Indy SX - Rider Comments

Posted on March 13, 2023

The best indoor races had another round of the AMA supercross championship in Indianapolis last weekend and while it was Ken Roczen who won the 450 class, it is Cooper Webb who is looking more and more like the 2023 champion.

Ken Roczen: It is so hard to describe. I have had many wins in my career, but this one is right at the top. We had many critics and a lot of people said it can't happen, but we never caved in. This night I have dreamt of for many, many months. It seemed so far away, my starts were not good and I wasn’t even near the podium. To pull this one off, on a track like this tonight, I have to let this settle in and I don’t want to let this get to my head. I can’t be thinking this is going to happen every single weekend. Me and my team are going to enjoy this and train hard. It is so tough out there and if you don’t get the start, its very difficult, fortunately tonight I did get my starts. This was one of the roughest track I have ever ridden. This was such a accomplishment, I have to let it settle in.

Cooper Webb: “To come away from Indy with the red plate is a great accomplishment. It’s still tight, but it was a great night for the points battle. Looking at my actual race, I’m a bit disappointed, as even though I was in the mix, we didn’t execute to race for the win. It’s a long season and tonight was about finding that balance between risk and reward because the track was so brutal. I lost a bit of pace at the end, but we’ll take this result and move on to the next round with the red plate.”

Justin Barcia: “Great practice, P4, which was awesome. In the heat race I charged hard and got the win which was even more awesome. In the main event I didn't get a great start, but I charged through the pack and came up to second. It was just some great riding, and the crew did a great job today...the bike was on point. A podium was awesome, and we are looking forward to Detroit.”

Eli Tomac: “It was a tough one today. The track was pretty gnarly, and we just struggled to find our comfort zone all day. We did our best to salvage some points. We’ll put this one behind us and come back next weekend in Detroit.”

Jason Anderson: My night was similar to last week. I was okay in the heat race and in the main I kind of just rode in my place and finished P5. Not what we want, but it is a top five and we head to Detroit. Detroit really depends, sometimes it can be hard pack and sometimes soft.

Adam Cianciarulo: Bascially there wasn't one thing happen to my wrist and I had things in the past and that doesn't make it easier. It got more and more sore and at Arlington I didn't feel safe riding and it was a hard decision not to race and take a couple of weeks off. I am proud of myself, because in the past I would have raced and I took some time and got some stuff done. I am wearing a brace. I rode mid-week, but I am so happy with my might. Never been so stoked for a sixth place. It has been difficult with injuries.

Hunter Lawrence: It was pretty wild. My first time racing at Indy and I let it come to me. I tried to figure out how it will break down and it broke down early. It was cool. We put a lot of work in outdoors and that is where things fell apart. We put a lot of work in and fixed some things. It is cool to see it all pan out after Pala last year, because my starts sucked. We did 30 starts a day, all the way up to Nations. it works well when you practice starts with Jett, because he is really good in starts.

Aaron Plessinger: “I love coming to Indianapolis and it was a fun day, all-in-all. I felt good in my Heat and was able to make the pass for second in the whoops, which had me feeling confident going into the Main Event. I got off to a mediocre start in the Main, but I tried to ride smart and pushed my way to fourth, where I stayed for the rest of the race. After last weekend’s disappointing ninth result, I wanted to get back up there this weekend and get that momentum back, and I felt like I did that tonight. On to the next one!”

Christian Craig: “Indy started out pretty good. The track was gnarly all day...super-rutted. I felt like I rode pretty good throughout the whole day and made some little changes here and there. I was able to ride consistently and make the least mistakes possible. I got a bad start in the main and just picked my way through. I got up to eighth and made a pass toward the end and almost got sixth. I felt like I made improvements on my bike and myself and things are clicking. So, we'll keep pushing forward for next week.

Talon Hawkins: "It was pretty good. There's a lot to take away from these. I'm learning so much at these Supercross races. I know I say that every time, but there's good to take from every single race that I've done so far. It's just a matter of putting it all together. I'm looking forward to hopefully doing that in Detroit. I've got some work to do, and we're going to get back on that training program right on Monday. Keep grinding away, and try to make something happen this next weekend."

Tom Vialle: “An eighth-place result isn’t my best result and I could’ve done better, but I had a bad start in the Main Event. I felt like I had a good rhythm and pace over the first few laps as I passed a few guys up to seventh, but then I had a small crash where I lost a lot of time. I’ve never ridden Supercross on dirt like that, and I’m learning a lot about racing different tracks and dirt this year. I need to improve and get more experience, but that will only come with more races. I feel like my speed is there, but I need to put it all together – I feel like it’s only a matter of time before I get a podium result.”

Nate Thrasher: “It was a good race. I wish I could have got a little better start there and got up front and led some laps, but it was good all in all. We’re close. We’ll just keep fighting and be a little bit better. I think we can get some more wins and hopefully get back in this championship.”

Jordon Smith: “It was a good day overall. I was really good in qualifying all day and won the heat race. In the main event, it just took me a little bit too long to kind of get the track down and get the right lines. It’s always good to be on the podium, but we want more. We want that win, so we’ll keep working for it, and it will come.”

Haiden Deegan: “Indy was one of the gnarliest tracks that I have raced. I was adapting well in the main but then made a mistake in the whoops. This race was a big learning experience, and I’m happy to be able to learn these tracks a year early to be more prepared for next year. I’m also happy to be out of here healthy and move on to Detroit.”