As the sports world continues to sift through various scenarios for a return to racing, NBC Sports’ analyst Ricky Carmichael is sure of one thing. This year’s Supercross championship will go down in the books as one of the most memorable.
“Whichever rider wins this Monster Energy Supercross championship in that 450 class will probably be known as the hardest Supercross championship ever to win,” Carmichael told Ralph Sheheen in a stay at home interview last week.
Click on the video above for the complete interview.
When the COVID-19 shutdown hit the pause button, Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen were virtually tied for the points lead. Tomac has a three-point advantage, which is the difference between one first- and one second-place finish.
Cooper Webb is nearly 30 points behind the leader, but the break might provide him an opportunity to heal from an accident at Arlington earlier this year. Webb did not miss a race, but was sore in the following weeks.
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It also gives Webb a chance to utilize training techniques from Aldon Baker, who may be his ace in the hole.
“I really feel like the top two guys, Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen, better look out for Cooper Webb, and I’ll tell you why,” Carmichael said. “It’s because now he’s had time to get healthy and I’ assuming he’s going to make it through the outdoor motocross championship. This could be the break that he needed. Then you’ve got his teammate Marvin Musquin is going to be back. You know the Red Bull / KTM team is going to put him back in to help (Webb).
“And if Cooper Webb can get on a heater, anything can happen. It’s been a lot of chaos this season, it really has. It’s not going to be easy for him, but this break definitely didn’t hurt him. I think he’s the benefactor of this break.”