Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy gets his first AMA 250SX Supercross win and takes over the series points lead.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy probably wasn’t expecting to win his first career Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Series main event at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California tonight, but when opportunity knocks, you had better be ready to open the door.
Savatgy clearly was, and he became the 100th different support class winner in the history of AMA Supercross, crossing the finish line 7.19 seconds ahead of Cycle Trader/Rock River/Yamaha’s Colt Nichols, with GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig third. But that margin of victory didn’t begin to tell the story of the race.
For the third time in four races, Craig bolted off the starting line and into the lead at the start of the 15-lap main, only this time defending series champion and 2016 series point leader Cooper Webb got off to a much better start and was quickly into second place. With the speed Webb has shown during his undefeated streak through the first three rounds, it seemed as if it was only a matter of when, not if, he would take the lead from Craig, who only unintentionally helped out Webb by losing the front end and crashing in a left-hand turn on lap four.
That would seem to be all the help Webb needed to roll on to his fourth main event win in a row, but Savatgy kept Webb honest, running in second, just 1.3 seconds behind the leader for through lap 12. Then, with just three laps remaining, Webb coasted to a stop out of a corner and relinquished the lead while frantically trying to restart his Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha. Savatgy slipped by Webb just as easily as Webb had slipped by the fallen Craig, and cruised to victory.
“I don’t’ even know what to say,” Savatgy said. “I want to be emotional, but I just feel like it so overdue. Cooper [Webb] was riding a great race, so that is unfortunate for him. But, hey, I’ll take it. We were there. I think if we hadn’t had that shifter problem we would have been able to catch him a little bit sooner. But, all in all, it was a great night. To end up on the top step of the box is what we have been trying to do since last year. There are so many emotions going on in my mind right now I don’t even know what to say other than I just can’t thank everyone who helps me enough.”
But Savatgy’s win was hardly assured even after he inherited his big lead, as he was having bike problems of his own after landing on a Tuff Block earlier in the race.
“My shifter got bent all the way to my footpeg, so I couldn’t shift,” Savatgy said. “I was stuck in either first gear or second gear. Coming down the straightaway, I was just letting my mechanic know that my shifter was bent all the way to the footpeg.”
With Webb at the rear of the field and teammate Alex Martin crashing himself out of podium contention, Nichols rode a steady race to earn his first career Monster Energy AMA 250cc podium.
“Honestly, I didn’t really get off to the greatest start,” Nichols said. “I made it kind of hard on myself. After that, I just put my head down and tried to pass as many people as I could. I saw a few people tip over, and we took advantage of that. Honestly, it was just a really good ride for me once I kind of realized where I was at. This has just been such a dream of mine for so long, so to see it finally come true, man, it’s just a really, really big deal for me.”
Craig rebounded to finish third.
“That’s three out of four holeshots, so I’ve got to give it up to the whole team for getting us off to great starts every time, putting us in good positions. I had Cooper behind me, and I was feeling good, too. Last week when I was leading, I was tight and really nervous, but this [race] was clicking, and I was feeling it. I’m just bummed, you know, because I feel like we threw away that race win, but we are still on the podium. I fought back. A couple guys fell towards the end, and I just stayed consistent and stayed strong.”
Webb was able to finish the race in 21st place. Although he was disappointed with the result. He also lost the series points lead to Savatgy, who now leads Webb 78-76.
“It didn’t stall,” Webb said. “The gas cap vapor-locked. It went ‘baauugh, baauugh’ and I knew something wasn’t right. I started checking the wires—they were all good—and then…At Loretta Lynn’s in 2006 my gas cap vapor-locked on KTM 65, and I just had a feelin’. I said, ‘Man, I should check that.’ [So] I pulled the gas cap off, and that’s what it was. It was a bummer, but, it’s all good. I’ll be back. I ain’t no quitter.”
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series
O.co Coliseum
Oakland, California
Results: January 30, 2016 (Round 4 of 8)
250 Main
1. Joey Savatgy-Kaw
2. Colt Nichols-Yam
3. Christian Craig-Hon
4. Mitchell Oldenburg-KTM
5. Zach Osborne-Hus
6. Kyle Peters-Hon
7. Michael Lieb-Yam
8. Kyle Cunningham-Suz
9. Jimmy Decotis-Hon
10. Cole Thompson
11. Jordon Smith-Hon
12. Dillan Epstein-Kaw
13. Hayden Mellross-Yam
14. Scott Champion-Yam
15. Zachary Commans-KTM
16. Thomas Do-Hon
17. Fredrik Noren-Hon
18. Killian Auberson-Suz
19. Thomas Reis-Yam
20. Chris Alldredge-Kaw
21. Cooper Webb-Yam
22. Alex Martin-Yam
Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series Points Standings (after 4 of 8 rounds)
1. Joey Savatgy-78/1 win
2. Cooper Webb-76/3 wins
3. Zach Osborne-73
4. Colt Nichols-65
5. Christian Craig-62
6. Jordon Smith-59
7. Jimmy Decotis 57
8. Kyle Peters-51
9. Mitchell Oldenburg-48
10. Kyle Cunningham-41
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