10 things we learned from the Monster Energy Cup

KRoc made his race debut as part of the HRC squad on Saturday night. The German impressed, looking at home right away on board his new steed. As well as looking seriously fresh with the number one plate, signature Fox gear and the big red steed Kenny also showed some serious speed around the Carmichael designed circuit, taking the first moto win with relative ease. This looks as though it could be a dangerous combination if you happen to be lining up next to Roczen at Anaheim in January. Can Kenny put Honda back on top of that 450 championship podium once more? I wouldn’t bet against it.

It was definitely something a little different. Watching 22 riders hurtle down the far end of Sam Boyd Stadium was something to behold indeed. I can only imagine the feeling of sitting atop of the grandstands, waiting for the gate to drop and looking over the floodlit MEC circuit on the stadium floor.

As far as exciting riders go Eli Tomac is up there with the best of them. He never fails to throw down some impressive feat to wow the crowds- just think back to that infamous manual through the whoops at Daytona. Well, he did it again in Vegas. Eli hucked a big combo through the final rhythm section as the circuit headed out of the stadium. ET3 was the only man to nail the technical line on the night, cheer-worthy for sure.

Roczen was well on his way to boosting that healthy HRC pay cheque little further on Saturday. After taking the first moto win Kenny led the way early on in the second moto, that million-dollar bonus well in sight. The dream soon came crashing down however as Roczen hit the deck in dramatic fashion, knocking him out of the race and the hunt for the overall. What’s interesting here is that Kenny was having problems starting the bike before the race even began, and to my eyes, it looked as if he was struggling with rear end grip for the majority of the second moto. Could that have resulted in the crash that cost him a million big ones? Quite possibly.

There’s still fight in the old dog yet. Despite what the scorecard might show Reedy actually showed some good speed and good fight in Vegas. Bad luck prevented the veteran from placing higher in the overall standings, but I would definitely expect Speedy Reedy to be placing higher than his 8th at the MEC during next year’s Supercross season. After all these years he’s still a potential race winner, that’s for sure.

One of the coolest things about the MEC is the stage it provides for the up and comers to put on a show. The second supermini moto was quite possibly the best race of the night, the three-way battle between Seth Hammacker, Carson Mumford and the eventual overall winner Stilez Robertson was downright insane. These kids were earning cheers just as big – if not bigger – than the biggest names in the game. Awesome. It's a shame much of the International streaming audience missed it – I understand the feed went dead during this epic race.

Talking of the up and comers putting on a show the second Amateur All-Star race was absolute carnage. Moto one winner Mitchell Falk crashed hard as the pack stormed down the start straight, tumbling what seemed like halfway across the stadium floor. Somehow he managed to get up and remount – albeit with a broken collar bone. But that was only the beginning of the mayhem. It’s a tough game and these kids were giving it their all to make a name for themselves, hats off to them.

Now that he’s had time to properly adjust to the green machine Tomac is a genuine threat for the win every time he lines up. He proved that on the weekend, pushing Kenny and picking up the pieces to take away a $100,000 winner’s cheque. 2017 could be Tomac’s year.

Love it or hate it the Joker Lane is here to stay when it comes to the Monster Energy Cup. It plays its part each and every year, and to be sure 2016 was no different. Without a doubt, the Joker Lane made the third and final moto that bit more exciting as the top four riders all opted to use different strategies, and you couldn't help being on the edge of your seat, fretting a rider would miss it. It made for a nail-biting finale.

The reigning Supercross champ had a seemingly quiet night in Vegas, yet he was still in the hunt for the overall until the very last seconds of the night – missing out to Tomac by just one point. This quiet consistency is what has crowned the KTM pilot a multi-time champ, and don’t expect 2017 to be any different.