Indianapolis Supercross - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Indianapolis always provides one of the roughest tracks of the season, and this year was no exception. The track was gnarly by the time the main events rolled around which provided some great racing for us spectators. There were plenty of crashes, nice passes, and surprises to go along with the rough track. We saw a first time winner in the 250 class, a first time podium for former privateer Gannon Audette, and a title contender crash out in the 250 class. Meanwhile, the 450 class saw another heated battle between Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen. Dungey took the win, but Roczen applied some heavy pressure the entire main event. With that being said, let's get into the best and the worst of Indianapolis.

250 Class:

The Good: Aaron Plessinger | 1st Place

Aaron put in a great ride to grab his first career Supercross win. He's also put himself in a great position to sneak up on Malcolm Stewart and steal the championship away from him. He's ten points down, but his Indy ride could ignite a win streak which would make this 250 East region even more exciting than it already is. He's got the speed, so if he gets some good starts over the next few rounds it could definitely happen. Also, a little side note, his first Pro Motocross overall and Supercross win both happened in Indiana. He must really like the dirt there!

The Bad: Matt Bisceglia | 13th Place

Matt got injured before the season started so I expected his results to get better as the season progressed. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.. He got a podium in Toronto which was a step in the right direction, but he has followed it up with two finishes outside the top ten. This is definitely not the season I expected out of him despite a pre-season injury. He's just looked... off. His qualifying has been borderline terrible, his heat races have been unimpressive, and his main events have been disappointing. I'm not sure if it's the bike, lingering injuries, or personal issues, but he really needs to figure it out before the season ends.

The Ugly: Jeremy Martin | 21st Place

This year is Jeremy Martin's last shot at a 250 Supercross title as he's expected to move up to a top tier 450 team next year. It was looking good after Daytona, but a rough Detroit main event made things look not so peachy. Then the wheels (er, handle bars?) fell off this past weekend in Indianapolis. Jeremy cased the table in the rhythm section and went down hard. He was fine, but his bike was done for the night. On the bright side, it appears Jeremy did greatly improve his Supercross skills leading up to this season. Unfortunately, he still made some costly mistakes that have pretty much doused his chances of winning the title this year.

450 Class:

The Good: Blake Baggett | 5th Place

I couldn't have been the only person very impressed with Blake's performance this past weekend. He's had a rough season so far with lingering injuries and mediocre rides. But coming into Indy he said that he pretty much changed everything about his bike. Clearly this was the right decision as he looked much more like the Blake Baggett we saw last year. Granted, the rough track probably did play into his favor, but I expect to see him inside the top ten for the rest of the season.

The Bad: Championship chase is essentially over.

As fans, we all want a close championship chase towards the end of the season, but that hasn't been the case for several years now. Ryan Villopoto dominated for a bit and now Ryan Dungey has replaced him as the dominate rider. I feel like Dungey will get more of a challenge from Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, and others during the upcoming outdoor nationals. But he's just on another level when it comes to consistency, aggression, and speed in Supercross this year. Luckily, Ken Roczen has been able to challenge him lately, and I hope he comes out swinging in 2017 so the championship isn't over ten races in.

The Ugly: Justin Barcia | 15th Place

Justin is a hard rider to figure out. He struggled badly at in the beginning of 2015 Supercross and eventually got injured. Then he caught fire during the 2015 Pro Motocross championship and even represented the USA at the Motocross of Nations. His speed and confidence at the end of last year made him my pick as a dark horse coming into the season. But it hasn't gone well. He struggled at the first few rounds, like 2015, and then pulled out due to an injury. He's since come back from the injury and is still on the struggle bus. He's had crashes, run in with riders, and arm pump since his return to racing. You could blame part of this on his relatively short recovery time from his injury and surgery, but I still expect him to be a shoe in for top ten results even when he's not 100%... he's not a fifteenth place rider. He is one of the highest paid riders after all. I hope he puts in a few solid rides in these last few rounds before we head outdoors where he seems more comfortable on the Yamaha.

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