On the final lap, the number-31
bumped up into third as RJ
Hampshire crashed out of the
final podium spot.
"Super-frustrating, but nothing
I can do about it now," Hamp
-
shire said.
Smith, who has yet to
finish
no worse than third, controls the
points lead by eight over second
place, Levi Kitchen, who was
fifth on the night.
"Two mud races in the first
three rounds I wouldn't have
expected them to go that good
for myself," said Smith. "I was
just trying to be smart where I
was. It's a long race, and a lot
can happen. Then I made a few
It's been a really long time, since
Daytona, that I've led some laps,
and then a lapper ruins it for
me. It seemed like they [lappers]
got all bunched up, and he [the
lapper] made a costly mistake in
the same line I got into, and I just
ran right into the back of him and
about fell over."
Jordon Smith rounded out
the box with a third-place finish.
The current points leader started
up front and rode smart in the
opening stages of the race, but
a few mistakes dropped him
back. Smith settled into fourth
for most of the race, knowing the
leaders ahead of him were still
behind him in the points chase.
The ClubMX Yamaha rider
uncorked the triple jump every
lap and looked to be on his way
to his second career victory.
Late in the race, a lapped rider
became stuck in Marchbanks'
line and forced him into his rear
fender. This mistake allowed
Thrasher to overtake the lead
and ultimately cost Marchbanks
the win. With back-to-back podi
-
ums, the number 26 sits third in
the season standings.
"I've
never had that situation
where I've led a good amount of
laps," said Marchbanks. "Once
I passed RJ for the lead, I'd say
for the first lap, I was kind of like,
'Holy crap, I'm actually leading.'
ROUND 3 / JANUARY 20, 2024
SNAPDRAGON STADIUM / SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES / SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P70
Garrett Marchbanks
led most of the 250SX
main but got caught up
with a lapped rider.
