In front of a sell-out crowd of 45,050 fans inside Angel Stadium, Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, hosted the historical first-ever Triple Crown Event in Anaheim on January 20 for Round 3 of the 2018 season.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac captured the overall event win at Round 3 of the series. The Triple Crown, which was introduced in 2018, is a three-city showdown starting at Anaheim 2 where both the 250SX and 450SX Classes compete in three Main Events.
In the first 8-minute 450SX Class Main Event, Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely captured the lead on the first lap ahead of Smartop/MotoConcepts Racing’s Justin Brayton while the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC/KTM/WPS ride of Blake Baggett climbed up to third and Tomac was fifth. In the second 12-lap Main Event, Tomac captured his first lead and win ahead of Seely and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson. In the third 15-minute Main Event, Anderson ran away with the win, holding on to his points lead, with Tomac in second and Brayton in third. Tomac, who finished 5-1-2, was awarded the overall win with the lowest combined score.
In the first 6-minute 250SX Class Main Event, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy lead from the start ahead of GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig while the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha of Mitchell Oldenburg passed up to third by the checkers. In the second 10-minute Main Event, the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM ride of Shane McElrath stayed wide open out front ahead of Savatgy and Craig. In the third 12-minute Main Event, Savatgy remained up front while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo held onto second ahead of GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton in third. Savatgy’s 1-2-1 was good enough for the overall win.