Arlington, Texas. (February 17, 2018) – Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner started his sophomore supercross campaign with a heat race win and then came through the pack to earn seventh inside AT&T Stadium. Teammate Martin Davalos had a good day going for him as the top qualifier and heat race winner, but was hit hard from behind in the first turn of the main event and was unable to continue the race.
Forkner has overcome a lot on his road to Round 1, 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.
“The first lap was very chaotic with the riders going down in the first turn and everyone trying to settle in,” said Forkner. “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.”
Davalos put all eyes on him as the top qualifier on the day. He was able to translate that day speed to the night racing, winning his respective heat race to enter the main event with first gate pick. Davalos got a good jump off the line and was about to put his KX250F into the first turn when he was hit from behind and went down. The hard crash forced Davalos to retire from the race, turning his attention to Round 2 in Tampa, Florida, next weekend.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you put in the work all day long and then get taken out on the start of the main event,” said Davalos. “I’ve been in this position before and am not going to give up on my hopes for a championship. It just got a little more challenging. We’ll see how I feel this week and will hopefully be back out on top next weekend.”
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250SX Class Western Regional Main Event Results
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna)
- Colt Nichols (Yamaha)
- Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki)
- RJ Hampshire (Honda)
- Jeremy Martin (Honda)
- Jordon Smith (KTM)
- Austin Forkner (Kawasaki)
- Brandon Hartnaft (Yamaha)
- Sean Cantrell (KTM)
- Luke Renzland (Yamaha)
250SX Class Western Region Points Standings
- Zach Osborne (Husqvarna), 26
- Colt Nichols (Yamaha), 23
- Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 21
- RJ Hampshire (Honda), 19
- Jeremy Martin (Honda), 18
- Jordon Smith (KTM), 17
- Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), 16
- Brandon Hartnaft (Yamaha), 15
- Sean Cantrell (KTM), 14
- Luke Renzland (Yamaha), 13
