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ROUND 8 | TAMPA
Monster Energy Supercross made the return to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida for the first time since the late nineties, making it one of the most anticipated rounds of the season. Another one of the major storylines preceding the eighth round
of the series in Tampa was centered around Chad Reed -- not because he was in contention for the championship, not because he made a controversial comment, and not for a black flag -- but because the Australian was set to break the record for most main events starts in the premier class. Although Jason Anderson led the championship in the 450 class, Eli Tomac had proven himself as the man to beat in recent weeks.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider looked as smooth as silk throughout the daytime practice sessions in Tampa and seamlessly transitioned into the night show, setting himself up as the favorite for the main event. But, it wasn’t just the usual suspects in the 450 class -- the defending 250SX West Champion, Justin Hill, made the jump to the 450 and was eager to show his skills against the big boys. He was one of the only riders consistently jumping a quad-quad in one of the rhythm sections and he was seeded as the fastest qualifier heading into the main event. Just after the gate dropped for the 450 main event, Hill found himself right up front with Marvin Musquin and the two of them came together before the finish line, putting the Suzuki rider on the ground. He was eliminated from the equation and it turned into an eventual battle between Anderson and Tomac yet again, but the current points leader didn’t have anything in the tank
for the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. In the 250 class, the battle continued between Austin Forkner and Zach Osborne following their coming together one week prior. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was determined to come back with a vengeance and he
did exactly that in Tampa, winning his first career supercross ahead of Ferrandis and Osborne.
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