Ken Roczen grabbed the holeshot and led every lap of Round 9 of the Monster Energy Supercross race in Indianapolis, but the results were not certain until the checkers waved because of heavy traffic in the closing laps that allowed Justin Barcia to close the gap.
Roczen built a comfortable lead in the first 15 minutes of the race until he began lapping some riders for the second time. All but eight riders fell at least one lap off the pace. While this was happening, Barcia was on a flier, erasing a three-second gap to close onto the back tire of Roczen.
Both riders were hungry. Roczen was seeking his first win in more than a year after taking the checkered flag first in Anaheim 1 last year. Barcia was looking for his first win in more than two years after notably also winning the season opener the previous season.
In the end, Roczen did what he does best. He protected his lead and gapped Barcia by just enough to keep his rival from getting alongside in the bowl turns. Roczen finished the 27th lap 0.739 seconds ahead of Barcia, giving both riders their second podium finishes of the season.
RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Overall Results; Click here for 250 Overall Results
Cooper Webb was perhaps the biggest winner of the night. Mired in traffic after a poor start, Eli Tomac fell as low as 14th in the Indianapolis Supercross round and with his third-place result, and that contributes to Webb entering Detroit with the red plate. It will be the first time in 2023 that a rider other than Tomac has had it affixed to his bike and it comes with a single-point advantage. With his seventh podium finish, Webb ties Chase Sexton for the most on the season.
With all eyes on the lead battle, Aaron Plessinger quietly finished fourth and snapped a two-race skid of results outside the top five. He maintains a perfect record of top-10s.
Also keeping a record of top-10 performances alive, Jason Anderson finished fifth. Anderson has finished seventh or better in all nine rounds, but with only one win, he is 36 points out of the lead.
Click here for 450 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart
Adam Cianciarulo narrowly missed the top five in his first race back after sitting out the last two rounds with a wrist injury. This was his best finish of the season and his return was more impressive still since he also finished third in his heat.
Tomac would have a share of the red plate if not for his challenge with lapped riders. On the final lap, Dean Wilson fell in front of the Supercross championship leader entering Indianapolis and stalled his momentum, which allowed Christian Craig to scoot by and steal that critical point.
The results were even worse for Sexton. He crashed while challenging Roczen for the lead and fell to 12th. He recovered and made his way up to 10th by the checkers, but was a lap off the pace.
Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
It was a perfect day for Hunter Lawrence, who won his fourth main of the season after being the fastest qualifier, grabbing the holeshot and leading the most laps. It has been an almost perfect season with a worst finish of second in five rounds. The season is his to lose with five rounds remaining and a 22-point advantage.
Nate Thrasher had three shots at catching Lawrence. One week after he was wrecked by the championship leader at Daytona, Thrasher may have felt he had something to prove, but he could never quite get close enough to make his point. Even when the Heat 2 field was bunched up following a red flag, Thrasher consistently lost ground.
Click here for 250 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart
Finishing third, Jordon Smith earned his third podium in five rounds. If not for a disappointing weekend in Tampa, he would be much higher in the points and ready to challenge Lawrence. Instead, he is fourth in the standings with 33 points to make up.
Jeremy Martin earned his best finish of the season in fourth. He has been remarkably consistent with results of fourth through sixth in five rounds, but that is not getting the job done in the championship and he is tied for fifth in the standings with Haiden Deegan following the Supercross race in Indianapolis.
Click here for 250 Overall results | 250 East Rider Points | 250 Combined Rider Points
Max Anstie rounded out the top five. His consistency shows up in average start (3.5) compared to average finish (3.4), which shows only a .1 differential. Both of these results are significantly better than his qualification of 7.8.
One week after scoring his first podium of his career, Deegan fell at the end of the race while running in the top five and dropped to seventh. As a reminder, this is supposed to be a learning year for ‘Danger Boy’ and he was not expecting to be a 250 rookie at the start of the year.
2023 Results
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Tomac, H Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Tomac, J Lawrence win
Round 1: Tomac, J Lawrence win
2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings
Week 8: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
Week 7: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Tomac
Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Tomac first
Week 5: Cooper Webb, Sexton close gap
Week 4: Tomac retakes lead
Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot
Week 2: Roczen moves up; Sexton falls
Week 1: Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s
