Photos by: Chase Yocom

Round seven of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, and the debut of the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship landed in Arlington, TX.

In the 450SX class, Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac went on another wire-to-wire terror for his third win of the 2018 season. Eli has won three of the seven main events, but still somehow finds himself 70 points behind Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, who matched his season worst finish with a 4th in Arlington. Following Tomac onto the podium inside AT&T Stadium was Red Bull / KTM’s Marvin Musquin and Rocky Mountain ATV/MC / KTM’s Blake Baggett–who finished 2nd and 3rd for the second-straight Saturday night.

Click to check out what's new at Race Tech
Click to check out what’s new at Race Tech

In the first 250SX East main event of the season Rockstar Energy / Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne started his title defense with a win. It was not the domination some expected, but in the end he got the job done. With 100% of the riders expected to challenge Zach for the title down in the first turn, Zach was able to win despite himself going down once in the main. Finishing on the podium with Zach were two surprises: Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Colt Nichols in 2nd and Autotrader / JGR / Suzuki’s Jimmy Decotis–who scored the first podium of his career.

After the curtain drew down on the night, we gathered some quotes from riders to get their thoughts on the Arlington SX.

250 east podium.

Eli Tomac: (1st in 450) “It was a night of good starts, and then just being consistent after that. That’s all I can say at this point. Those starts put us out front in clean air. After that third qualifying session we found our pace, and we were just feeling it all day.”

 

Zach Osborne: (1st in 250) Yeah, definitely. It was a strange day for me. I had a crash in the main event and managed to pull off the win, but definitely a strange one, not the kind of dominant force that I wanted to be but I know that it’s in there. I need to go to next weekend and pull it out.I felt better after the heat race and now I feel way better after the main. The whole day I was uptight a little bit, and it’s not really the way I need to be. I’m going to go home this week and kind of relax on my fitness and know that I’m ready. Read full interview with Zach Osborne.

 

Marvin Musquin: (2nd in 450SX) “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.”

 

Colt Nichols: (2nd in 250SX) “I was very stoked. For lack of a better word, I felt like a little girl after the race–I got all emotional and stuff. It was a big deal for me. It was a real struggle to get here. We were contemplating all last week, “Show up? Don’t show up. What do we do?” Even today, Swanny [trainer] was all, “you sure you want to race?” I’m like, “hell, I’m already here, I might as well give it a shot.” It was just a big weight off my shoulders. You put in so much work over the offseason and to have a big injury like that sucked. To be able to come back and do this the first race, it was just overwhelming. I almost couldn’t believe it. I’m blessed to be here. The whole team stuck behind me, worked their asses off, put us in a good position and we took home a 2nd on the night.”

 

Justin Barcia: (DNS Crash) “Small set back. Will have surgery tomorrow and be back at it in no time. Luckily it’s just my hand ,and I can still keep my fitness up off the bike! Thanks to all my fans and great sponsors!”

Justin Barcia’s night ended with a broken hand.

Blake Baggett: (3rd in 450) “The track was tough tonight. It was super slippery and breaking down fast–down to the concrete in a few spots. Some big rocks were coming up. It was just technical. It was one of those ones where you had to be patient. If it came to you, it came to you. Some laps you were good and some laps you were off the pace a little bit, and I was off the pace for a little bit. 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.”

 

Jimmy Decotis: (3rd in 250) “It [3rd place] sounds good after all those damn 4th place finishes. (laughs) It really does sound good. I’m just happy with how I rode today. Even even I did get a 4th tonight, I would of been bummed for sure, but to come out with the new team and the new bike and ride the way I did on it. Everyone was making it seem like I was on a downslide going to Suzuki and I wasn’t the best choice. Same with [Justin] Hill. Yeah, he struggled a little bit, but it takes time to get used to the bike. For me, I proved everyone wrong. Everyone doubted me. Everyone doubted the team. Now, we have three consecutive podiums and it’s awesome to see. I’m happy that J-Bone [Jeremy Albrecht JGR Team Manager] believed in me. This guy signs me and doesn’t even know I’ve never had a podium before. He doesn’t do his research. (laughs)” Read full interview with Jimmy Decotis we did.

 

Jason Anderson: (4th in 450SX) “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.”

 

Martin Davalos: (DNF crash 250SX) “Honestly, last night was so insane and I’m so thankful and blessed I was able to walk away from that nasty crash. My thoughts are, “if u get beat to the first turn and everybody is braking to make the turn, that means u gotta f#%?!*£ brake man, it’s that simple. It just makes racing so much more dangerous when s#%* like that happens, especially when you get hit from behind and your not expecting it. I’m so bummed. I felt great all day and I was riding to my full potential. I wanted to really race the guys hard and give it my best for such a hard working team I’m on! Thank you to everybody that supports me. I’ll get further evaluation this week on how my body is doing, but I’m expecting to race again! And let me tell you buds, this ain’t over till it’s over!!!”

