The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team rolled into the Circle City of Indianapolis, Indiana for round 12 of 17 of the AMA Supercross series and would once again do battle for the 12th straight Saturday in 2018. A blanket of fresh snow and freezing temperatures outside Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indy would serve as the preview to a night filled with adversity for the boys in white.
A difficult and rutted track greeted the riders to make for a challenging qualifying practice, and then it was off to the night show where the 250cc West riders would line up for the first race of the night. On this unique night, both West Coast and East Coast riders met in Indianapolis for one of two scheduled 250cc East/West shootouts in 2018. The night was sure to bring excitement. West rider Mitchell Harrison would overcome a bad start in his heat and slide into the final qualifying position on the last lap to punch his ticket directly to the East/West Main Event showdown.
Zach Osborne got off to a good start in the 250SX East heat race and put down blistering laps to grab a second-place finish, just barely missing out on the heat win. While Zach headed to the main event, Michael Mosiman, after being involved in a early race crash that ended his race, was headed to the LCQ to try to make the final 22-rider field.
450 heat 1 saw Dean Wilson overcome a bad start, forcing him to make multiple passes to finish eighth and head to the Main Event. Jason Anderson didn’t have the best start in his heat race but he rode aggressive, fast laps to jump his way into second by the checkered flag and head to the points paying 450 Main Event.
Michael Mosiman was forced to work with the last gate pick for the 250cc last chance qualifier, and a good start would be mandatory to grab a transfer to the Main Event. Mosiman came off the gate well but got collected in a first turn crash which ultimately ended his chances to make the main event.
The 250cc East/West showdown blasted off the gate. Zach Osborne was collected into the tuff blocks as he entered into the first turn, almost putting him on the ground and leaving him in a tough spot to save championship points. Lap after lap Zach picked off riders to battle all the way to the finish line in seventh place and salvage valuable points. Mitchell Harrison ran up front after a good start and rode strong all moto long amongst the talent stacked field. He logged a well-earned 11th place. Zach Osborne maintained his points lead by seven points over his closest competitor. He will take the red plate to Minneapolis after the two week break for the 250SX East riders.
“It was a decent day,” said Osborne. “I had good times in practice and got second in my heat race. I went down in the first turn in the main, was dead last, then came back to seventh. It was definitely damage control and I only lost one point in the championship. I’m happy to go into this break and come back charging.”
“I woke up this morning to snow,” said Mosiman. “That was cool. I actually rode better than I have in a long time. I made it through qualifying pretty well. At one point I tested out the net. I felt really comfortable today and was getting through the whoops better. There was progression. I got off to a great start in the heat race with a fourth, then I got a kicker the second turn coming into the whoops. I was expected the whoops to be similar to practice, and they were not at all. I crashed and guys ran into me and it put me in the LCQ. I was way back in the LCQ because I had last gate pick. I got off to a good start but then ran into someone’s back tire and went down. It stings, but it lights a fire under me. It hurts to miss a Main Event, but there’s some part of me that feels like this is the building of something bigger.”
“Riding was better today,” said Harrison. I got a good start in the Main and pulled it together a little bit. I just have to go back and work on some things and come back strong.”
The 450 Main Event gate dropped and series points leader Jason Anderson was collected in a first-turn incident. He remounted his Husqvarna FC 450 Rockstar Edition at the very back of the pack. Meanwhile at the front, Dean Wilson ripped his best Main Event start all year and was right in the top 3 battle during the opening laps. Wilson would battle the difficult track and fend off multiple challenges from other riders for the entire 27 lap main event to keep himself at the front and grab his first career 450 Supercross podium with a superb second-place. Jason Anderson came alive and immediately cranked out speedy laps. He picked off riders one-by-one and refused to be denied. For 20 minutes plus one lap Anderson powered his way to the front, all the way to the fourth-place position, displaying the true definition of a championship ride. With the 450 Supercross series red plate still in hand the series now takes a much needed weekend off before heading to Seattle, Wash. for round 13.
“The Main result was awesome today,” said Wilson. “Qualifying went well, but I came into the heat race and got a bad start and ended up eighth. I got a good start in the Main then made quick passes. The middle to the end of the race was tough but it’s awesome to get a second. I’m stoked.”
“My weekend turned out to be good,” said Anderson. “I went into the pileup in the first turn in the Main Event, but I worked as hard as I could to make it to fourth. It was good.”
Indianapolis SX Results
250SX East West Showdown Main Event Results
1. Jeremy Martin
2. Adam Cianciarulo
3. Luke Renzland
4. Jordon Smith
5. Aaron Plessinger
6. Austin Forkner
7. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
8. Kyle Peters
9. Phil Nicoletti
10. Joey Savatgy
11. Mitchell Harrison – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
250SX East Rider Point Standings
1. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 131 points
2. Austin Forkner – 124 points
3. Jordon Smith – 121 points
4. Jeremy Martin – 119 points
5. Luke Renzland – 92 points
6. Kyle Peters – 85 points
7. Sean Cantrell – 59 points
8. RJ Hampshire – 57 points
9. Brandon Hartranft – 57 points 10. Colt Nichols – 54 points
…
19. Michael Mosiman – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 26 points
250SX West Rider Point Standings
1. Aaron Plessinger – 151 points
2. Joey Savatgy – 142 points
3. Adam Cianciarulo – 139 points
4. Shan McElrath – 127 points
5. Chase Sexton – 109 points
6. Christian Craig – 106 points
7. Justin Hill – 105 points
8. Kyle Chisholm – 95 points
9. Mitchell Harrison – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 84 points
10. Hayden Mellross – 68 points
450 Main Event
1. Marvin Musquin
2. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
3. Justin Brayton
4. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
5. Broc Tickle
6. Malcolm Stewart
7. Cooper Webb
8. Benny Bloss
9. Chad Reed
10. Blake Baggett
450 Rider Point Standings
1. Jason Anderson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 265 points
2. Marvin Musquin – 230 points
3. Justin Brayton – 210 points
4. Eli Tomac – 194 points
5. Blake Baggett – 194 points
6. Weston Peick – 172 points
7. Broc Tickle – 165 points
8. Cooper Webb – 162 points
9. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 138 points
10. Cole Seely – 124 points
