Having done an extensive behind the scenes walk through yesterday, I was excited to see all of the hard work come to life. Little do people know or understand just exactly what goes into a production of this caliber. Feld Entertainment; a globally recognized company, stays working on these events year round. The World Championships of Supercross would be one of these, they focus intensely on what areas to improve and how they can bring more to the fan experience. Every year, for about 18 weeks, Supercross is on tour, that’s 17 races. 16 semis are used for just the Feld SSX production alone which includes about 100 people to set up and about 70 on the TV crew. Not only is this a touring event but it is also a televised event which is why the production crew is so large. In addition to those 16 semis, there are approx two semi’s per rider. One semi carries the race team and crew, the other houses two bikes and enough gear to build up two more from the ground up. Each bike is completely redone after every race before the rider races again in the new city. That creates an additional 42 semi trailers on this tour. A massive one now that you see from all perspectives. A lot more goes into bringing this tour to the fans then one would think. This tour means so much to Feld Motor Sports director of operations, Dave Prater, that he heads up to the highest seat in the stadium to get a birds eye view of the whole track before each show begins just to make sure that no matter how much you are paying for your ticket, you are getting the best view of the stadium you can. That’s just pure dedication and love for the sport right there.
On a chilly day with snow happening in the early morning hours, the Monster Energy Supercross World Championships kicked off at approx 11am with the qualifying rounds. The stadium was packed by opening ceremonies with absolutely no parking available left anywhere surrounding leaving many attendees having to park miles away either walking to Mile High Stadium or taking an Uber to get there. We sadly missed opening ceremonies due to the parking fiasco and promptly got to our seats. After catching the first race I quickly ran off to the concession stands after spending an hour there waiting in line to be told there was no hot chocolate, I sadly went back to my seat to catch the last half hour of the event. It got intense during the finals!! Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) quickly passed Justin Bogle (KTM) in the second lap to secure third rank and passing his teammate Joey Savatgy (Kawasaki) for second in the fourth lap. By the sixth lap, Tomac had put the pressure on and overtook Marvin Musquin (KTM) for the lead. By the 18th lap, Tomac was 7.77 seconds ahead of his opponent therefore securing his place for the evening, a most exciting win for this Colorado native. Most thought Tomac would have the advantage tonight given that he is used to training in the Colorado altitude and thin air. If you had made a bet, you would have been right!
Eli Tomac
Curt Thompson
The 250SX class was just as hot through the night as main contenders Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki) and Michael Mosiman (Husqvarna) go head to head, battling for their spot in first. Cianciarulo and Mosiman raced bar to bar until Cianciarulo finally passed with about 10 min to go. There was an unfortunate slip by Mosiman and he went down outside of the podium positions. He was ok however and managed to get up and limp from the track, unable to finish the race. Cianciarulo ended up taking first position, Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) in a close second and Colt Nichols (Yamaha) rounded out the night in third.
Colt Nichols
Curt Thompson
With this being a point series, each performance earns the rider so many points to progress. Based on those points, the riders rank in the series. In less than a month, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross World Championships will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on May the 4th. No pun intended 😉
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Ciao,
Bella
Curt Thompson
