Eli Tomac back on top
Zach Osborne takes Eastern Regional 250SX win
Images by Hoppenworld
Round 7 of the 2018 AMA Supercross Championship in Arlington, Texas saw 57,421 fans inside the AT&T Stadium witness Eli Tomac take a perfect night after posting the fastest qualifying time, leading every lap of his Heat Race and all 25-Laps of the 450SX Main Event for his third win of the season.
Eli Tomac – P1
“Once we got going, it was just staying consistent and just me and the bike, it was just a good day. We’ve never had a great finish here in Dallas, so this is something I’ve always wanted to check off my box, which is a win here in Dallas so, yeah, it feels awesome.”
Despite an unfavorable gate pick from his heat race result, Musquin blasted off the line in the 450SX Main Event to put his KTM 450 SX-F into a third place position off the start.
Baggett followed suit and the orange duo rounded the opening lap in the third and fourth place positions. The second placed rider, Jason Anderson, went down on lap four, which opened the door for both riders to assume podium positions early on.
From there, Musquin worked hard to catch Eli Tomac out front, while Baggett maintained a solid pace behind. After 25 laps of racing it was Musquin who finished in the second place position, building back up on the foundation he began with a big victory at the opening round. With two consecutive second place finishes, Musquin now sits fourth in the 450SX Championship Standings.
Marvin Musquin – P2
“The track was really challenging tonight, especially the whoops. I was trying to be creative and consistent. It was tough with the lappers and I thought I could capitalize on that but there was nothing I could do. I was catching Eli just a little bit but nothing to put a charge on him. Getting 7th in the heat race is not good for start position and I was all the way outside but I got a great start in the Main Event. I put myself in a great position and that’s what we needed to do to get on the podium tonight. A 2nd place is good but we want more for sure.”
Baggett held strong to secure his third-straight podium appearance with third overall in Texas.
Blake Baggett – P3
“The track was tough tonight. It was one of those weekends where I had a big crash on Thursday and wasn’t even planning on coming but last minute we jumped on a flight and made it happen. I have to give it up to the team and everybody that’s behind us. Our goal is to win races but we’re three-for-three on 3rd place, so now we have two spots to go.”
Jason Anderson was closing in on Cooper Webb in fifth with 10 minutes to go and made an impressive pass for the position soon before setting his sights on the top-four. He blitzed past Cole Seely in the whoops for fourth, but had some ground to make up to catch Blake Baggett in third with around five minutes to go.
He closed the gap a little, but ran out of time, and finished a hard-fought fourth to maintain his lead in the 450 championship.
Jason Anderson – P4
“I made it happen this weekend, I qualified third and was second in my heat. I was second in the Main then tipped over and made it back to fourth. I was able to make up some points and now I just need to keep the ball rolling.”
Dean Wilson was top-10 at the start of the Main and came out of the first lap in eighth. Managing a shoulder injury, he went back a position but pushed through the pain and charged his way back into the position. He stayed consistent the remainder of the race to finish eighth.
Dean Wilson – P8
“I definitely had a better weekend, I finished one position better, had better starts, a better heat race, and I was better in qualifying. I’m definitely getting there, but I’m still not where I want to be as far as my health goes. I’ve never had an injury that takes so long to heal. I’m getting better every weekend, though, and I just want to keep fighting. I know I can get on the podium once I’m feeling good.”
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki
Marvin Musquin – KTM +5.69
Blake Baggett – KTM +9.79
Chad Reed finished 15th and is 14th in the 450SX Championship with 55 points.
