Following an action packed night of Monster Energy supercross inside Toronto’s Rogers Centre, Ken Roczen and Justin Hill have collected victories and gained valuable points towards their championship quests.
As the gate dropped for the 450cc main event, drama would immediately unfold as Australian hero Chad Reed had a heavy crash on the start straight, seeing his night come to an abrupt end.
Geico Honda’s Justin Bogle gained the holeshot award, only to mistime the opening rhythm section and have a massive crash with a charging field right behind him.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson would inadvertently run into Bogle’s stray motorcycle in the incident, and would also go down along with multiple other riders.
Meanwhile at the front of the field making it through the opening lap pandemonium was series points leader Ryan Dungey, who was pursued heavily by the in-form trio of Eli Tomac, Roczen and Marvin Musquin.
The four would swap positions multiple times in the early stages, with Roczen gaining the upper hand by lap two. Roczen would go on to put together 18 perfect laps, and capture his third victory of 2016.
Second place went to 450cc class freshman Musquin, with his Red Bull KTM team-mate Dungey in third.
Dungey’s third place marked his 26th consecutive 450cc supercross podium since January 2015, which surpasses the previous record held by Reed during the 2003-2004 seasons.
HRC Honda’s Cole Seely put in a strong ride following a pair of 10th place finishes at the two rounds prior, earning a fourth place ahead of Tomac who faded to fifth.
BTO Sports KTM’s Justin Brayton continued his impressive season with a sixth place, followed by the second HRC Honda of Trey Canard in seventh and JGR Yamaha’s Weston Peick in eighth.
Jason Anderson finished an incredible ninth place following his first-lap crash, leading home RCH Suzuki’s Jake Weimer in 10th.
Following a shock announcement during the lead up to Toronto that 250cc series points leader, Martin Davalos, would sit the Canadian round out due to ‘personal issues’ meant the series points lead was completely up for grabs.
As the gate dropped for the 250 main event, title contenders Malcolm Stewart, Jeremy Martin, Aaron Plessinger and RJ Hampshire were all caught up in a huge first-turn pile up that took down half the field.
Making it through the carnage and leading the field were a pair of Troy Lee Designs KTM riders in the form of Shane Mcelrath and Justin Hill. Hill would pass his team-mate early in the main and go on to win by a staggering 20-second margin.
Martin put in a phenomenal performance that would see the Star Racing Yamaha rider charge from dead last off the start to second place by race end.
Third place went to Suzuki’s Matt Bisceglia, followed by 250cc rookie Alexander Frye and privateer Jesse Wentland in fourth and fifth respectively.
Stewart also put in a huge charge throughout the main event, salvaging a sixth place finish and 15 valuable points towards the series championship.
Rock River Yamaha’s Benny Bloss finished seventh, trailed by Gannon Audette in eighth and Paul Coates in ninth.
Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki outfit continued to struggle in the 2016 250 series, with riders Arnaud Tonus and Tyler Bowers finishing a lowly 10th and 11th.
Dungey continues to lead the 450 championship with 233 points, followed by Roczen with 199 and Jason Anderson with 175.
Martin now heads the 250cc East series with 65 points, followed by Toronto winner Hill with 63 and Stewart with 55.
Monster Energy supercross now heads to Detroit’s Ford Field for Round 11 of the championship next weekend.
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