Team Suzuki Press Office – February 8.
Brandon Hartranft: RM-Z450 – 17-17-13
Justin Bogle: RM-Z450 – 19-16-14
Carson Mumford: RM-Z250 – 22-22-DNS
Suzuki competed in the first of three Triple Crown events of the 2022 Monster Energy AMA/ FIM World Supercross series at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona at weekend.
Twisted Tea Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance racer Justin Bogle and his Suzuki RM-Z450 used consistency in the unique three-race format to earn points to climb a position in the championship standings.
Teammate Brandon Hartranft ran inside the top 10 for much of race three, showing more progress toward a career breakthrough performance. Adam Enticknap, also aboard a Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450, gained more fans from the event and BarX/ Chaparral Suzuki’s Carson Mumford posted great lap times with his Suzuki RM-Z250 to qualify inside the top 10 for the night’s racing.
Triple Crown events seed the night racing through qualifying, and Bogle put in strong lap times to ensure a spot on the gate. Through the three-race event, Bogle capitalised on his track position and used consistency to gain enough points to jump up one position on the championship leaderboard.
“I had a little mishap in practice and honestly kind of struggled through the rest of the day. No excuses, I just have to be better,” said Bogle. “I’ve just had to keep putting in the time. It’s been a struggle, but now we can start putting in laps during the week and we’ll get there.”
Hartranft continued his strong season in the premier class; after nearly carding a top 10 at the previous round, Hartranft was in the top 10 battle for much of the final race of the night.
“I felt like I rode really well in practice, hitting the whoops good, and just overall feeling solid,” Hartranft reported. “In race three I got a decent start and hung with the boys up front. It’s so different up front, and just honestly a lot safer and it’s easier to ride. I showed potential tonight that I can run top ten so I think it’s something to build off of.”
Mumford was competing in his first-ever Triple Crown. Qualifying times had him and his BarX Suzuki RM-Z250 destined for a finish well inside the top 10. Unfortunately, a nasty crash off the Dragon’s Back obstacle ended Mumford’s night early. The young racer is healing up and looks to be ready to race Anaheim 3 this Saturday.
“It was a rough night for me,” Mumford said. “Practice went well. I qualified eighth, which was my best yet. I was feeling great on the track all through qualifying, doing all the big rhythms, but I had a big crash on the first lap in the main and that ended my night early.”
Enticknap continues to be a crowd favorite both on and off his Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450. The veteran athlete was featured in the television broadcast describing the unique event race format. Although his popularity didn’t help him gain a transfer into the night racing, he was just one minor track incident away from a jump into the points chase.
“In the LCQ I had a pretty strong start, about sixth place and moving forward,” Enticknap said. “Then I had a little run-in with another rider. He came in on me and I got a little squirrely on the double before the triple. I cased the double and I couldn’t make the triple. That was pretty much the end of my night. I’m looking forward to A3. I felt really good last week and I’m just nailing the starts, and my starts were definitely better today.”
“The Triple Crown format always brings some intrigue, and we were hoping to continue our upward swing.” Twisted Tea/ H.E.P. Motorsports/ Suzuki Presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager Dustin Pipes summed up. “Brandon came in nursing a back injury from a practice incident and Justin was nursing an injury in the main events due to a mishap in the first qualifier. The first two mains were a struggle, but both Brandon and Justin rebounded in their final main event. It was great seeing Brandon race in the top 10 at a speed he can ride. Our team worked well in the tight Triple Crown schedule. Our mechanics Travis, Andrew and Mike got the motorcycles turned around very quickly with some help from Clark and Yuzo. Everyone is gelling and I’m looking forward to continued progression.”
The teams push west this week, back to Southern California for Anaheim 3. For the 250 racers, it will be the final round in the regional series before a five-week break for the East Coast divisional racing to kick off.
