Ken Roczen looks to extend his eight-point lead over Eli Tomac when the Monster Energy Supercross Series heads into RingCentral Coliseum Oakland, Calif. Saturday night for Round 5.
After finishing second or third six times in 2019 without winning, Roczen has now won two of the first four races of 2020 and appears to be in control of the season. Last week’s overall win at Glendale with a sweep of the three races served notice that he is much stronger and more focused this year. With his effort, Roczen became the first rider to sweep a 450 Triple Crown event.
Tomac won a critical Round 3, however, and has a penchant for overcoming deficits, so he cannot be discounted. He finished fourth at Oakland last year.
Meanwhile last year’s champion Cooper Webb is 20 points out of the lead and desperately needs a podium to stop his slide.
Last year Webb’s win at Oakland preceded his championship. In 2018 Jason Anderson also won Oakland before taking the championship, so this race could be pivotal.
Blake Baggett will look to extend his league-leading streak of starts this week. At Glendale, he made his 57th straight main. Baggett stood on the Oakland podium last year with a third.
Tomac is second on the active list with 36.
Austin Forkner has had an uneven start to his season, but he keeps bouncing back with wins in alternating weeks. He made a statement at Glendale with dominant wins in the first two races and has an opportunity to finally gain some momentum in Oakland.
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Cameron McAdoo is expected to return to action at Oakland after sustaining a collapsed lung in a crash at St. Louis.
Glendale proved to be a critical race for injuries, Chris Blose crashed in the third race of the Triple Crown in the whoops. He sustained multiple injuries including a concussion, liver damage, a hip injury and one to his arm. Despite the multiple injuries, Blose would like to return before the season concludes.
Blose is joined on the concussion protocol by Justin Bogle and Benny Bloss.
Bogle crashed in the second race. Bloss crashed in qualification. Both riders expect to return before the Supercross season is over.
Deven Raper sprained an ankle in practice before Glendale. He will not race in Oakland.
Christian Craig sustained a hand injury in a Glendale crash and will miss at least the next two weeks.
Schedule:
Qualifying: 2:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Gold
Race: 8:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Gold and NBCSN
Last Week:
Ken Roczen beat Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson in the 450 class.
Austin Forkner beat Dylan Ferrandis and Michael Mosiman in the 250 class.
Last Oakland race (January, 2019):
Cooper Webb beat Marvin Musquin and Blake Baggett in the 450 class.
Adam Cianciarulo beat Dylan Ferrandis and Colt Nichols in the 250 class.
Points Leaders
450s:
Ken Roczen (92)
Eli Tomac (84)
Justin Barcia (81)
Jason Anderson (78)
Cooper Webb (72)
250 West:
Justin Cooper (86)
Dylan Ferrandis (83)
Brandon Hartranft (77)
Austin Forkner (76)
Alex Martin (66)
Wins
450
(2) Ken Roczen (St. Louis and Glendale)
(1) Justin Barcia (Anaheim 1)
(1) Eli Tomac (Anaheim 2)
250 West
(2) Austin Forkner (St. Louis and Glendale)
(1) Justin Cooper (Anaheim 1)
(1) Dylan Ferrandis (Anaheim 2)
Top-5s
450
(4) Jason Anderson
(3) Ken Roczen
(3) Eli Tomac
(3) Cooper Webb
(3) Justin Barcia
(2) Zach Osborne
(1) Adam Cianciarulo
(1) Blake Baggett
250 West
(3) Justin Cooper
(3) Austin Forkner
(3) Dylan Ferrandis
(3) Michael Mosiman
(3) Brandon Hartranft
(2) Alex Martin
(1) Christian Craig
(1) Jett Lawrence
(1) Jacob Hayes
