SAN DIEGO, California: Chase Sexton hoped to reverse his fortune from Anaheim 1 and he took the lead late in Heat 1.
In the second heat, Roczen took the early lead and extended it to five seconds at the checkers over Tomac. These riders finished first and second last week in the season opener.
Heat 1
Jorge Prado earned the holeshot and set off for the horizon.
Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton were close behind.
With five minutes on the clock, Cooper Webb crashed and fell outside the transfer position of ninth.
Webb moved into ninth with less than a minute on the clock.
Sexton took second from Anderson on that same lap.
Fourth-place Joey Savatgy and Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five.
Sexton took the lead from Prado as time ran off the clock.
Sexton held on for the win ahead of Prado and Anderson.
Savatgy remained fourth and Lawrence fifth.
Shane McElrath, Colt Nichols, Webb, and Vince Friese also advanced.
Heat 2
Ken Roczen took the early lead.
Eli Tomac did not lose any speed between the rounds. He was second with two minutes remaining on the clock.
Aaron Plessinger recovered from his Anaheim disappointing and rode third.
RJ Hampshire went down with three minutes on the clock.
With time running off the clock, Dylan Ferrandis and Ducati held onto a solid fourth-place position.
Roczen was the first rider to see the checkers with Tomac five seconds behind.
Plessinger earned a solid finish in third.
Fourth-place Ferrandis and Christian Craig round out the top five.
Riding injured from last week in Anaheim, Stewart finished sixth.
Hampshire overcame his earlier crash to finish seventh.
Justin Cooper (eighth) and Justin Hill also advanced directly into the Main Event.
This was Roczen’s 53rd heat win, which leads all active riders.
Mitchell Harrison took the early lead and held off Kevin Moranz in the LCQ.
Moranz’s teammate Grant Harlan and Max Miller also advanced to the Main Event.