SX After-Party From Salt Lake City 6

450 Class

Cooper Webb - 1st

“We were all really close in speed, not a lot separating. I fixed the whoops about halfway – I think that’s what was holding me back – and I started hitting them really well. It was a tight race between us four and the whole race it seemed like a lot of pressure between us all because we weren’t making many mistakes. I’m sure it was a fun race for the fans to watch and it was a fun race to win, for sure.”

Eli Tomac - 2nd

"I felt better on the track today in regard to making passes. I was pushing hard, as hard as I could. I made it up to the front of the pack but couldn’t quite make it happen. Overall, it was a good day for Monster Energy Kawasaki. Although we always want to win, we’ll take a second-place finish and my KX450 showed it has the power to push forward. I’ll take the next few days to relax and recover, and then be ready to wrap this championship up on Sunday.”

Zach Osborne - 3rd

“The whole time I was in the lead, I was just trying to set a new personal best on laps led. I was doing something I’ve never done before, so I’m happy with my ride,” Osborne said. “I tightened up a little bit at the end, this was one of the harder Main Events I’ve ever done with the altitude and just the intensity was way up there.”

Ken Roczen - 4th

“The second-to-last race in Salt Lake City was a good one. I’d rather have it this way and put in a hard effort and not be good enough and get beat than have too many issues and drop off completely. I just wasn’t fast enough tonight. I tried really hard to at least get on the podium, and we were close, but just not enough, unfortunately. We put in a good charge. We’re going to come back in the last race and try to get to the very top step one last time for 2020. Overall, it was a very good effort from the team and on my side, especially after a heat race where I got parked because I had a big rut in my line and didn’t have the greatest gate pick. We put in a good fight and ended up fourth for the night. It’s not exactly the result we wanted in the end, but it was a great fight and that’s all we can ask for.”

Jason Anderson - 5th

“It felt really good to start the day off with P1 in practice and get a heat race win,” Anderson said. “In the Main, the difference between me and the leader was seven seconds and there were like five guys within that battle, so it was good. All-in-all, I felt good all day and we’re ready to get up there and battle for a win.”

Justin Brayton - 6th

“This was the best one yet for me. I had a great start in the main and ran second for a while. I was running up front and doing the laps that I wanted to do, running good lap times, racing with the guys I feel like I should be racing with. I’m pretty proud of this one. Sixth isn’t amazing, but overall from what I’ve been doing—starting 13th or 14th and coming to eighth, it’s much better to start second and run there for a while and get used to that pace again, then get passed by a few of the best guys in the world and end up sixth. Overall it was a good night for me. One to go—let’s do it!”

Malcolm Stewart - 7th

“Practice was a little bit of a struggle for me. It was a little muddy from the overnight rain and that we only had two practices, but I felt better in the last session. I managed to turn the day around when it was time to race,” Stewart explained of the day. “The Heat Race was good, and I ended up in fifth place, even though I was really far back off the start. The Main Event was a freight train with everyone doing the same thing on the track, the whoops were beaten down, and it was hard to make any gains, but I ended up in seventh place. We’re coming into the last round and I’m excited to see what happens!”

Justin Barcia - 9th

“Unfortunately the other day I woke up and my neck was fully stuck and I couldn’t move it. So I only had a day to try to get that better and it really didn’t get better. The beginning of the day did not go well for me at all. I just rode around trying to get used to the track and loosen up my neck a bit. Luckily, it got a little bit better throughout the day. The Heat race went pretty well, I ended up fourth in that, but it was another one of those not so great starts again in the Main Event. I got a little tangled up in the second corner and then ended up fighting my way back from 16th to ninth.

“I think you can make excuses about not being able to go faster on the track because it was one-lined, but I just didn’t have any more speed than that. I got through it and I’m healthy. I’m just going to keep trying to loosen up my neck. I’m looking forward to Sunday and hopefully will get a run on a solid result.”

Blake Baggett - 10th

My race was better tonight. We made some changes to the bike and it felt good on the track. I am looking forward to the last round and finishing off the season on a good note."

Justin Hill - 12th

“It was a better day for me and there were improvements with a better pace in Qualifying, a better finish in the Heat Race, and a good start in the Main Event. It was not a massive leap in improvement, but it’s better than it had been and I scored points over a couple of guys so that I maintain a top-10 position in the championship,” Hill said after the race. “Things are looking up. I feel better on the bike and I had a lot of work done on my arms by my chiropractor to work out some of the arm pump. I felt like I could ride better for an extra five laps compared to past races and I have the speed to be at the front, so I just need to work out my arms so that I can control the bike and keep improving.”

Dean Wilson - 13th

“There were some good parts and some bad parts of today,” Wilson said. “I’m stoked on the heat race win but I made an adjustment that I felt would be a benefit for the Main Event and I just really struggled out there. We’re healthy and taking away a lot of positives into the last round on Sunday.”

Aaron Plessinger - 14th

“I had a great Heat race, a great qualifying, I just couldn’t put it together for the Main. I got an okay start. The track was pretty slick and I just got held up by a lot of people, and I just rode tight. Yeah, the bike’s starting to work better, but I just need to put it together. There’s no excuses. I shouldn’t be finishing outside the top 10 or even the top five. I just have to put one race together. I get one more shot this year. I’ve got to send it. I just want to get out there and ride my dirt bike, have fun and do the best I can at the last race.”

