In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in the 12th round of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Seattle.

450SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) – Third:
To get on the podium tonight is huge! My speed was good today and my starts were good too. I didn’t have the pace in the first few laps but I tried to focus on myself. Malcolm was there behind me until the last lap, so I had to stay really focused and charge really hard. I closed the gap a little bit but that track was super tough so I’m pretty happy to be healthy and moving to the next round having a weekend off.

Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) – Sixth:
Seattle was a bit of a tough day and into the night. I had a pretty bad practice crash that left me pretty banged up on the opposite shoulder, which is never great. I got Dr. G to help me and we got dialled in for the night show. In the heat race, I had a malfunction where the holeshot device came undone so I got a pretty bad start. I didn’t go great in the heat race, which left me with a bad gate pick for the main event and I did what I could with a bad start to charge back into sixth.

Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Second:
The track was pretty tough tonight, so I definitely had to be smart about choosing my battles and taking what the conditions allowed. With the wet weather during the week, the dirt was soft but, it also broke away and had more rocks than normal. I made the most of it and I’m happy with how I managed my night by getting better each time I went out on the track. It’s nice to go into the upcoming off-weekend with another podium and have a bit of positive momentum again.

Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Fifth:
It felt awesome to win the heat race – the bike was ripping! We made a few changes for the main event and got a second-place start. Me and Eli checked out, running a good pace and I just got a little off the line, landed on a tuf block and went flipping. I’m super disappointed in that but I was riding my heart out and ended up fifth. My bike was already torn up after that crash and I managed the race as good as I could. All-in-all, I’m just happy with the positives on the day. It’s a bummer on the crash but we’ll be back in St. Louis to go for the win.

Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) – DNS:
Seattle wasn’t very good for me. I had a big get-off in the second qualifying session; I mis-shifted on a three-on and ended up in neutral, and went over the bars, which didn’t feel great. I hit my back pretty hard and was overall shaken up, so we decided to sit out the night. Overall, I feel pretty good [on Monday]. My body’s a little sore, but I’m excited to get back to work, address any issues and get back at it in St. Louis.

Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Seventh:
My riding was pretty good for the most part. In the main, I was in the top-five mix for a few laps, which was cool. I wasn’t too far away from top-five at the end but my arms got really tight in the last few minutes, just lack of good lines and flow on the track. It’s frustrating but I did some things well and I just have to learn from that and ride like I know how to and I can definitely be in that top-five.

Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Fourth:
I felt good all day. I didn’t get the best start in the main event and I was sitting in fourth and Marvin was right there for third, so the last lap I tried to make a little pass and one of the lapped riders ended up going inside and kind of screwed me up and I went down. Overall, I felt good, I just wasn’t fast enough to get on the podium tonight. I’m glad we ended on a better note than last weekend, so we’re going to take what we learned and go from there

Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) – First:
It was a perfect main event and another great weekend in Seattle. I got the holeshot and put in a big sprint early in the race. The track was really good for the first half and then really tough in the second half of the race. Once Justin [Barcia] made the mistake, I had a pretty nice lead so I was just able to maintain it and try and get through the track. It was just another unbelievable weekend for us and the team. We’ve got some great momentum and love what we have going on!

Brandon Hartranft (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – 10th:
I had a decent gate pick for the main but had a bad jump off the gate. I literally came from about 19th to 10th. I rode my butt off. It’s been an awesome first 12 weeks of the season. We moved up to 11th in the points and I can’t thank the team enough. I’m ready to have a week off and build for St. Louis.

Justin Bogle (Twisted Tea Suzuki) – Eighth:
The first half of the main was strong, I was riding well. I made a couple of mistakes, got a little tight and kind of struggled through the second half. But all things considered we’re making progress and we got through with another single digit, so we’ll take that. The team’s really rallying behind me and I’m excited about that. We’ll just keep trying to improve and try to get that second half of the main little more like the first half.

250SX

Image: Octopi Media.

Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – First:
We were grafting all day, to be honest – every session, we were chasing the track, chasing the bike, making changes. It’s kind of nervous, not knowing the outcome. We had to have a lot of faith in the team, and we all worked really well – it felt really good for the night show. My line in the whoops may not have been the fastest, but I knew it would be okay if it was my most consistent line. I’ve still only done 17 main events, so I’m still learning. Honestly, I’m just trying to better myself every night and during the week, build and be a better rider in the future.

Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas) – Third:
It’s so good to be back racing! The track was tight and tricky and I was fastest of the 250 and 450 classes, which I was super stoked about! In the main, I made a pass on Christian and ended up bending a rear brake rotor in the process. My bike was riding funny and it would hit the brakes every time the wheel spun and then I didn’t have any brakes after a while. I would have loved to win it but for as crazy as the night was, to end up on the podium was a win for me.

Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fourth:
It was nice to be back and get into the swing of things again. I didn’t get a ton of time on the bike before this weekend so overall I am happy with the result. I really was hoping to make something happen in that last turn for the podium, but just didn’t have the position to make the pass. I’m thankful to take what we learned here and get some more time on the bike before heading to Atlanta for the showdown.

Christian Craig (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – Second:
The night was pretty good. I started off with the heat win, but I had a bad start in that race. So I really focused on getting a good start in the main and was able to holeshot that. I rode a little tight in the first few laps but came together with another rider and went down. From there, I just put my head down, made a chargeback, and was able to get back up to second. I kind of challenged for the win, but it just wasn’t enough at the end and finished second. We’re moving on and have a couple of weeks off to get ready for Atlanta.

Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing) – 11th:
I’m pretty disappointed with how the night ended because I felt like we had a shot at the podium. We struggled a bit earlier in the day, but we had a good heat race and got a good start in the main. Unfortunately, some mistakes cost us tonight, but we’re going to keep working, and I’m excited to go back to Atlanta, where I have some great memories.

Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) – Eighth:
It was a tough one, I feel like it could have been a better night if I had a better start. I got into the back of the pack, somewhere around last, and could only make it up to eighth. It’s frustrating, so I’m going to go back to the practice track, put in some work on my starts and come back after the break and be better.

Carson Mumford (BarX Suzuki) – 12th:
It felt great to be back racing. I pushed hard all day to get better and better. I ended up sixth in my heat, but then got a bad start in the main and could only pass up to 12th. It was insane how rough the track was in the main.