Visually Recapping 2016 Motocross
8/31/2016
Not that you can put the entire National Outdoor 450MX pro season into one graph, but here it is:
In the frame below, you can use the controls at the top left to progress through the weeks of the season. Hover over the lines/dots to see the points earned for the week and total points so far for the rider. (Unfortunately, when someone drops out, a la Ryan Dungey in Week 4, their name disappears. Hence the pairing of the full-season chart containing all names next to the week-by-week one.)
In the chart, the main storyline of the season is pretty clear: Ken Roczen ran away with the 450 MX season early, and after the first few weeks it was never even close. Eli Tomac emerged from the wreckage behind Roczen to put a firm grip on 2nd place, which wasn't really in doubt after Dungey got hurt during Week 3. Cole Seely was briefly in 3rd, leading Marvin Musquin, until Seely's injury prior to Week 6. From there, Musquin got a mild challenge from Justin Barcia, but Musquin pulled away to take the final podium spot.
The next biggest story from 2016 was all the injuries to guys who were Top 10 and possibly Top 5. You can see them disappear from the field as their lines stop midway. Ryan Dungey, Josh Grant, Cole Seely, Jason Anderson, Blake Baggett, Broc Tickle, Justin Bogle, Trey Canard, Christophe Pourcel -- guys among others who were likely to challenge for the top spots, all lost to injury, and many within the first half of the season.
Another big story was Phil Nicoletti and Benny Bloss taking advantage of the injuries that thinned out the field. Nicoletti started out reasonably well, with many finishes in and around the Top 10, but he really finished on a run, placing 8th or better for 9 of the final 10 motos, including 4th place twice. Rookie Bloss adjusted to the rigors of pro competition by the halfway point. In Week 6 he logged his first Top 10 moto finish, and from there on out he finished no lower than 11th in any of the motos, with 10 of 12 motos being in the Top 10, averaging 8th and including a 4th, a 5th, and a 6th (he actually had a 4th, a 5th, a 6th, a 7th, an 8th, a 9th, a 10th, and an 11th during the final 6 weeks).
Lots more in the chart, and though some areas/names are overlapped, let me know and I can try to zoom/highlight certain things in the graph(s).
250MX Class
In the 250 class, I almost forgot how way back when it was all Joey Savatgy, and with some early wins it became his season to lose. But then Savatgy slipped just a bit, and Cooper Webb stepped up his riding, moving himself comfortably into 1st by Week 7. Many thought (me included) that Webb's injured hand would keep him from having a successful season. That left Jeremy Martin as the overwhelming favorite by pretty much everyone. But, he almost never looked quite right, and he mentioned several times that he didn't have his usual energy or stamina. Nonetheless, JMart seemed to be closing in on 2nd, through Week 8, but an injury took the defending champ out of the title chase.
Posted by: SagehenMacGyver47 ::: As always – Feedback welcomed
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