Joey Savatgy scores his second win of the year and now sits alone atop the Monster Energy AMA 250SX West series points standings.
Perhaps he didn’t have anything to prove, but Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy ably demonstrated that he is a legitimate contender for the 2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series title when the series returned to San Diego, California, tonight.
During round six, the series’ second visit to Petco Park, Savatgy rode a masterful race to score his second career Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series victory and take over sole possession of the series points lead with two rounds remaining.
But it is a precarious lead at best, as Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb appeared set to return to his winning ways before a minor crash left forced him to put on a charge in order to minimize his points loss to Savatgy. Webb did all he could and finished second, dropping just three points to Savatgy, with whom he was tied for the series lead coming into Petco Park.
When the gated dropped to start the 15-lap main event, Savatgy’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Chris Alldredge got off to a rocket start to lead the 22-rider field early. Savagy slotted into third place behind GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith before the race was two laps old while Webb quickly moved into fourth place. Alldredge would sacrifice the lead by pulling off the track with apparent bike problems just after the finish line jump to start lap three, moving everyone up a spot.
Webb then found his way past Smith and set about stalking Savaetgy for several laps, seemingly content wait for the right opportunity to make a pass. However, that plan went out the window when Webb lost the front end and low-sided in a flat right-hand corner on the slippery San Diego clay, losing spots to all three GEICO Honda riders—Jimmy Decotis, Christian Craig and Smith—in the process.
Savatgy would spend the rest of the race basically unchallenged as he took the win with 3.99 seconds in hand.
“I was trying to focus on my own lines, just trying to hit my lines consistently,” Savatgy said. “The track is very technical. It’s slippery, so you’ve got to be patient. But, it’s amazing. We practice it at home—consistent lines, focus on your own laps—and that was one of those deals where I got a good start. I’ve got to focus on myself. If someone is faster than me, they’re going to pass me sooner or later. Tonight was amazing. You know, a lot of people took credit away from my win a couple weekends ago, but I’d like to see them take credit away from this one.”
Webb rode furiously for the rest of the main event, and he nearly went down again when he tagged some of the Tuff Blox that line the track while attempting late-race pass on Craig. However, a subsequent attempt through the second whoop section put Webb back in second place with two laps to go. It wasn’t the result he had been looking for, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
“The track is a just a little hard-packed, and I tucked the front,” Webb said. “It was just a little mistake by me. It [the track] looks a lot more tacky than it was, and I just pushed the front, but I was able to get up and not lose too much time. It was still the beginning of the race. It was tough to get those spots [back], but I made it happen, ended up getting [Christian] Craig later in the race. It was a little bit of a bummer. I just keep crashing, and every time I crash get second, so I’ve got to work on that.”
Craig held on for third place, netting another podium in his return to supercross in 2016, and he is still very much in the series points race. Savatgy now leads with 123 points, while Webb is second with 120 and Craig is third with 107.
“I didn’t get my best start,” Craig said of the main event. “We’ve always been up front these first five rounds, so I started from my midpack and just made my way to second. Cooper [Webb] fell, and I was trying to chase down [Joey] Savatgy, but he was riding really good, and he just kept pulling me. I was getting tighter and tighter. I was making mistakes. The track got slick out there. But I’m happy. I’m on the podium again. This is four rounds in a row. I hope to continue this [podium] streak, but we always want to get that top step.”
The West series heads to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, next weekend before taking a break until it resumes for its final round at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, April 2.
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series
Petco Park
San Diego, California
Results: February 13, 2016 (Round 6 of 8)
250SX Main Event
1. Joey Savatgy-Kaw
2. Cooper Webb-Yam
3. Christian Craig-Hon
4. Colt Nichols-Yam
5. Zach Osborne-Hus
6. Mitchell Oldenburg-KTM
7. Jimmy Decotis-Hon
8. Kyle Peters-Hon
9. Cole Thompson-KTM
10. Cole Martinez-Yam
11. Kyle Cunningham-Suz
12. Scott Champion-Yam
13. Hayden Melross-Yam
14. Mitchell Harrison-Yam
15. Alex Martin-Yam
16. Chris Howell-Hus
17. Steven Mages-KTM
18. Michael Lieb-Yam
19. Jordon Smith-Hon
20. Austin Politelli-Yam
21. Chris Alldredge-Kaw
22. Killian Auberson-Suz
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series Points Standings (after 6 of 8 rounds)
1. Joey Savatgy-123/2 wins
2. Cooper Webb-120/3 wins
3. Christian Craig-107/1 win
4. Colt Nichols-99
5. Zach Osborne-90
6. Jimmy Decotis-85
7. Mitchell Oldenburg-81
8. Kyle Peters-75
9. Kyle Cunningham-64
10. Jordon Smith-63
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