The progress of series rookie Blake Baggett continued on Saturday night, where he finished ninth on his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 at round four of the 2015 AMA /FIM World Supercross Series in front of 47,671 fans at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California.
Baggett was initially classified seventh, but later learned he’d been assessed a two-position penalty for jumping a triple at the site of a medical flag. Baggett was one of three riders given the penalty. It resulted in Baggett being moved back to ninth in the official results, but despite the setback, it marked his best result of the season.
Baggett had another of what is becoming his characteristic come-from-behind races on his #4 Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 in the final at Oakland: He ran as far back as 13th on the first lap of the 20-lap Main, but he rode a solid and steady race to work his way up to the seventh by the end of race.
After finishing 10th in timed qualifying and sixth in the first 450 Heat race, in the first Semi Baggett nailed the holeshot and pulled away to a commanding victory; his first win in a 450 Supercross qualifying race.
In the Main Event Baggett got one of his best season starts out of the gate, but then nearly crashed a couple of turns-in on the first lap after getting jostled in a hectic traffic jam. The slip cost him a handful of positions on the track and he found himself mid-pack at the end of lap one.
Said Baggett: “I got a decent start. I was right there in the fight and then I got bumped around a little bit and lost a few spots.”
On a brilliant second lap he’d already worked his way into the top-10 and from there Baggett ran a smart race and used the power of his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to move past veteran riders Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short on his way to the eventual seventh place (before the penalty) and was the top-finishing Suzuki rider.
Baggett talked about his mindset after getting shuffled back on the first lap: “I just started chugging away and working my way towards the front,” he said. “This was a super-fast track, so it was really hard to make-up time on people, but I had my spots on the track and certain places that I was able to make passes, so I was able to work my way up.”
In spite of the penalty setback, the 22 year old is encouraged by his progress and looking for even better results in the coming rounds.
“It was my best finish so far and I’ll just keep building from here,” he said. “I had a really good Semi where I got the holeshot, so I’m figuring things out and I expect to be in the fight soon.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next event is round five of the 2015 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship this coming Saturday, January 31st, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Anaheim II 450 Supercross Results: 1. Trey Canard (Honda), 2. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 3. Chad Reed (Kawasaki), 4. Eli Tomac (Honda), 5. Cole Seely (Honda), 6. Justin Barcia (Yamaha), 7. Davi Millsaps (Kawasaki), 8. Andrew Short (KTM), 9. Blake Baggett (Yoshimura Suzuki), 10. Jason Anderson (Husqvarna).
