February 17, 2018 | AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (February 18, 2018) – Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship headed East to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for Round 7 of the 2018 season. Stormy skies early led to smooth sailing for Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac inside AT&T Stadium as he had a perfect night, leading every lap on his way to the victory champagne on the podium. The season’s second visit to the state of Texas also provided the first appearance for the East Coast 250SX Class riders including Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos and Austin Forkner.
Tomac kicked off the day with a great showing in qualifying by posting the fastest lap time in the 450SX Class. Heading into the night show, Tomac was looking good and delivered a dominant performance. Tomac and his KX™ took the holeshot and led every lap of both his heat race and the 450SX Main Event. Tomac bared his true tenacity and pursuit of the championship by marking his third win and placing himself within the top-10 of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Rider Point Standings.
Tomac’s teammate, Josh Grant, had an accident in practice sidelining the Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider with a right leg injury. Grant will undergo further evaluation to determine his status for next week’s race.
“It was a night of good starts,” said Tomac. “After that is was all about being consistent. After qualifying, we found our pace and we were feeling it all day. The win feels great and we’re just looking forward to next week.”
450SX Race Results
1. Eli Tomac
2. Marvin Musquin
3. Blake Baggett
450SX Point Standings
1. Jason Anderson 160
2. Cole Seely 124
3. Blake Baggett 120
10. Eli Tomac 90
12. Josh Grant 83
Monster Energy®/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders looked good heading into the night show with Davalos and Forkner qualifying first and eighth respectively in the 250SX Class. Both riders had dominant performances in their heat races by each taking the holeshot and leading every lap until the checkered flag waved.
When the gate dropped for the 250SX Main Event, the 22-rider field went bar-to-bar entering the first corner, resulting in a multi-rider pileup. Unfortunately, another rider rode into Davalos’ rear wheel causing him to crash and pull off of the track with a 22nd place finish. Davalos’ teammate, Forkner, managed to make it through the first turn carnage but ran into trouble on the opening lap, pushing him back to 16th place. The No.35 KX™ rider showed the fans that he is a competitor and fought all the way back to a respectable seventh place finish.
“If I said I wasn’t frustrated with what happened, I would be lying,” said Davalos. “We qualified fastest, we got the start we wanted in the heat race and I was feeling really good. Unfortunately, things happened that were out of our control. We’ll get back on the bike and look forward to Tampa.”
“The results don’t show how good I was riding today but I’m proud of how I was able to battle back,” said Forkner. “We have a lot of racing to do and I’ll work hard to be out front next week.”
250SX Race Results
1. Zach Osborne
2. Colt Nichols
3. James Decotis
7. Austin Forkner
22. Martin Davalos
250SX Point Standings
1. Zach Osborne 26
2. Colt Nichols 23
3. James Decotis 21
7. Austin Forkner 16
22. Martin Davalos 1