AMA SX 2018 – Round 7 – Arlington – 450 Results
- Eli Tomac – Kawasaki
- Marvin Musquin – KTM +5.69
- Blake Baggett – KTM +9.79
- Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +14.45
- Cole Seely – Honda +16.46
- Cooper Webb – Yamaha +16.83
- Weston Peick – Suzuki +29.36
- Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +39.85
- Broc Tickle – KTM +51.50
- Justin Brayton – Honda +1 lap
- Malcolm Stewart – Suzuki +1 lap
- Vince Friese – Honda +1 lap
- Kyle Chisholm – Yamaha +1 lap
- Benny Bloss – KTM +1 lap
- Chad Reed – Husqvarna +1 lap
AMA SX 2018 – Round 7 – Arlington – 450 Championship
- Jason Anderson 160
- Cole Seely 124
- Blake Baggett 120
- Marvin Musquin 119
- Weston Peick 114
- Justin Barcia 113
- Justin Brayton 112
- Ken Roczen 102
- Broc Tickle 96
- Eil Tomac 90
250 Eastern
In the season opener of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class championship, defending champion Zach Osborne showed why he’s the champ by claiming the first 250SX East victory of the season.
Osborne was top-10 at the start of his 250SX East heat and came out of the first lap in fourth. He was on the move and quickly made his way into second before the end of the second lap. He held strong to finish second and transfer to the 250SX East Main Event.
He navigated past a first-turn pileup at the start of the 250 Main Event and made his way into fourth. He got into third but then tucked his front wheel and tipped over in the third lap. He quickly remounted and starting working his way back through the pack.
He made an assertive pass for third in lap five and continued on an aggressive charge as he battled with then flew by Sean Cantrell for the second-place spot. Throwing down the fastest lap of the race up to that point and only a mere two seconds behind the leader, he waited for his chance to strike.
He closed the gap to under a half a second with four minutes to go before making an exciting pass for the lead with just over three minutes remaining in the race. He held strong to take the first 250SX East victory of the season.
Zach Osborne – P1
“It was great to be back racing today. I’m happy to start the series on such a high note. I had a decent day in qualifying and came through the pack in the heat to get second. I got a good start in the main but ended up sliding out and going down. I was able to come back and get the win and carry the red plate into round two. I’m just going to keep the momentum going.”
Colt Nichols started seventh and fought to a second-place start ahead of Jimmy Decotis who rode to a career-best third-place finish after an eighth-place start. RJ Hampshire grabbed the holeshot and lead 13 of the 19 laps but a mistake in the whoops dropped him to fourth.
Austin Forkner started his sophomore supercross campaign after recovering from an off-season injury to be race-ready in time for the opening round. He quickly adapted to the track in his heat race and claimed the win.
In the main event, Forkner avoided the first-turn carnage that collected his teammate, but went down later on the opening lap that pushed him back to 14th. He was on a mission to make up as many spots as possible crossing the line in seventh, just over one second behind sixth.
Austin Forkner – P7
“The first lap was very chaotic with the riders going down in the first turn and everyone trying to settle in, I made a mistake and went down, costing me some time. I was able to get in a groove and start picking off riders, but the front group was already pretty far ahead. I almost got the next two guys who connected on the final lap, but just missed out. We’ll take what we’ve learned and come back strong next week.”
Zach Osborne – Husvarna
Colt Nichols – Yamaha +3.31
James Decotis – Suzuki +10.40
AMA SX 2018 – Round 7 – Arlington – 250 Results
- Zach Osborne – Husvarna
- Colt Nichols – Yamaha +3.31
- James Decotis – Suzuki +10.40
- RJ Hampshire – Honda +12.67
- Jeremy Martin – Honda +25.54
- Jordon Smith – KTM +25.80
- Austin Forkner – Kawasaki +27.10
- Brandon Hartranft – Yamaha +29.29
- Sean Cantrell – KTM +33.47
- Luke Renzland – Yamaha +35.01
AMA SX 2018 – Round 7 – Arlington – Eastern Regional 250 Championship
- Zach Osborne – Husvarna 26
- Colt Nichols – Yamaha 23
- James Decotis – Suzuki 21
- RJ Hampshire – Honda 19
- Jeremy Martin – Honda 18
- Jordon Smith – KTM 17
- Austin Forkner – Kawasaki 16
- Brandon Hartranft – Yamaha 15
- Sean Cantrell – KTM 14
- Luke Renzland – Yamaha 13
