ANAHEIM, Calif. — Recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Simon Cudby photo —
After a bizarre night in Anaheim and two separate drops of the gate, Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb laid claim to Angel Stadium en route to his third Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX West class victory of 2015, and second straight in Anaheim.
His path to the checkered flag was far from simple however.
On the initial start of the 250SX West main, GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia claimed the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award and was dogged early by Webb, who nearly lost control of his bike on the opening lap and allowed Bisceglia to open up a half second gap for the lead, a gap he would maintain for the opening third of the event.
At lap six, Webb would eat into the gap and surge to the point with a brilliant double crossover move and begin to pull away, but just as Webb came to the line to complete lap seven, the red flag was displayed by AMA and FIM race officials after it was determined the gate did not drop on Zach Osborne’s bike stall on the initial start.
By AMA rules, a gate malfunction forces a complete restart and an erasure of any laps completed, bringing all of the riders back to the starting line for a second attempt to start the race and leaving Webb visibly frustrated aboard his Yamaha.
However, once crew members topped off his fuel cell and the gate dropped again, Webb was on a mission and not to be denied.
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson, who won the opening race of the season in Anaheim, claimed the official SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award on the new restart and quickly saw Webb right in his tire tracks as the duo scrapped for space and the race lead. Behind them, Osborne got a solid start aboard his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna and made his case for a rebound result in third.
While the front three began to pull away and space out slightly, four-time AMSOIL Arenacross champion Tyler Bowers crashed hard on lap two from fifth place, landing heels first and almost getting clipped before being able to remount his Kawasaki and drive away. After stopping for adjustments in the mechanics area, Bowers reentered in last place and was not a factor the rest of the event.
As the two leaders began to creep closer to each other, Aaron Plessinger moved around Osborne for third on lap five and two laps later, Webb would get the last laugh as he blasted around Nelson and to the point in the second whoops section of the track en route to his third 250 class victory in five races this season.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better race,” said Webb. “I look forward to keeping the momentum up next weekend in San Diego.”
Nelson would come home second with Plessinger behind him to complete he podium in third, the first podium result for Plessinger in his young career.
“I can’t believe I am up here [on the podium] tonight,” said Plessinger. “I am speechless. This is an accomplishment that I didn’t expect in my rookie season.”
Osborne and Matt Bisceglia rounded out the front five riders.
Malcom Stewart, who was running fifth before the red flag stoppage, was not able to get a good start on the second drop of the gate and ultimately wound up 17th, one lap down, after winning his first-career 250 class event just a week ago in Oakland.
On the heels of his runner-up result, Nelson moved into second place in season standings and sits 18 points behind Webb. Osborne, who finished fourth, moved into third, while Bowers dropped to fourth following his 15th-place finish. Bowers entered the night in second.
Monster Energy Supercross continues next weekend with its sixth stop of the 17-race season from Petco Park in San Diego. Live broadcast coverage on FOX Sports 1 begins at 10 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Feld Motorsports contributed to this report.