 

RJ Hampshire: (4th in 250SX) “I was riding so bad all day, I shouldn’t have been leading. Even the second lap, I almost endoed off a dragon’s back, had to roll the whole section. It was just sloppy. To be leading with three minutes and thirty seconds to go, I was just like ‘Dude, what is going on?’ I kind of got comfortable in the middle a little bit and was kind of clicking them off. By the time Zach [Osborne] into second I should have had a ten-second lead. But I had a two-second lead. I should have held it together and shouldn’t have made those mistakes. But I’ve never led laps before and I’ve never gotten a holeshot in the main event, so that’s something. We’re going home next weekend.”

Martin Davalos’ night ended in a huge first turn pileup.

Cole Seely: (5th in 450SX) “Consistency has been the name of the game this year and I’m thankful to come away with another good result for the team. Each race has had its challenges, but grabbing valuable points will be critical when the end of the season comes along. Looking forward to the new race in Tampa next week to see if we can get back up on the podium.”

 

Jeremy Martin: (5th in 250SX) “Really enjoyed finally being back on the gate for GEICO Honda on the 250 in Dallas. Felt like things weren’t coming easy for most of the day so the team and I worked hard to get me comfy for the main event when it really mattered. The main was basically total damage control since I went down in the first turn coming back to fifth place. Looking forward to Tampa and hopefully everybody calms down a little.”

 

Jordon Smith: (6th in 250SX) “That was a crazy race. From the first turn having to get up and get going again to the final lap, I’m just glad to get out of Texas without any major injury. We can walk away and look forward to a solid weekend in Tampa next week.”

 

Weston Peick: (7th in 450SX) “Practice went really well. I qualified sixth, which I was happy with. I didn’t get the start I was hoping for in the heat race, because I got tangled up through the first turn. There were a few times where I had to get aggressive in order to get around riders, but it worked in my favor. It was nice winning the heat race and having that momentum heading into the main. I didn’t realize how rough and choppy the track was going to get. We went a bit too stiff with the rear shock setting, which wasn’t the right choice when the track developed into what it was. Regardless, I showed good speed. I need to capitalize on those situations, and am looking forward to next weekend.”

 

Austin Forkner: (7th in 250SX) “The results don’t show how good I was riding today but I’m proud of how I was able to battle back. We have a lot of racing to do and I’ll work hard to be out front next week.”

 

Dean Wilson: (8th in 450SX) “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.”

 

Sean Cantrell: (8th in 250SX) “It’s an unreal experience to be under the lights for the first time. I am so thankful for the opportunity and to be able to see what it takes to run up front will definitely help me as we move forward throughout this season. I’m really looking forward to proving myself in the upcoming weeks.”

Jason Anderson got a 4th, but still extended his points lead.

Malcolm Stewart: (11th in 450SX) “There was some good racing in Arlington. I ran eighth the entire main, until I decided to jump off the track and into some Tuff Blocks. That dropped me to 11th. Overall, I can’t be too mad about it. I’m going to keep moving forward.”

 

Cameron Mcadoo: (13th in 250SX) “Dallas was a crazy one, and not how we had envisioned round one going. I got together with another rider on lap 1, and was stuck in his bike for about a half of a lap. I ended up with a small fracture in my right hand, but did everything I could to fight forward and ended up 13th.”

 

Broc Tickle: (9th in 450SX) “I knew the track was going to be tough tonight and I’m normally really good in those conditions so I kind of relied on knowing that. I tried to put myself in a good place on the start – especially after watching the 250 start – but I got hit from one side and the holeshot device was locked down so it made me knife the front and I fell over. I came from last to 9th and I was trying to make a pass on Dean but couldn’t make it happen and knifed the front and fell by myself. Overall, it’s the best Main Event riding I’ve had all season. I’m excited to go back to Florida and start riding with everyone again and get back on the regimen that we had before Christmas.”

 

Kyle Peters: (11th in 250SX) “I never felt like I got going all day long. For some reason I was hesitant, which was probably due to the first race jitters. Practice went okay, but things fell apart. In the heat race I rode cautiously and wasn’t aggressive enough. After the first turn crash in the main event I was pushing to get through the pack. I had a big crash while trying to pass [Cameron] Mcadoo. I got going again, but crashed again all by myself. After that it was survival mode. There’s no quit in me, and I’m fired up to get out there and do better.”

 

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.