Toronto 250SX East Coverage | Hill Survives Turn 1, Wins
With Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East points leader Martin Davalos missing the race due to “personal reasons,” according to Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing, the championship lead was due to change after the night of racing at Rogers Centre in Toronto. However, little of what was to transpire in Round 3 of the 250SX East series could be described as expected.
In the Main Event, MAD Racing/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Matt Bisceglia grabbed the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award, but there was carnage in the first turn triggered by Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Malcolm Stewart. The pile-up left Rockstar Energy/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin and Aaron Plessinger, GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Arnaud Tonus, and Stewart, among others, on the dirt.
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Alexander Frye and Bisceglia stayed ahead of the pile-up and sprinted to an early lead. Four Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM riders—Bisceglia, Shane McElrath, Frye, and Justin Hill were 1-2-3-4 at the end of first lap, with Heat winner Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers in 5th.
However, Hill was on the march, passing Frye on Lap 2 for 3rd place, Bisceglia on the following lap, and McElrath for the lead on the next lap. Hill then sprinted off to a 20-second victory, his first 250SX win of the season.
“We qualified quickest in practice and had the fastest time in the heat race” said Hill. “I just had all the confidence in the world. The bike was working awesome. It was just a run and hide thing. It was a lot of fun racing and I couldn’t be happier.”
Picking himself up and rejoining the race in 19th place after Lap 1 was Martin, who rode like a man on a mission to take the Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East points lead. By Lap 5, Martin was in the top 10, and the top 3 by Lap 8. On Lap 9, Martin passed Bisceglia for 2nd, where he finished 10 seconds ahead of eventual 3rd place finisher Bisceglia.
Bisceglia’s 3rd place was his first podium of the season, while rookie Frye rode to a career-best 4th. RSR Starr Cycle/Honda’s Jesse Wentland came from 13th place on Lap 1 to crack the top 5.
Stewart rebounded from the first turn crash to take 6th place, even with two pit stops to solve an apparent electrical issue. Three more riders took top 10 spots for the first time this year— Truck Central/Yamaha’s Benny Bloss (7th), Kissimmee Motorsports/Kawasaki’s Gannon Audette (8th), and Ti-Lube/Storm Lake Honda’s Paul Coates (9th). Tonus bounced back from the first-turn wreck to round out the top 10.
Martin sits atop the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East standings with 65 points, two points ahead of Hill, who leads Stewart by eight. In his absence, Davalos drops to 4th in the standings, tied with Plessinger, 20 points behind Martin. Only three rounds into the series, just three riders—Martin, Hill, and Stewart—have finished in the top 10 in all three races.
Photography by Simon Cudby
Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East Results, Round 3, Rogers Centre, Toronto
1. Justin Hill – KTM 250SX-F
2. Jeremy Martin – Yamaha YZ250F
3. Matt Bisceglia – Suzuki RM-Z250
4. Alex Frye – KTM 250SX-F
5. Jesse Wentland – Honda CRF250R
6. Malcolm Stewart – Honda CRF250R
7. Benny Bloss – Yamaha YZ250F
8. Gannon Audette – Kawasaki KX250F
9. Paul Coates – Kawasaki KX250F
10. Arnaud Tonus – Kawasaki KX250F
11. Tyler Bowers – Kawasaki KX250F
12. Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha YZ250F
13. Cedric Soubeyras – Kawasaki KX250F
14. Anthony Rodriguez – Kawasaki KX250F
15. Josh Cartwright – Yamaha YZ250F
16. Justin Starling – Kawasaki KX250F
17. Jimmy Albertson – Suzuki RM-Z250
18. Shane McElrath – KTM 250SX-F
19. Logan Karnow – Kawasaki KX250F
20. Daniel Herrlein – Honda CRF250R
21. Cody Church – Kawasaki KX250F
22. RJ Hampshire – Honda CRF250R
Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East Standings (after 3 of 9 rounds)
1. Jeremy Martin, 65 points (1 win)
2. Justin Hill, 63 (1 win)
3. Malcolm Stewart, 55
4. Martin Davalos, 45 (1 win)
5. Aaron Plessinger, 45
6. Tyler Bowers, 35
7. Matthew Bisceglia, 32
8. Benny Bloss, 32
9. Alexander Frye, 31
10. Jesse Wentland, 30
11. RJ Hampshire, 30
12. Arnaud Tonus, 28
13. Gannon Audette, 26
14. Jimmy Albertson, 20
15. Anthony Rodriguez, 19
16. Cedric Soubeyras, 17
17. Paul Coates, 16
18. Dakota Alix, 16
19. Shane McElrath, 15
20. Darryn Durham, 14
Toronto Supercross 250SX East Photo Gallery
