Supercross 2021: Results and points standings after Round 15 at Atlanta

By Apr 17, 2021, 10:57 PM EDT
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The Round 15 results of the Monster Energy Supercross season will show that the first, second and third-place riders in the 2021 championship ended in precisely those positions, but the race held much more drama than statistics reveal.

Cooper Webb won his seventh race of the season after falling back to third early in the going while Roczen momentarily had the points lead down to eight markers. But there is a reason the points aren’t counted until the end.

Roczen got the lead early and for the first half of the race he was in his own zip code. A mistake in the whoops sent him to the ground, trimmed seven seconds off his lead, bent his handlebars slightly and robbed him of momentum.

With time running off the clock, Webb caught and passed Roczen. Webb bobbled on the last lap but would not be denied. He extended his points’ lead to 16 with two rounds remaining at Salt Lake City.

Roczen finished second. For a rider who does not have a history of challenging for podiums late in the season, his three such finishes in the last four races is notable.

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

Eli Tomac crossed under the checkers third and kept his mathematical challenge for the championship alive as the series heads to a high altitude venue. Tomac excels on that type of track since much of his training is done around Denver, Colo.

Aaron Plessinger grabbed the holeshot – his second of the season – but Roczen passed him early. It took a while for Webb and then Tomac to get around as Plessinger tried to hold off his challengers.

Justin Barcia rounded out the top five.

Malcom Stewart in sixth, Dylan Ferrandis in seventh, Dean Wilson in eighth, Marvin Musquin in ninth and Chase Sexton rounded out the top 10

Click here for Round 15 450 Main results | 450 Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

For the second week, a Lap 1 red flag attempted to deny Justin Cooper the holeshot.

Last Tuesday Cameron McAdoo had a hard crash on the tunnel jump and a stoppage was required to get him down from the obstacle. McAdoo crashed again Saturday night after Cooper once more earned the holeshot.

With another complete restart in the books, Cooper grabbed the holeshot again. He would not hold onto the race lead this time, but as problems continued for McAdoo, he all-but locked up the 250 West championship. Cooper enters the final race of the season – an East/West Showdown at Salt Lake City – with a 20-point advantage over Hunter Lawrence and 22 ahead of McAdoo.

Incredibly, Nate Thrasher won his second 250 West race in the last three attempts after being forced to advance through the Last Chance Qualifier each time. On the restart, Thrasher followed Cooper to the front of the pack and passed him easily. With a clean track ahead of him, Thrasher built and maintained a 6.7 second lead.

Cooper finished second, which is his fourth straight first- or second-place finish. He has been perfect in regard to top-fives in eight rounds.

Seth Hammaker bobbled in the rhythm section after the restart, causing McAdoo to run up on him and knock the back fender off the No. 150 Kawasaki. McAdoo crashed. Hammaker recovered to finish third.

Lawrence crashed early in the race after getting pinched off course by McAdoo. That actually may have been a blessing in disguise as it put him far enough behind the Hammaker/McAdoo incident that he was able to rid around the crash.

Kyle Peters rounded out the top five.

Last week McAdoo put in one of the gutsiest performances of the season after crashing in the opening lap of Round 14. The hits kept coming in Round 15. He posted fast times in practice before a hard get-off reawakened his injuries. McAdoo rode gingerly in his heat and narrowly qualified for the Main.

McAdoo’s start to the Main got off to another rough start. He drifted wide, hit a Tuff Blox and went down in the middle of traffic. Chris Blose clipped his helmet with a back tire, rocking McAdoo once more. The red flag was displayed for the second consecutive race for an incident involving the rider of the No. 31.

Blose went down hard. He was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

But McAdoo’s woes weren’t over: When Hammaker got wobbly through the rhythm section he bunched the field behind him. Challenging for a top-five position, McAdoo ran up on the incident and hit the ground for the third time. Moments later, McAdoo was cleaned out by Garrett Marchbanks.

McAdoo could not overcome this incident. He dropped to the back of the pack and could only rally to 13th when the checkers waved.

Click here for 250 West Main results | 250 Rider Points

Next Up: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 24.

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 1 AT HOUSTON: Justin Barcia, Christian Craig take early lead

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 2 AT HOUSTON: Eli Tomac closes gap, Jett Lawrence wins his first

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 3 AT HOUSTON: Ken Roczen earns one-point margin; Colt Nichols, Christian Craig share 250 lead

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 4 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen wins to extend points margin, Colt Nichols doubles down

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 5 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen makes it two in a row; Colt Nichols threepeats

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 6 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Ken Roczen continues to roll; Christian Craig stops Colt Nichols

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 7 AT ORLANDO: Cooper Webb gets second win as Jett Lawrence also doubles

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 8 AT ORLANDO: Cooper Webb wins again to close the gap on Ken Roczen

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 9 AT DAYTONA: Eli Tomac gets back in contention with fifth Daytona win

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 10 AT ARLINGTON: The Battle of words between Webb and Roczen ends with Webb win

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 11 AT ARLINGTON: Cooper Webb two-for-two in Arlington; Hunter Lawrence wins first 250

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 12 AT ARLINGTON: Cooper Webb gets second residency sweep with perfect Arlington effort

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 13 AT ATLANTA: Eli Tomac surges to second win on NASCAR infield course

POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 14 AT ATLANTA: Ken Roczen isn’t done yet; Justin Cooper extends 250 lead

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).