Alex Ray Defeats the Field on Opening Night at Tampere Supercross

08.11.2019

Alex Ray voitti Tampere Supercross avauspäivän. Cade Clason oli toinen ja Harri Kullas kolmas

A packed house witnessed an unforgettable night of racing as the eighth edition of Tampere Supercross got underway on Friday. American Alex Ray claimed victory after an intense 20-lap main event, while fellow American Cade Clason and Estonia’s Harri Kullas settled second and third in dramatic fashion with a last-corner crash.

Kullas grabbed the holeshot but made a mistake on the second lap, dropping from the lead to fourth almost instantly. Clason inherited the top spot and controlled the race for several laps before Ray made his move into the lead.

Clason stayed glued to Ray’s rear wheel throughout most of the main event, but Ray held firm to take the opening-night victory inside the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre.

“I got a decent start, even though Cade and I made a little contact off the gate. We both managed to stay upright. I pushed a little too hard early on and my arms tightened up. I was also feeling the effects of the time difference, so hopefully I’ll feel fresher on Saturday,” Ray said.

“It wasn’t easy getting around Cade because he’s a great rider. But I knew where I was faster than him and I was able to make the pass there.”

Last-Corner Drama

After fighting his way back through the field, Kullas launched one final attack entering the last corner, diving to the inside of Clason. The two riders collided and crashed together, with Kullas ending up underneath both bikes.

It took several moments for the pair to untangle themselves before crossing the finish line, but their advantage over the rest of the field was enough for Clason to hold onto second place by just over half a second ahead of Portugal’s Hugo Basaula, while Kullas narrowly secured the final podium position.

“I took it a little too easy off the start and had some wheelspin, which cost me a few positions,” Kullas explained.

“With three or four laps to go I realized I had to make something happen. I had already tried once to pass Cade but couldn’t make it stick. I knew he would take the outside line through the final corner, so I went for the inside. At the last second he cut back toward the apex and we collided.”

“His bike ended up on top of mine and he was still standing over it. My throttle was damaged in the crash, but I was still able to bring it home in third.”

French rider Ludovic Macler finished fifth, while Finland’s Juuso Matikainen was the second-highest placed Finnish rider in sixth.

Mäkelä Wins Motonet Lites

The Motonet Lites class, featuring an all-Finnish lineup, produced another exciting race.

Joni Mäkelä of Lohjan Seudun Moottorikerho claimed an impressive victory ahead of hometown favorite Kasper Kangasniemi from Tampere Motocross, much to the delight of the local crowd.

Matias Vesterinen completed the podium after recovering from an early incident involving Jaro Pääkkönen, which dropped him well behind the leaders.

“Everything went well in practice, but I had a huge crash during qualifying,” Mäkelä said.

“I had to spend some time recovering beside the track, but fortunately everything came together in the final. I got into a great rhythm right from the start and the race just flowed.”

Electric Mini Bikes Make History

Friday also marked another milestone for Tampere Supercross, as the event hosted its first-ever exhibition featuring children riding the new KTM SX-E 5 and Husqvarna EE 5 electric mini motocross bikes.

The young riders thrilled the crowd by completing laps on the full Supercross track aboard the zero-emission, nearly silent motorcycles, giving spectators a glimpse of the future of motocross.