Team Suzuki Press Office – February 15.
Brandon Hartranft: RM-Z450 – 15th.
Justin Bogle: RM-Z450 – 17th.
Adam Enticknap: RM-Z450 – 22nd.
All three Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance athletes tackled an especially challenging track at round six of the Monster Energy AMA/ FIM World Supercross series and head out of California with a head of steam and a healthy collection of points.
Brandon Hartranft carded another strong finish and further established himself in the 450 class with his Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450. Justin Bogle used his Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450 to gain in the title points standings and Twisted Tea Suzuki’s Adam Enticknap put his RM-Z450 on the board with his best performance of the season.
BarX/ Chaparral Suzuki’s Carson Mumford had the speed, but unfortunately, an existing shoulder injury prevented him from another strong night in 250 West class racing.
Hartranft continued to establish his place among the front runners in the premier 450cc class with another impressive ride. After chasing teammate Bogle to direct transfers on their Suzuki RM-Z450s in Heat 1, Hartranft found himself vying for track position with veteran 450 riders.
Said Hartranft: “In the main event I was riding pretty aggressively in the beginning. I had a little battle with another rider. I tried showing a wheel on him and trying to be a little more aggressive and hang with the boys. Then I started making mistakes. Because of that I got out of my rhythm. So, for not riding that well in the main, 15th is pretty solid.”
After qualifying just ahead of his teammate, Bogle found himself mired in battles a few positions behind Hartranft in the main event. After being sick all week, Bogle wasn’t able to deliver his best result of 2022, though he and his RM-Z450 left the final California race with another grip of points on the season.
After being pushed out of a direct transfer with his teammates in Heat 1, Enticknap needed a top-four finish in the Last Chance Qualifier. While passing into third place, two riders crashed around him exiting the whoops section. Enticknap kept his Suzuki out of the chaos and secured his best LCQ finish of the year. In the main event he rebounded from a mistake on the gate and pushed forward throughout the 22-lap race.
“I rode a lot better and was more consistent. I was flowing with the track,” Enticknap went on to explain the advantage his tall and strong body gave on the Anaheim 3 track. “There was a really long set of whoops this weekend that were treacherous. That’s my strong suit so I hammered those out. It was definitely beneficial for me to have such a long set of whoops, being that I’m so big.”
Carson Mumford was still feeling the effects of a rough crash at the previous round and elected not to risk further injury in spite of qualifying onto the Heat 2 starting gate. Fortunately, the 250 West division will take a five-week break and Mumford will have the time to fully heal and come out swinging at the Seattle round.
“Unfortunately, my shoulder was still in bad condition from last weekend,” Mumford explained. “I tried to tough it out through the pain, but I could only do a couple laps in practice. Because of that we had to call it a night.”
Said Twisted Tea/ H.E.P. Motorsports/ Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager Dustin Pipes: “I’m happy that all three guys were in the main event competing, but I can’t help but feel we left a little on the table. Brandon is on the verge of the next level and we are pushing for him to break through. Justin got sick during the week and spent the whole day managing his sickness. He is very talented and we need to work together as a team so he can perform at his best. Adam rode to his potential and I’m hoping this will put him on a roll throughout the rest of the season. The team worked well together and were ready to take on the east coast swing.”
Interestingly, the Twisted Tea Suzuki team was selected to put on a pre-event exhibition race for local media inside Angel stadium to predict the outcome of Super Bowl LVI. Angel Stadium is a former home of the Rams and Enticknap, a Southern California local, donned a Rams jersey while Hartranft was clad in a Bengals jersey. The battle proved prophetic. Enticknap’s victory correctly predicted the Rams winning the Superbowl two days before it was played.
Round seven of the supercross series takes place at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota this Saturday. The event kicks off the opening round of the 250 East coast division. BarX/ Chaparral Suzuki athletes Preston Kilroy and Derek Drake are ready to put their Suzuki RM-Z250s on the podium and the Twisted Tea Suzuki athletes look to continue their progress in the 17-round 450 class.
