Jeremy Martin becomes the first repeat winner at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis; points battle reaches fever pitch.
At the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, tonight, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin was a prime example of how quickly fortunes can change in the 250cc regional series of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, while GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart was too, only on the less desirable end of the spectrum.
One week ago, the two-time Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Champion saw his hope for the Monster Energy AMA 250cc East Supercross Series dealt a severe blow when he crashed out of the race at the Indy Supercross. Tonight, with little pressure on him to scrap for every point, Martin had a flawless race and became the first two-time winner in the East this season. Not only that, Martin upgraded his title chances from dire to longshot, as a rough performance from series leader Stewart allowed both Martin and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha teammate Aaron Plessinger to gain points on Stewart.
“I just look at it like I work way too hard during the week with [trainer] Johnny O’Mara and the whole Star Racing team–we put in a lot of work,” Martin said. “I was sitting there on the line before the gate dropped, and I’m like. ‘Dude, you know what? We’re going to make it happen tonight. We’re going to get a good start and we’re going to ride 15 solid laps.’ And that’s what I was able to do.”
Sure enough, Martin grabbed the lead on lap one of the 15-lap St. Louis 250cc main event and never looked back, finishing 8.8 seconds ahead of Indy winner Plessinger, who had another strong race that saw hima third consecutive visit to the podium and also pull within just one point of Stewart. The points battle between Plessinger and Stewart–if not the action on the track was definitely a seesaw affair, as Stewart hit the deck numerous times during the race, losing track position only to gain it back again.
Up front, Martin had no issues as he pulled away from Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Shane McElrath through the first five laps of the race, building up a 4-second lead before McElrath came under pressure from the consistently fast Plessinger, who made the pass for second place in the short rhythm section that was used to connect the track to the start straight. From there, Plessinger eventually put 10 seconds on McElrath, though Plessinger could do little to cut into Martin’s healthy lead. aft
“I’ve got to give it up to the whole team,” Plessinger said. “They’re behind me 100 percent, and we’re just out at the track every day. I’m pounding laps and getting my fitness down, and it seems to have really helped me these last few rounds.”
Stewart, meanwhile, was back in 11th place after crashing in the sand section on two separate occasions. If the race had finished at the halfway mark, Stewart would have found himself two points behind Plessinger in the series standings, but the GEICO Honda rider fought his way up to sixth place position to keep himself atop the series, only to crash again two laps from the finish and drop back to ninth. A strong finish that saw him pick off Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers for eighth place allowed him to maintain a tenuous one-point hold on the series lead.
McElrath held on for third place in the race, landing his second podium finish of the season.
“Since coming back from injury, I’ve just settled into a groove and tried to be as smooth as possible,” McElrath said. “I kind of lost my intensity, so this week we just went back, worked on sprints and pretty much went until I couldn’t go any more [laps]. I’m just looking forward to next weekend [and] happy to be making progress.”
The series next stop will be Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, April 23.
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
Edward Jones Dome
St. Louis, Missouri
Results: April 16, 2016 (Round 6 of 9)
250 Main Event
1. Jeremy Martin-Yam
2. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
3. Shane Mcelrath-KTM
4. Rj Hampshire-Hon
5. Gannon Audette-Kaw
6. Anthony Rodriguez-Kaw
7. Alexander Frye-KTM
8. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
9. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
10. Paul Coates-Kaw
11. Benny Bloss-Kaw
12. Matthew Bisceglia-Suz
13. Justin Starling-Kaw
14. Dakota Alix-KTM
15. Martin Davalos-Hus
16. Darryn Durham-Yam
17. Henry Miller-Hon
18. Joshua Cartwright-Yam
19. Jimmy Albertson-Suz
20. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
21. Cedric Soubeyras-Kaw
22. Gradie Featherstone-Kaw
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 6 of 9 rounds)
1. Malcolm Stewart-115/1 win
2. Aaron Plessinger-114/1 win
3. Jeremy Martin-99/2 wins
4. Martin Davalos-83/1 win
5. Tyler Bowers-78
6. Gannon Audette-77
7. Rj Hampshire-77
8. Shane McElrath-73
9. Justin Hill-63
10. Anthony Rodriguez-58
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