Atlas Report: Oakland

Monster Energy Supercross vacated Southern California for the first time this past weekend, as the series travelled north to Oakland for the fourth fixture on the 2016 calendar. Dean Wilson was unfortunately out of action, after undergoing surgery on a torn ACL, but Jason Anderson, Lawson Bopping and Chris Howell entered the O.Co Coliseum with their Atlas braces.

Bad starts, unfortunately, hindered Anderson again, although the speed was there for everyone to see. ‘21’ came up just short of a transfer spot in his heat race, but went on to dominate his semi and secure a good gate pick for the 450SX main event. After starting just outside of the top ten on lap one, he quickly got to work and was on the cusp of the top five by the halfway point.

Jason Anderson

Jason managed to advance further in the closing stages – he eventually crossed the line in fourth. Thanks to that strong finish, he also jumped up to second in the series standings. Just twenty-two points separate Jason from the championship leader, with thirteen rounds left to run.

Lawson Bopping

Lawson Bopping not only qualified for his third main event of the season but also claimed his best finish! The Australian was seventeenth in the premier class main event, after trading positions with the more experienced riders around him for the duration. Following four rounds, he is twenty-third in the 450SX standings. Chris Howell sits in a similar position in the 250SX West class but, unfortunately, didn’t make it into the Oakland main event following some bad luck.

Chris Howell

The Monster Energy Supercross series will head to a different state, Arizona, this weekend for round five of seventeen.