Motocross and supercross are awesome in part because they are run in any kind of weather. However, it’s unusual – at least in the USA – that the weather includes snow when it comes to supercross.
But two years in a row now there has been snow at the Salt Lake City round of the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Championship. Is it because the race takes place at 4,500ft above sea level? Certainly, that can’t help. Is it because it’s in the middle of the god-damned Rocky Mountains? That’s also likely a factor. But the most obvious reason is that the stadium in this geographical location doesn’t have a roof!
And it’s a shame, too, because the fans are die-hard in Salt Lake. Even through the snow, the wind and all of that, they stay until the very end of the races and many times are outside the team haulers for hours waiting for autographs too. It’s also a shame because former Utah governor Jon Huntsman (now there’s a name that just oozes ‘America’) is an off-roader himself and Utah is very friendly to motorcycles and off-road recreation.
But supercross isn’t a sport for snow. It’s downright cold even in normal chilly night air to be flying through it on a motorcycle but when it’s 30 degrees (what’s that in that other weird measurement you Limeys use? I think it’s below zero…) and snowing it’s a whole other problem. So we need to put a roof on Rice-Eccles Stadium.
However, altitude plus cold plus supercross equals Eli Tomac. The kid grew up in Colorado, still lives there now and his house is in the very same mountain range as the Salt Lake City race. He’s used to altitude’s effects not only on the body but on the motorcycle. He’s used to the cold. And he killed them in Salt Lake.
With the win Tomac now sits only two points behind Broc Tickle for the Lites West SX Championship which means whoever beats the other racer in Las Vegas will be the champ. That’s exciting stuff. Las Vegas is really hard-packed, though. And not for nothing, so is nearly every track in Colorado…
