Supercross
This is what went down at Red Bull Straight Rhythm 2018
With Red Bull Straight Rhythm 2019 looming, we take a look back at the fast and furious, retro two-stroke action from the 2018 event in Pomona, California, won by Shane McElrath and Carson Brown.
Sometimes you have to take a few steps back (in time) in order to go forward. Just ask the folks behind Red Bull Straight Rhythm. When they introduced a two-stroke class two years ago, in 2017, it was received so enthusiastically by riders and spectators alike that they made the decision to go 100 percent two-stroke in 2018. But that wasn't the only blast from the past last time out.
Adding to the fun was a ‘90s theme, complete with retro gear and bike set-ups, an old-school event program based on an old issue of iconic US motorcycling mag Cycle News and Ratio-Rite gas-and oil measuring cups repurposed as beverage containers. The full-on throwback vibe meant that the event's original hook – a supercross track with no turns – took a back seat.
Check out the best moments from 2018 below:
2 min
Top 5 moments
See the key head-to-head motorcycle racing action that happened on a half-mile track in Pomona, California.
Despite all the distractions, the racing didn’t disappoint either, as the two-stroke engines of yesteryear helped produce some of the closest battles in the history of the event.
In the 125 Class, AJ Catanzaro and Luke Renzland fully embraced the retro theme with period-correct replica set-ups. Catanzaro went back to the #259 days of James 'Bubba' Stewart, while Renzland went with a homage to the King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath. The two squared-off to determine who would face Carson Brown in the championship round, with Catanzaro advancing – only to lose by a wheel to Brown for the 125 Class title.
Carson Brown versus AJ Catanzaro at Red Bull Straight Rhythm 2018
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
As cool as it was seeing 'Jeremy McGrath' and 'James Stewart' out on the track, locked in two-stroke combat, the 250 Class was what the fans had really come to see. Gared 'Stank Dog' Steinke, who’d won the two-stroke class in 2017, was knocked out by Ryan Morais at the very start. After losing the first battle in Red Bull Straight Rhythms' best-of-three war, Stank Dog went so hard in the second race that he lost control, flying off the track and smashing into the ground right before the finish line. And just like that, the defending champ was out.
One of the most thrilling match-ups of 2018, however, was Josh Grant and Ryan Villopoto, with each of their three races going right to the wire. Villopoto won the first; Grant came back to win the second; and then all hell broke loose in the third race.
With throttles twisted and exhaust pipes screaming, the two riders streaked down the course side-by-side, both stubbornly refusing to surrender an inch. When they soared over the finish-line jump, they were so close that nobody knew who’d won. In the end, Villopoto took the win by one 100th of a second.
Ryan Villopto edges out Josh Grant at Red Bull Straight Rhythm 2018
© Chris Tedesco/Red Bull Content Pool
The 250 Class decider between McElrath and Dungey was perhaps the most exciting of the night. The duo matched each other scrub for scrub in the first race, crossing the line almost simultaneously. When the times flashed up, however, McElrath had won by just three 100ths of a second.
Dungey exacted revenge by taking a clear victory in the second race, but McElrath responded by winning the final race to triumphantly close out the most exciting Red Bull Straight Rhythm to date.
Shane McElrath and Ryan Dungey go head to head
© Chris Tedesco/Red Bull Content Pool