2017 Phoenix 250SX Results
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Justin Hill earned his second 250SX Main Event win in a row at round four of the 250SX Western Regional Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
The KX250F rider Hill had a strong start coming around the first corner in third and made his way around his Supercross teammate, Austin Forkner, for second place just after the halfway mark. Hill then set his sights on the race leader, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Shane McElrath, who was just over two seconds ahead at that point.
Hill reeled him in and passed him in the left hand corner before the long start straight with only two laps to go. McElrath applied the pressure towards the end of the last lap, but Hill crossed the line first and threw a fist up in excitement, followed by McElrath and Forkner.
Following 2017 Phoenix 250SX, Hill is now four points out of the championship lead behind McElrath.
“It was just heart tonight,” said Hill. “Shane [McElrath] was just riding awesome. He got around Austin [Forkner] and railed away from us. When I got around Austin, I had so much ground to make up. He made me earn it until the very last lap. When I saw the white flag, I thought, no way did I just do this. I am just so happy and I cannot thank my sponsors enough.”
After a fifth place start, McElrath quickly moved into second place behind Forkner and made his way around the rookie. He led the next eleven laps before being passed by Hill with only two to go. McElrath’s second place finish on the night was enough to retain the points lead and red plate heading into Oakland next weekend.
Forkner put in his best ride of his career rounding out the podium in third. The rookie grabbed another SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award and led three laps before being passed by McElrath and Hill. The Missourri native sits in fifth place in the championship standings after four rounds.
Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger suffered from a less than desirable start coming around the first turn in ninth. He was able to make several calculated passes and work his way through the field to come back and finish fourth, which is his worst finish so far this season after finishing on the podium in the first three races.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos rounded out the top five for the night finishing in fifth place. Davalos ran in fourth place for the first half of the race, but was passed by Plessinger and had to settle for fifth.
Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Dan Reardon, LVN100/Nut Up Industries/Munn Racing/Husqvarna’s Josh Hansen, GEICO Honda’s Jimmy Decotis, Autotrader/JGR/Suzuki’s Phil Nicoletti, and 51Fifty Energy Yamaha’s Cole Martinez rounded out the top ten, respectively.
GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin opted to sit out the night show after having a crash earlier on in the day during practice. The Minnesota native plans to return to racing next weekend in Oakland. The series now heads to Oakland, Calif., Saturday for round five of 17.
Photography by Simon Cudby
2017 Phoenix 250SX Results, Round 4, Glendale, Ariz.:
- Justin Hill – Kawasaki KX250F
- Shane McElrath – KTM 250SX-F
- Austin Forkner – Kawasaki KX250F
- Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha YZ250F
- Martin Davalos – Husqvarna FC250
- Dan Reardon – Yamaha YZ250F
- Josh Hansen – Husqvarna FC250
- Jimmy Decotis – Honda CRF250R
- Phil Nicoletti – Suzuki RM-Z250
- Cole Martinez – Yamaha YZ250F
- Scott Champion – Yamaha YZ250F
- Kyle Chisholm – Honda CRF250R
- Noah McConahy – Husqvarna FC250
- Justin Starling – KTM 250SX-F
- Ryan Surratt – Kawasaki KX250F
- Killian Auberson – KTM 250SX-F
- AJ Catanzaro – Yamaha YZ250F
- Bryce Stewart – Yamaha YZ250F
- Brandon Scharer – Honda CRF250R
- Chase Marquier – Honda CRF250R
- Carlen Gardner – Yamaha YZ250F
- Jon Ames – Yamaha YZ250F
2017 250SX Standings (after four of 17 rounds):
- Shane McElrath, KTM-92
- Justin Hill, Kawasaki- 88
- Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha- 82
- Martin Davalos, Husqvarna- 70
- Austin Forkner, Kawasaki- 67
- James Decotis, Honda- 55
- Dan Reardon, Yamaha-47
- Jeremy Martin, Honda- 40
- Phillip Nicoletti, Suzuki- 38
- Joshua Hansen, Husqvarna- 37