Joan Cros #848
Joan had a blast at the first round and was excited to be back racing in the U.S. He has been feeling great at the test tracks so his excitement was high as he entered round one and see how he stacked up against the competition. The heat went well but left Joan short of making the main event. In the LCQ, Joan would line up of the far inside gate. A difficult spot to start as that gate required the rider to get a good jump and move over to their right in order to prevent being squeeze out and pushed into the tuff blocks. Joan rocketed off the gate and came around the first corner with the lead! Cros would hold onto the lead for over a lap but would hit with an aggressive pass by the 2nd place rider and bump him back to 4th where he would stay until the final lap. Joan caught 3rd and would make the pass but open the door for 5th to squeeze in and make a 3-rider battle on the final lap. Cros would unfortunately come up just short with 5th, missing the main by one. He's ready for Oakland.
Bubba Pauli #282
Coming into the 2022 season with a new program and mindset, Bubba Pauli was very relaxed when he arrived at Anaheim. Finding his way into the night program quickly turned into a salvage mission as some very unfortunate pain was taking over. Some assistance from the medical unit helped Bubba grit out the day. Qualifying for the night program was a success but unfortunately the 282 would find himself on the ground in the first turn of Heat 1. Never one to quit, he got up and pushed back until the finish. Pulling it together for the LCQ, Bubba would keep it on two wheels in the first turn this time but he found himself in the back of the pack. Working his way up from 16th to 9th by races end. A rough start to the season but there is still a lot to be proud of as Bubba Pauli prepares to come out fresh and excited for Round 2 in Oakland.