Block scores third win in five Red Bull GRC races in first Detroit race - MotorSportsTalk

Ken Block made it three-of-five in the Red Bull Global Rallycross season in the first of two races at Detroit. The full report from the series is below:

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Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block earned his record-setting sixth career Red Bull Global Rallycross victory in Detroit on Saturday, passing Patrik Sandell in the race’s late stages to further extend his Supercar points lead. Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver Scott Speed and Red Bull Olsbergs MSE driver Sebastian Eriksson completed the podium, while Chip Ganassi Racing’s Brian Deegan and fellow Red Bull OMSE driver Joni Wiman completed the top five.

“It was quite an eventful time!” Block said after the race. “I was happy with second place and taking home some good points, but I ended up with the win. I’m the all-time winningest GRC driver now with six wins, so that’s pretty cool. I’m really stoked—that’s just a testament to how hard my team and I work.”

Block and Sandell each won both of their heat races to set up a face-off in the final, with the Swedish driver muscling past to take an early, and sizable, lead. But with three laps to go, the Bryan Herta Rallysport car encountered a mechanical issue, allowing the field to drive past him.

“I was so focused on getting a good start that I just braked a bit late to make sure that I had the momentum to get through the first corner, and it took me a little wide,” Block explained. “Patrik got around me on the inside. He was pulling away from me a little bit, but then I saw some smoke and some fire from his car. I don’t know what happened, but I just had to find the right spot to get by him and make sure people didn’t catch up to me.”

In GRC Lites, points leader Tanner Whitten took the first victory of his career for DirtFish Motorsports. Miles Maroney earned the best finish of his career for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, passing Austin Cindric for the second position on the final lap. Cindric completed the podium, his third of the year for OMSE.

Unofficial Red Bull Global Rallycross Detroit I Supercar results are as follows:

1. Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
2. Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
3. Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
4. Brian Deegan, #38 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
5. Joni Wiman, #31 Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST
6. Austin Dyne, #14 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST
7. Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
8 Nelson Piquet Jr., #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST
9. Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST
10. Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
11. Bucky Lasek, #81 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI
12. Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru Rally Team USA WRX STI

Red Bull Global Rallycross action from Detroit continues on Sunday with round six of the championship for both Supercar and GRC Lites. Sunday’s action will be broadcast live on NBC at 4:30PM ET.

The final results from the Monster Energy Supercross race in Seattle suggests the season is turning into a two-rider battle as Eli Tomac scored his sixth win of the season to tie Cooper Webb for the points’ lead and Chase Sexton crashed in yet another race.

Tomac downplayed the neck strain that caused him to lose the red plate for two weeks, but without that holding him back, it would appear it might have been a bigger problem than he admitted. Despite finishing on the podium in Detroit, Tomac has not shown the late-race strength everyone has come to expect. He was in a slump after scoring a season-worst in Indianapolis and described his sixth win as a “bounce back”.

With this win, Tomac tied James Stewart for second on the all-time list with 50 career Supercross victories. Six rounds remain and there is no sign that Tomac is slowing down. Jeremy McGrath’s 72 wins remains untouchable, for the moment at least.

RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Overall Results; Click here for 250 Overall Results

Cooper Webb was disappointed with second-place, but he recognized the Supercross results at Seattle could have been much worse. He rode in fifth for the first nine laps of the race, behind Tomac and Sexton. When Sexton crashed from the lead and Tomac took the top spot, Webb knew he could not afford to give up that many points and so he dug deep and found enough points to share the red plate when the series returns in two weeks in Glendale, Arizona for a Triple Crown event.

Justin Barcia scored his third podium of the season, breaking out of a threeway tie of riders who have not been the presumed favorites to win the championship. Barcia scored the podium without drama or controversy. It was his fourth consecutive top-five and his 10th straight finish of eighth or better.

Click here for 450 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart

Jason Anderson kept his perfect record of top-10s alive with a fourth-place finish. Tied for fourth in the standings and 49 out of the lead, his season has been like a death of a thousand cuts. He’s ridden exceptionally well, but the Big Three have simply been better.

Sexton rebounded from his fall to finish fifth. He entered the race 17 points out of the lead and lost another five in Seattle. Mistakes have cost Sexton 22 points in the last three races and that is precisely how far he is behind Tomac and Webb. Unless those two riders bobble, this deficit cannot overcome.

The rider who ties Anderson for fourth in the points, Ken Roczen finished just outside the top five in sixth after he battled for a podium position early in the race.

Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

The 250 West riders got back in action after four rounds of sitting on the sideline and Jett Lawrence picked up where he left of: in Victory Lane. Lawrence now has four wins and a second-place finish in five rounds. One simply doesn’t get close to perfection than that.

Between them, the Lawrence brothers have won all but two races though 11 rounds. Jett failed to win the Anaheim Triple Crown and Hunter Lawrence failed to win the Arlington Triple Crown format in the 250 East division. In two weeks, the series has their final Triple Crown race in Glendale. When he was reminded of this from the top of the Seattle podium, Jett replied, “oof”.

Click here for 250 Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Last Chance Qualifier | Lap Chart

RJ Hampshire finished second in the race and is second in the points. This is fourth time in five rounds that Hampshire finished second to Lawrence. If not for a crash-induced 11th-place finish in the Arlington Triple Crown, he would be much closer in the points standings. With that poor showing, he is 23 points behind Lawrence.

Cameron McAdoo made a lot of noise in his heat. Riding aggressively beside Larwence, the two crashed in the preliminary. McAdoo could never seem to get away from Hampshire in the Main and as the two battled, the leader got away. It would have been interesting to see how they would have raced head-to-head when points were on the line.

Click here for 250 Overall results | 250 West Rider Points | 250 Combined Rider Points

The Supercross results in Seattle were kind to a couple of riders on the cusp of the top five. Enzo Lopes scored his second top-five and fourth top-10 of the season after crossing the finish line fourth in Seattle.

Tying his best finish of the season for the third time, Max Vohland kept his perfect record of top-10s alive. Vohland is seventh in the points.

2023 Results

Round 11: Eli Tomac bounces back with sixth win
Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized
Round 9: Ken Roczen wins
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Tomac, H Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Tomac, J Lawrence win
Round 1: Tomac, J Lawrence win