Jason Anderson won his third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross race and the sixth of the season in Round 16 in Denver, Colorado but Eli Tomac’s fifth-place finish provided all the points needed to win the 2022 championship.
Anderson took the race lead from Tomac on Lap 6 and didn’t look back as he rode away from the field and beat Malcolm Stewart to the line by almost 14 seconds.
Tomac would like to have won in front of his home state crowd to earn the championship in dramatic fashion. He led Laps 4 and 5 after Chase Sexton rode wide in a turn, hooked a ridge and crashed. That was enough to excite the grandstands, but it was not enough to get away from Anderson.
After getting passed by Anderson, Tomac decided to ride a safe race since all he needed to secure his second Supercross the title was a finish of 14th or better. Riding a mistake-free race, he fell to fifth at the end, but that was enough to give him a 35-point lead heading into the finale. The most a rider can earn in a round is 26 points. Tomac’s first title came in 2020.
After the race, Tomac revealed he injured his knee in his Atlanta heat and has been riding hurt in the last three features.
Congratulations to the six-time #DAYTONASX Champion, @elitomac on winning the 450SX @SupercrossLIVE Championship! 🏆 https://t.co/CNnaHhidFD
— Daytona International Speedway (@DAYTONA) April 30, 2022
RESULTS: Click here for 450 Results; Click here for 250 results
Stewart’s second-place finish in the feature moved him to third in the standings. The battle for the third-place position is being tightly contested by Stewart, Justin Barcia and Marvin Musquin and currently only eight points separate the trio.
Musquin finished third in the Denver feature for his fifth podium in the past six rounds.
Click here Heat 1 results | Heat 2 | LCQ
Sexton recovered from his early crash and finished fourth in the main. With the Denver hole shot, Sexton tied Cooper Webb for the most through Round 16.
Webb finished sixth. A crash in Detroit kicked off a five-race string of results fourth through sixth for the defending champion. Webb sits seventh in the championship.
Among the three riders vying for third in the points, Barcia finished worst at Denver as the final rider on the lead lap in seventh.
Click here for Round 16 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points | Lap Chart
The celebration is underway at the @StarRacingYam truck 😎 🍾 #SupercrossLIVE @MonsterEnergy @YamahaMotorUSA @elitomac pic.twitter.com/kKg3Psd7CX
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
As with the 450 class title chaser Anderson, Hunter Lawrence won his third consecutive race in 250 West, but he has been able to push the championship battle to the season finale. Lawrence has swept the podium in all but one race this year. A crash and 18th-place finish in Anaheim 3 could be the difference between winning the title and finishing second.
Lawrence trails Christian Craig by 18 points entering the final round in Salt Lake City, which will be an East/West Shootout for the 250 riders
With Jett Lawrence securing the 250 East title in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Tomac winning the 450 championship in Denver, there will be three titlist crowned in three rounds.
3️⃣ in a row for @HunterLawrencee as he takes the 250SX West championship battle to the finals in SLC 👀#SupercrossLIVE @HondaPowersprts pic.twitter.com/zTRTjeRpFl
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 30, 2022
Click here Heat 1 results | Heat 2 | LCQ
With his runner-up finish in Denver, Michael Mosiman still has a shot at finishing second in the standings if Hunter stumbles. This was Mosiman’s fifth podium of the season.
Craig pressured Lawrence in the opening laps of the race. For the first five circuits, he stalked the leader and showed him his front fender on several occasions. A bad landing in the sand dropped him to the ground and sixth in the running order before he rebounded to take the final spot on the podium and keep a perfect record of top-three finishes alive.
Jo Shimoda finished fourth for the third straight race. He is currently tied for fourth in the standings with Vince Friese.
Rounding out the top five was Garrett Marchbanks, who earned his fourth top-five of the season.
Friese finished just outside that mark in sixth.
Click here for 250 West Overall results | 250 West Rider Points | 250 Rider East/West Points Combined | Lap Chart
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 1 AT ANAHEIM: Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb renew rivalry with 1-2 finish
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 2 AT OAKLAND: Jason Anderson wins, Roczen struggles to tighten points’ standings
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 3 AT SAN DIEGO: First time wins for Chase Sexton (450s) and Michael Mosiman (250s)
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 4 AT ANAHEIM: Eli Tomac solidifies points’ lead with first win of season
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 5 AT GLENDALE: Tomac is first rider to repeat in 2022
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 6 AT ANAHEIM: Anderson ties Tomac with two wins in 2022
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 7 AT MINNEAPOLIS: Anderson makers it three, closes in on Tomac
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 8 AT ARLINGTON: Tomac wins the overall and takes maximum points, Anderson wins two features
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 9 AT DAYTONA: History made: Tomac is winningest Daytona rider
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 10 AT DETROIT: Tomac makes it three in a row and takes sole possession of fifth on winners list
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 11 AT INDIANAPOLIS: Justin Barcia moves to second after controversial race
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 12 AT SEATTLE: Tomac’s streak continues with fifth straight win
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 13 AT ST LOUIS: Marvin Musquin gets first win of 2022 in Triple Crown format
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 14 AT ATLANTA: Anderson keeps pressure on Tomac with win
POINTS, RESULTS AFTER ROUND 15 AT FOXBOROUGH: Two in a row for Anderson pushes title chase to Denver