Broc Tickle - 16th

"Today was positive for me,” said Tickle. “We made some adjustments to the bike to be ready as the track deteriorated and went in the right direction. Results-wise it was not what we were looking for, but we are making progress. Overall, I had a solid performance.”

Vince Friese - 17th

“The race didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I thought that the track suited me and the bike is working great after the adjustments we made to the suspension, but I’m not back to where I was before the break,” Friese explained. “I don’t have the same feel on the bike, and my fitness isn’t where I need to be. I feel bad because the team is doing awesome for me and I feel that I have one of the best bikes on the track, but I haven’t been able to get it done in the second half of the season. We have one more to go and I’ll give it everything I have to finish strong.”

Kyle Cunningham - 18th

“Last night went well given the circumstances,” said Cunningham. “I was able to put it in the main again which was awesome but I definitely had to battle foot pain all day. I’m happy with the result and looking forward to finishing out this last round strong.”

250 Class

Chase Sexton - 1st

“I just knew I was good in that rhythm section and I knew that I could get close to him,” said Sexton of closing on McElrath. “I was like, all right, I’ve got to make a pass here. It was good. I made it. It was pretty aggressive, but also I didn’t want to give Shane another chance to get back on me in the next corner, so I had to make it stick. From there on I just kind of tried to sprint away and hit my marks as good as I can while going through lappers. The track was really good and I enjoyed that main event.”

Shane McElrath - 2nd

“Man, second place isn’t bad, except in this situation. I really needed a win tonight and unfortunately came up short. I was just a little behind all day today, but I’m fired up and I’m making a statement at the last round.”

Colt Nichols - 3rd

“Overall it was a good race to get third and on the podium, I just had a bad start and that really hurt me. I also didn’t have the intensity that I needed, so I’m a little bummed. I felt like I left a little bit out there, but it’s all good. I have one more race on Sunday and I’m ready to do battle with the guys from the East and West.”

Jo Shimoda - 5th

“Yeah I was feeling good all day, fourth in timed qualifying, but I did have one crash,” said Shimoda. “Good start in the heat race and the first few laps I was close to Shane [McElrath]. I finished second. For [the] main event I started around 10th and could only catch up to fifth for the day. It was better than the last few races, though. Just little bit better start and I really focused on the first two turns to get through. The last few races I’ve been frustrated because I didn’t get to ride 100 percent with all the crashes.”

Jalek Swoll - 14th

“The day started out good – my speed felt good and I got everything down early,” Swoll said. “The Main Event was chaotic but I’m head-up right now, looking forward to putting in a good result on Sunday and ending the SX season on a good note.”

Team Personnel

Erik Kehoe - Team Honda HRC Team Manager

“JB had a much better day all day, building some confidence, getting better starts, running up front where he knows he’s got the speed to run. He finally got a good start in the main event and put a good race together. Ken rode really well too. His start wasn’t quite as good, but he rode hard the whole time. I know he’s putting out a lot of effort right now, with everything that’s been going on. I think he had a really solid ride the whole main event, and now we’re taking it to the last race”

Jim Perry - Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager

“Today was another step in the right direction. Although the results didn’t show how well the guys rode, they definitely rode better than the positions they finished. Practice was much better for Aaron, and Justin struggled a little bit, but he got that turned around with a few changes in the bike setup. Both guys rode solid in their Heat races, finishing third and fourth. However in the Main Event, we struggled with the starts again and that set us up for a poor result. We’ve got a couple things that we need to work on to get better starts. We’ll come back Sunday and look to fight up front.”

Jeremy Albrecht - JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing Team Manager

"It was a better day today for both guys," said Jeremy Albrecht, Team Manager. "We did not get the results we wanted but we keep making improvements at each race. We need some good starts and to keep riding like they did today. We will do our best to end the season strong."

Dustin Pipes - H.E.P. Suzuki Team Manager

“It was a great ride for Kyle in the second to last round as he advanced five positions throughout the main event,” said Team Manager, Dustin Pipes. “We found a better rear shock and it looked good out there. I’m looking forward to rounding out this series on high note.”

Wil Hahn - Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“Tonight we put ourselves in a great position early on, but we did not have the intensity that we needed to bring home the win. Plain and simple, we have to be better than this. Sunday is going to be exciting having the East-West Showdown. We’re going to come back and fight for some championships.”

Zach White - Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki R&D Manager

“After all that has happened this season with racing coming to a stop and a few guys getting hurt, it's pretty amazing to be in a position of still being in it for the championship on the west. Both Cameron and Austin are ready to give it all they’ve got on Sunday.”

Jordon Troxell - Mechanic, Ken Roczen

“Not a bad day here in Salt Lake City. Ken had decent qualifying. The track was a little bit sticky with the late schedule, but it was still a good day. We had a little bump on the track in the heat race, and it was tough to make up time there, so we had a bad gate pick. We had a pretty decent start in the main event. We latched onto Cooper [Webb] but just came up a couple seconds short. We’ll try again Sunday.”

Brent Duffe - Mechanic, Justin Brayton

“Today’s result matches our best from a sixth at the Triple Crown, but today we really earned it. It was good to see JB showing his true potential here at the end of the season. It makes it a lot easier to enjoy our summer, when you know we went out swinging.”