Anderson holds on to second in AMA title race
By Team TMX on 1st Feb 16
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team had their work cut out for them on Saturday at the fourth round of the AMA Supercross series, held at the O.Co Coliseum in Oakland.
Jason Anderson, Christophe Pourcel, and Zach Osborne all had to work their way through the pack after pulling mid-pack starts during the night, with Anderson charging all the way up to a fourth-place finish in the 450 main.
Jason Anderson was coming off a fifth-place finish at the previous round and was motivated to improve upon those results in Oakland. After getting shuffled to the back of the pack on the start of his heat race, he charged his way up to a transfer position before getting hit by another rider for the spot, forcing him to race the semi. Anderson pulled a top-four start in the semi before making a quick pass for the lead in lap three and taking the win for a transfer position to the main. He got a mid-pack start in the main, but he immediately started flying through the pack. He rocketed from 11th to 6th by the halfway mark and began to stalk the top-five to improve his race position. He navigated his Husqvarna FC 450 into fifth with four laps to go, before making an aggressive pass for fourth shortly thereafter. He held strong to finish the race in fourth.
"I rode great this weekend,” said Anderson. "I came out with a 4th in the main. If I could just get a good start I could be battling for a spot on the box. I had a little bit of a sketchy moment with Reed on the double triple double. I thought he was going to go triple and I clipped his back tire and almost looped it. All in all I came out fourth so it's not a bad deal. I'm just going to keep moving forward.”
Zach Osborne qualified second fastest during afternoon practice qualifying sessions, and was poised to have a successful night. He pulled a mid-pack start in his heat and made it up to fifth before stalling the bike and getting hit while trying to avoid another rider. He got going again around the 15th place position and started charging. He improved his finishing position all the way to 7th and earned his transfer position to the main. He got a top-five start in the main before finding himself in 13th after going down while trying to make a pass. He made his way up to 7th with four laps to go and was flying through the pack. He knocked off two more positions aboard his Husqvarna FC 250 before finishing the night in 5th.
"I started the night by crashing in my heat race,” said Osborne. "It was a tough night. I actually got a decent in the main, but ended up making an impatient pass and went down on the third lap. I came back to fifth. It's a little bit of a bummer because I could have taken advantage of Cooper's misfortune. I'm now only five points out of the points lead instead of 18th, which is where I was coming into this round, so it's not that bad. I just have to keep charging.”
Christophe Pourcel had a difficult night. After finishing 8th in his heat he was forced to vie for a spot in the main by way of the 450 semi. He went down shortly after the start of the semi and was then forced to race the LCQ for a transfer spot. He lined up far on the outside in the LCQ before making some impressive moves. He passed three riders in the final lap to finish third and transfer to the main. Pourcel pulled a mid-pack start in the main, but fell back to 20th by the second lap. He started charging ahead and eventually finished the race in 14th.
"I was pretty fast in practice,” said Pourcel. "After four races it's nice because now I know I have the speed. Racing was still tough tonight, though. I got a bad start in the first heat. I lined up all the way on the outside in the LCQ, so I had to be smart. I almost crashed a few times in the first lap, but I still made the main. I felt pretty good for 20 laps in the main. I charged to the front but made a mistake and crashed. Hopefully I can be ready to battle for the front after Daytona.”
