening laps.

Cianciarulo managed to get out to an early lead of more than two seconds, while Webb didn’t wait long to get around Barcia into second on lap two. Musquin got around Barcia with 16 minutes to go with Tomac all over them for the podium.

Stewart dropped to sixth, but quickly worked his way back into the top five after a mistake from defending champion Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki). Roczen was making quick work of the field on his charge through the pack, seemingly finding traction where others couldn’t and he moved into sixth with 15 minutes left.

Roczen momentarily got past Tomac while at the same time Webb grabbed the lead from Cianciarulo out front. The battle between the top two allowed Musquin back into the mix, the Red Bull KTM rider closing in on Cianciarulo just a lap later.

A few laps went by before Cianciarulo’s night came to an end in the whoops section, leaving Webb with a 3.5s gap on his teammate. With two minutes to go, Roczen finally got around Tomac and set his sights on Barcia. Tomac’s situation got a little worse as he was quickly swallowed up by Anderson a lap later dropping him to sixth.

Musquin put on a charge in the closing stages of the race, but Webb was not to be denied, securing victory and back-to-back wins in Orlando with his teammate 3.040s behind.

Barcia was able to hold off a charging Roczen to take the final spot on the podium, with Anderson rounding out the top five. Tomac finished in sixth place with Stewart taking seventh after an eventful race. Osborne ended his night in ninth place after recovering from a rough start, followed by Bogle with his best finish of the year.

There’s now a weekend off prior to Daytona on Saturday, 6 March, with Roczen leading the Monster Energy Supercross standings by six markers over Webb, while Tomac is a full 31 points in arrears of the red plate.

Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper has taken victory in a chaotic opening round of 250SX West tonight.

In a restarted main event, Cooper was the class of the field on a night where a number of top western region riders experienced difficulties.

A first start saw a solid holeshot from Robbie Wageman (Team Solitaire Nuclear Blast Yamaha), who was quickly overtaken by Cooper. Things took a quick turn when a pile-up in the first rhythm collected multiple riders, one of them being Jeremy Martin (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), who walked off with an apparent shoulder injury.

The fate got worse for the Martin family as Alex Martin (Manluk Rock River Yamaha Merge Racing) hit the ground, bringing out a red flag just two turns later. He was assisted off the track by the Alpinestars medical team.

Next, the second start was all Cooper followed by Jordon Smith (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Jace Owen (ClubMX Yamaha) and Cameron Mcadoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki).

Smith hit the ground hard at the end of the whoops ending his night just three laps in, moving his teammate Mcadoo into second. Next, Garret Marchbanks (ClubMX Yamaha) made an aggressive move on rookie Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), sending the latter to the ground.

Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence cracked the top five at just past the halfway point as he recovered from a rather rough jump off the starting line. Meanwhile, Marchbanks picked his way into the top three, passing Swoll.

Out front it was all Cooper who maintained a gap over Mcadoo that was nearly seven seconds. He’d go on to take an uncontested win by 4.887s, with Mcadoo and Marchbanks rounding out the podium.

Fourth went to Swoll as Lawrence completed the top five ahead of Hammaker, who put on an impressive ride all things considered, the leading rookie finishing sixth.

Phoenix Racing Honda rider Kyle Peters took the seventh spot from Chris Blose (Motul AJE Motorsports GasGas), while Wageman backed up his impressive start on the first gate drop with a ninth-place finish, while Owen took the final position inside the top 10.

With a weekend off prior to Daytona on Saturday, 6 March, it is Cooper who holds the early 250SX West championship over Mcadoo and Marchbanks, the podium of tonight’s opening round.

Detailed Results