Weekend Recap: March 19 - 20

SUPERCROSS

Premier 450cc class points leader Eli Tomac made it four wins in a row on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross tour, putting a late-race pass on Justin Barcia and surviving several last-lap miscues at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium for victory on Saturday.  Tomac’s fourth-consecutive win, which is the first time a rider has won four-straight on the tour since 2017, was the 43rd of his career – putting him one win behind all-time SX 4th place wins racer Chad Reed (44 wins).  In addition, Tomac’s 255 total points and a 51-point lead in the 450 class standings is the largest margin over 2nd place following 11 rounds of racing over the past two decades.  “I’m liking the position we’re in,” said Tomac.  “Thanks to the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha team.”  In 250cc class racing Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo placed 2nd, keeping him in 2nd place overall in the Eastern Supercross (ESX) standings.

MOTOGP 

Monster Energy landed an impressive 5 (five) racers in the top ten overall at Sunday’s Indonesian MotoGP. Reigning World Champion and No. 1 qualifier Fabio Quartararo nailed his first podium of the season, showcasing his talent on the rain-soaked Mandalika circuit through to 2nd place in the premier MotoGP class. Quartararo made a late-race surge and was closing in on first-place rider Miguel Oliveiro but he ran out of laps.  Quartararo was followed in the top ten by Monster Energy-backed Alex Rins and Joan Mir of Team SUZUKI ECSTAR, finishing in 5th and 6th, respectively.

In Moto2 class racing, Monster Energy had one on the box with Celestino Vietti (Mooney/VR46 Racing) placing 2nd and retaining his overall class points lead, while Monster’s Sam Lowes (ELF Marc/VDS Racing) was several seconds back in 4th. Interestingly, the Moto2 round in Indonesia was won by Thai racer Somkiat Chantra, the first-ever MotoGP series race win for a Thailand native.

FORMULA 1

For Formula 1 World Champion and Mercedes-Benz ace Lewis Hamilton, it was looking like a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s glossy and glittery Bahrain Grand Prix but during the final five laps, both Red Bull cars suffered mechanical issues that led them hobbling into the pits. As a result, elevating Hamilton and his Mercedes W13 Silver Arrow into what was an unlikely 183rd career podium finish. Hamilton used a late Safety Car and the double Red Bull retirement on the 3.363-mile, 15-turn circuit to his advantage to take P3, behind the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and one place ahead of new team Mercedes teammate George Russell. “Oh, for sure, we would not have expected to get a podium,” said Hamilton a few minutes removed from the podium celebration. “I woke up this morning hoping, super, super hoping that we would have a chance to fight, that we would have a car that’s better than we think. But we did struggle in the race. But George and I did a great job to get us third and fourth [which] I think is pretty remarkable given the problems that we have.” Next up for Monster Energy Mercedes-Benz wheelmen Lewis Hamilton and George Russell: The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and the glamorous Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

NASCAR 

Monster Energy’s Kurt Busch and the No. 45 team from 23XI Racing went to the newly refurbished 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway quad-oval aiming to control the whole race. In the end and after all was said on the high-speed Atlanta 25-degree banking, Busch needed a patched-up Toyota to accomplish that goal but did so with a third-place finish. “It was pretty wild out there with all the different setups and the draft. Pretty wild,” Busch said a few moments after climbing out of his Monster Energy Toyota at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. “We did what we could to patch up our damage; got caught up in one of the situations and that took us off of offense and put us on defense to just ride and find holes where we could. That was our main goal — to position ourselves with 20 to go and hold it wide-open at that point and see what we got, and we ended up third. The way our Monster team continues to not give up and learn from each situation — our main goal was to run all 500 miles, and the car has a couple of scratches on it, but we were out there for every run to gather data.” After picking up their first top-five finish a week ago at Phoenix Raceway, Busch earned points in the first stage at Atlanta, led four laps, and earned his best finish so far this season.

