Havoc in Detroit Supercross Allows Eli Tomac to Widen Points Lead

Ford Field, Detroit, MI — March 12, 2022

Monster Energy AMA Supercross comes to our neighborhood. Round 10 of the 2022 Series visits Ford Field for the first time in three years.

Ford Field was built in 2002 and took over hosting duties for Supercross in 2006. 2022 will be the ninth time Ford Field will host a 450SX Class race and the 55th time between the Silverdome and Ford Field.

Bob Hannah holds the record for most consecutive 450SX Class wins at any venue, and he earned that record in Pontiac, where he won six straight races from 1977-1979 (two per season). He has won nine times in Detroit (1977 X2, 1978 X2, 1979 X2, 1981, 1983-1984).

Eli Tomac comes off his record-breaking performance at Daytona where he stretched the points lead on both Jason Anderson and Malcolm Stewart in the 450SX class. Anderson and Stewart enter tonight’s show saying they have put their feud aside after incidents over the past two weeks have cost them both in their chase of Tomac.

Jett Lawrence cruised to his fifth career 250SX Class win which moves him into a tie for 45th all-time in 250SX Class history. He now has nine podiums in 17 starts and will have sole possession of the red plate in Detroit.

Stilez Robertson earned his second career podium with a runner-up finish in Daytona. His only other podium and top five finish came at Daytona last season. He is the first rider in Supercross history to score his first two podiums in Daytona. He hasn’t finished better than seventh in any of his other starts.

250SX

Privateer Joshua Cartwright(519) from Fort Worth, TX took the lead early in Heat #1 for the 250SX riders. Enzo Lopes(80) passed to become the leader early until he was overtaken by Pierce Brown(44).  Brown cruised to the win, Stilez Robertson(50) finished second and Jace Owen(81) took third.

Lopes experienced a mechanical problem with his bike and will have to rely on the Last Chance Qualifier(LCQ) to make the main event. Cartwright held on for fifth and will race in the feature.

In Heat #2 Jett Lawrence(18) continued to take care of business as he rode away from the field to take the easy win. Cameron McAdoo(48) took second with Mitchell Oldenburg(54) in third.

250SX Main Event

Stilez Robertson is turning into a holeshot specialist, just like last week at Daytona he was the fastest out of the gate at the start of the 250SX Main Event. But, also like last week, Jett Lawrence blew past on lap one and built a lead of three seconds over Pierce Brown through the first five minutes of the moto.

Cameron McAdoo, who is just five points behind Lawrence in the points standings, established himself in third as the remainder of the field was out of touch from the leaders.

At the midpoint of the race, Lawrence was dealing with lapped traffic allowing Brown to close within less than a second behind. However, after clearing the lappers Lawrence reestablished his three-second lead while McAdoo closed on and passed Brown to take over second.

Catching more lapped traffic, Lawrence rode smart and avoided any incident that could have endangered his lead. Lawrence coasted to his fifth win in his last seven starts extending his points lead to eight over McAdoo who finished second. Brown ended up in the third position to join the other two on the Detroit 250SX podium. Josh Cartwright took home a 17th place finish after earning his way into the feature event.

250SX East Main Event Results

250SX East Points Standings

450SX

The news out of Detroit was not good for the Honda 450SX team as it was announced Ken Roczen was withdrawing as a result of medical issues. Team doctors determined Roczen needs some time to get healthy prior to resuming racing this year.

Chase Sexton(23) and Eli Tomac(3) fired out of the starting gate to establish the early lead and turn Heat #1 into a two-man race. Sexton led throughout until losing control at the end of the whoops section on the next to last lap. Tomac passed for the win. Sexton recovered quickly to hold onto second ahead of Marvin Musquin(25) in third.

In Heat #2 Malcolm Stewart(27) and Jason Anderson(21) lined up next to each other in the starting gates. But, no conflict occurred as Stewart shot out in first while Anderson settled into fourth. Stewart led wire-to-wire, while Anderson was able to work himself into second by the time the checkered flag waved. Defending 450SX champion Cooper Webb(1) took third.

450SX Main Event

Justin Bogle(19) grabbed the lead at the start of the 450SX Main event and held on for the first two minutes. Points leader Eli Tomac was stuck back in eighth with some crafty riders in front of him. Justin Barcia(51), riding with seven stitches in one of his fingers, passed Bogle to take over the top spot.

But the man on the move was Jason Anderson as he rode to the lead hoping to put some space between himself and Tomac back in fifth. At the 13 minute mark, Tomac was in second and closing on Anderson. Barcia was still in third, but Malcolm Stewart was putting the heat on for the final podium position.

Stewart made the pass for third at the same time Tomac took over the top position. A detour off course cost Stewart two positions, which he quickly recovered once back on the track. Upfront, lapped traffic held Tomac briefly, and Anderson closed to less than a second.

In the closing minutes of the timed portion of the race, carnage ensued. Cooper Webb missed a jump causing him to come up short and stumble on his bike over the next jump. Closing fast, Chase Sexton landed on Webb’s helmet coming out of a jump and both riders crashed hard. Sexton suffered a shoulder contusion as his suit was ripped in the accident, he could not continue. Webb remounted his bike, but could only steer with his right hand as he held his left arm close to his chest, he was forced to pull off the track.

Damage continued as Anderson lost control on the tight corner right after the finish line jump. He took a few seconds to collect his bike and get back aboard. Anderson appeared dazed and quickly pulled off the track, sat down, took off his helmet, and held his head in his hands. Dylan Ferrandis(14) also crashed out of the event.

Tomac took his 3rd straight main event win with Malcolm Stewart moving up to finish second. Barcia took the final podium spot in third. Tomac leaves Detroit with a 42-point lead in the standings as the series heads to Indianapolis next week. If he remains free from injury through the remainder of the season Tomac may have locked up his second 450 Supercross title right here in Detroit.

450SX Main Event Results

450SX Points Standings