Round 01
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08 Aug
Calgary, Canada
McMahon Stadium
McMahon Stadium
Anstie, 33, made it a clean sweep with three victories after overcoming a surprise from the Stark riders, who both made excellent starts all night, benefitting from the high altitude in Calgary, which sits 3,500 ft above sea level.
The Stark bikes, which are powered by electric motors, were not hampered with the same performance deficit of their fuel-powered rivals, who struggled to reach their regular performance levels.
It was evident at the start, as both Brian Hsu, who was making his debut in the series, and his teammate Michael Hicks, who were explosive out of the gate, with Hsu leading the opening laps on all three races.
In the SX2 Sprint Race 1, Hsu started pulling a gap to the chasing pack before he was slowly reeled in by Anstie, who made his move on lap four. Devin Simonson also cut through the pack to pass the Stark rider and took second place.
Hicks took a credible third place and held off a late surge from Cameron McAdoo, who beat Hsu to fourth place.
The Starks again proved competitive off the line as both riders were quick out the gate for Sprint Race 2. Again it was Hsu who was leading from his teammate Hicks.
But just as in the opening sprint race, they were both caught by Anstie, who excelled over the whoops and made up a massive amount of ground before he was able to power past Hsu on the penultimate lap. The German rider was also passed by Hicks on the final lap, as the two Starks finished in second and third place.
In the Main Event, which carries the most points over a 12-lap battle to the line, it was Anstie, who crossed the line in first place to complete a memorable win for his new team, while McAdoo was second and Hicks was in third.
Anstie was quick to pay tribute to his new team and said he was caught by surprise by his electric-powered rivals.
He said: “It was tough. The track was gnarly and the electric bikes. I think they were maybe the toughest obstacle!
“At the start, they were gone and it was a really tricky track to make up time, but anyway, I can’t give it up enough to the whole Rick Ware crew.
“Everyone there has been so, so good. Like, honestly, these last few weeks, how this has all happened, how this has come around, I can’t give it up to them and to Club MX, my crew chief, to Greg, my mechanic – it’s been a lot these last few weeks and I can’t give it up enough to those guys.”
Hicks capped a memorable and historic night for Stark, as the Spanish-based team took second on the night in what was a special night for the American.
He said: “This means a lot for me. I’ve been trying to get a World Supercross ride and finally Stark gave me one and the opportunity to come here.
“Last year, my first year doing it, so I think I’m proving myself now and it’s huge for Stark. This bike is amazing. I love it, and I mean it. It’s the most fun bike I’ve ever ridden.
“A week ago, I was racing, crashed, sprained my ankle, it’s swollen and purple. I’ve been limping, so I didn’t think that this night would go like this. So I am super grateful for everyone at Stark and everyone who supports me, it means a lot to me.”
McAdoo took third place on the night on his World Supercross debut. The 28-year-old was equally impressed with the performance of the Starks and also paid tribute to the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team for allowing him to race in the World Supercross Championship.
He said: “The electric bikes are insane. Off the start, like, it’s unreal. Like, we have the elevation and it was pretty wild how powerful they were.
“Aside from that, honestly, my first experience with World Supercross was really fun. It was back-to-back and hectic. That track’s so much different from anything I’m used to. The racing was so much different, and I had fun tonight.
“I really just wanted to take it and learn, and honestly, I’m just so grateful to be here. The whole Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team for accommodating this, I can’t say thanks enough, because it’s not something they had to do.
“It was fun to come up here to Canada with my wife and my daughter, my mechanic Jed, and we just really enjoyed our night. I think you’re going to see a lot better version of me the next couple of times.”