Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Cooper Webb claimed his seventh win of the 2019 AMA Supercross season at round 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Webb entered the night with an illness, but managed to finish second in his heat race. In the main event, the KTM rider grabbed the holeshot and, at just under two minutes into the race, was passed by Monster Energy Kawasaki's Eli Tomac. The two riders engaged in a heated battle, but Webb fell a few seconds behind the Kawasaki rider. He reassumed the lead when Tomac crashed in the whoops. Later in the race, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Zach Osborne passed Webb for the lead, but bobbled in a corner shortly after, allowing Webb to get back up front once again, a position he would retain until the checkered flag flew. Webb heads into the final round at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas with a 23-point lead over Tomac.
“Overall, I felt like it was a good race,” Webb said. “I felt like I rode at a nice pace that was consistent. I’m not saying the other guys weren’t, but the mistakes they made were definitely the difference. I’m happy; another win is incredible and we’re inching a little closer to the final goal.”
Osborne began his evening by finishing second in his heat race. In the main event, he came around the first corner in third place and moved into second place on lap nine when Tomac fell for the first time. He passed Webb for the lead on lap 15 before relinquishing it shortly thereafter. Osborne’s second-place result is a career-best for the 450SX class rookie.
“It’s pretty incredible to take my first podium in the 450 class after some trials and tribulations to start the season,” Osborne said. “To finally be up here feels pretty incredible and gives me a lot of motivation to continue working on going on the path that I’m on.”
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac was undoubtedly the fastest rider speed-wise throughout the night in East Rutherford, but two crashes in the whoops prevented him from capturing the victory.
“That was something else,” Tomac said. “I somehow managed to do that exact same move twice during that race. I just jumped in the rut there. As I saw on the replay, my weight was too far right both times when I landed in the rut and then the notches got me, and I go into the same exact Tuff block. [That was] so disappointing. I could maybe get away with one of those, but both wasn’t going to do it. [I was] just giving everything I had. I mean, that’s all I could do, right? [I was] trying to stay in the front, but a couple of mistakes got me. That was tough. That was my whole goal to keep this [title fight going] to the next race and we did that. I still would’ve liked to have been in front of Cooper, but all we can do is take it to Vegas again. He’s got a sizable lead now, so [we’ll] take it to Vegas and learn from our mistakes.”
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM-WPS’ Blake Baggett finished in fourth while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin rounded out the top five after crashing in the first corner.
“It was a huge bummer to have that crash in the first turn considering I was feeling great all day today,” Musquin said. “From dead last, I came back to fifth place. It was a good race, but it didn’t bring me what I wanted points-wise. I wanted to win tonight, but it is what it is. It’s racing and things like that obviously happen.”
