News 17 Apr 2021

Webb overcomes Roczen in 450SX Atlanta 3 thriller

Points gap grows to 16 after late-race charge.

Image: Octopi Media.

Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb took control of the 450SX championship with a late-race charge to pass title rival Ken Roczen for the win in the last of three Supercross races in Atlanta Motor Speedway, while Eli Tomac rounded out the podium.

It was a thriller of a night in Monster Energy Supercross, as the series completed it’s final residency of the year with a race that saw Webb come out on top and take a 16-point advantage in the championship standings with two rounds to go.

Off the line, it looked to be all Roczen, as he jetted out to the lead that eventually ballooned to over 10 seconds. It was his race to lose and a late-race crash in the whoops saw his lead chopped in half with just a few minutes remaining on the clock.

Webb, who was maintaining second place, saw the gap close and began to charge, eventually catching Roczen with just 90 seconds and a lap to go. He made quick work of his rival, taking the lead and gaining a two-second advantage.

A late-race bobble allowed Roczen to close, but in the end, it was all Webb taking the victory. Roczen was second and Tomac rode to a solid third-place finish.

Tomac’s podium was the result of a charge through the pack, battling much of the race with Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) and Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas). Plessinger was up front for most of the race after grabbing the holeshot, the Ohio rider eventually finishing fourth on the night.

Barcia had a solid pace and was able to salvage a fifth place eon the night ahead of a charging Malcolm Stewart (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha). Seventh went to Stewart’s teammate Ferrandis, who was actually in the lead group early on before crashing with Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) in the opening laps.

Eighth went to Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who notched his seventh consecutive top 10 finish and climbs to 11th in the championship standings. Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) finished a quiet ninth on the night.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) looked promising through the first half of the day, taking second fastest qualifying time and winning his heat race, he eventually finished 10th on the night.

The series now heads to Salt Lake City for the final two races of the season, with Webb on top by 16 points over Roczen.

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