In the Xfinity series executing a brilliant move to the inside of race leader Ryan Sieg on the final lap of a second overtime period, Monster Energy driver Ty Gibbs took control of Saturday’s Nalley Cars 250 at high-speed Atlanta Motor Speedway and won by 0.178 seconds over runner-up finisher Austin Hill. In what was an outstanding winning performance, Gibbs overcame a mistake on pit road, where he overshot his pit stall, Gibbs rallied hard to run near the front as the race reached the end of regulation and moved into overtime.

MXGP

NEUQUÉN Patagonia-Argentina was the site of the third round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship and the MXGP of Patagonia. The MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina delivered, as it always does, with a massive, supercharged crowd of 39,000 fans keeping the atmosphere pumping all weekend. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing racers Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts both placed runner-up in the day’s MXGP and MX2 classifications, respectively. “It was a really good day and I’m really happy with it,” said Renaux after a solid day of racing. “We started slowly yesterday, but step-by-step I made some improvements on the track. Very solid start in the first race, I didn’t quite make the Fox Holeshot, but I was leading and got passed, but then that racer crashed, and I could lead again. In the end, I had some good battles with Tim Gajser, he really pushed me in that race but I’m really happy with it. Solid weekend, I am very happy.” 

Meanwhile, in the MX2 Grand Prix at Argentina, it was Monster Energy’s Jago Geerts powering his Yamaha YZ250F to an impressive runner-up finish, the Belgian posting up excellent 1-2 moto scores for second overall, and with the result, a solid lead in the fight for the 2022 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship.

FLAT TRACK

Progressive American Flat Track superstar Jared Mees and his No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750 rebounded like a champion with a convincing victory in Saturday night’s Mission Texas Half-Mile at Texas Motor Speedway. Monster Energy’s Mees looked virtually unbeatable all night long, a trend he continued once he dove underneath a quick-starting JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to take control of the Main Event while still in its opening stages. The defending champ pulled clear and cruised to the checkered flag, “It felt really good,” Mees said. “That Main Event was really hectic with all the lappers, but the Indian Motorcycle backed by Progressive Insurance worked awesome tonight. It was so hooked up. My guys are all working so hard. I really wanted to come in and have a good result today with the break we have coming up… I wanted this one bad.”

SNOWBOARDING

She just can’t be stopped! Zoi Sadowski-Synnott takes first place in the second stop of the 2022 TAE Natural Selection Tour snowboard contest. On the final day of the invite-only competition at Baldface Lodge in the Selkirk Mountains, Canada, the 21-year-old from Wanaka, New Zealand, claimed the win only weeks after taking home the Olympic gold medal in Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at Beijing 2022. “I just came back from the Olympics and had a pretty good time. I managed to come first in Slopestyle and second in Big Air. There was a lot of pressure leading up so I’m glad it's over and I can just ride pow,” said Sadowski-Synnott on competing in the Natural Selection Tour at Baldface Lodge.

We already have a new champ! Kokomo Murase takes first place in Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at the Audi SnowJam in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic. In the official World Cup event sanctioned by the International Ski Federation (FIS), the 17-year-old from Gifu, Japan, earned a dominant victory.   And she did! On the creative downhill course, Murase worked the rail with a switch backside boardslide pretzel into a backside 900 off the jump, Cab 720 mute grab, lipslide pretzel the kicker rail, and a huge frontside 1080 lien grab at the bottom. At 89.25 points, she finished 13.00 points ahead of the next competitor for a dominant victory. She now ranks first in FIS World Cup Slopestyle and has secured the Crystal Globe win in overall Women’s Park & Pipe rankings.  “I’m so happy, I did my best in riding this competition and I‘m very happy I won,” said Murase.

FREESKI

Another podium finish!  Alex Hall takes second place in Tom Wallisch’s Steel City Showdown 2022 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Pennsylvania, this weekend. In the progressive Freeski event contested on rail obstacles, the 23-year-old Olympic gold medalist from Park City, Utah, rose all the way to the podium in an elite field of invited riders.