SEATTLE, Wa. – It was an eventful day in Seattle, Washington for Round 13 of the AMA Supercross Championship as riders were faced with challenging conditions after rainfall took over CenturyLink Stadium throughout the day on Saturday. Despite the muddy conditions and altered race schedule, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team prevailed as Marvin Musquin finished on the podium for a third-consecutive round and Broc Tickle rode to his best finish of the season with 4th place in the 450SX Class.
Inclement weather caused the day’s timed qualifying to be shortened to just one session as riders struggled to put together solid laps in the sloppy mud. Musquin and Tickle rose to the occasion as they finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the first 450SX Heat to head into the evening’s Main Event with two of the top gate picks.
As the gate dropped for the 450SX Main Event, Musquin shot off the line aboard his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to capture the holeshot and battle for the early lead on the opening lap. Musquin continued to battle for a top three position for the remainder of the 11-lap race. The inclement weather once again shortened the Main Event from the typical 20 minutes, plus one lap, to 12 minutes, plus one lap. Musquin maintained a steady pace and remained on two-wheels despite the chaos around him but he wasn’t able to put on a charge before the clock ran out, giving him the 3rd place position at the Seattle mudder.
Musquin: “It’s not often that we have a muddy race like that in Supercross but we have no choice, we have to go out and give our best. The conditions were pretty tough, the mud was pretty sticky for the Main Event. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. I got a great start but the speed wasn’t there. My intensity – I was too timid and too cautious. I should have taken more risks but I was just trying to be consistent and stay on two wheels and the other guys were just faster.”
Tickle started just inside the top ten for the 450SX Main Event, where he navigated his way through the pack right away to reach 4th place by lap two. From there, Tickle held his position and rode a consistent race behind his teammate Musquin to ultimately capture 4th place through some of the most challenging track conditions of the season
Tickle: “It’s always exciting to come to Seattle, I got my first win here in 2010 and I’ve always enjoyed the tough conditions here. Tonight was pretty good for me, I was excited to see the rain but it ended up being really tough to ride in. I know I’m really good in those conditions just by being patient, taking my time and not getting too far ahead of myself and I felt like I did so tonight and I was consistent. It was a tough track tonight but I’m in a good position to keep building momentum and end out the series strong.”
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Shane McElrath had a great start to the night as he began the 250SX West Main Event in podium contention. McElrath moved into the 2nd place position on lap two and maintained it for most of the eight-lap race but unfortunately a mistake took him off-track for a brief moment and caused him to drop into the 4th place position. With only eight laps of racing, McElrath wasn’t able to regain his position, where he finished just off the podium in 4th.
450SX Main Event Results – Seattle 2018
1. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
2. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
3. Marvin Musquin, KTM
4. Broc Tickle, KTM
5. Cooper Webb, Yamaha
Other KTM
8. Blake Baggett, KTM
14. Benny Bloss, KTM
450SX Standings after 13 of 17 rounds
1. Anderson, 288 points
2. Musquin, 251
3. Brayton, 220
4. Tomac, 213
5. Baggett, 209
Other KTM
7. Tickle, 184
17. Bloss, 87
250SX West Main Event Results – Seattle 2018
1. Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha
2. Chase Sexton, Honda
3. Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki
4. Shane McElrath, KTM
5. Justin Starling, Husqvarna
Other KTM
16. Dakota Alix, KTM
18. Chance Blackburn, KTM
250SX West Standings
1. Aaron Plessinger, 177 points
2. Adam Cianciarulo, 160
3. Joey Savatgy, 153
4. Shane McElrath, 146
5. Chase Sexton, 132
