SUPERCROSS
MONSTER ENERGY CUP
MONSTER ENERGY CUP / OCTOBER 14, 2017
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA / MONSTER ENERGY CUP
P64
"Yeah, it's amazing how things can
change," Wilson said. "It's just been a
really great, amazing year. This time last
year I exactly remember this race. I was
watching Kenny [Roczen]. I was sitting
on the couch and didn't know really what
my future plans were. It was a pretty low
point in life. I didn't really know what was
going to happen. I did the best with what I
could and tried hard. It just all paid off. It's
definitely rewarding to be on the podium
here. It's a great feeling."
With a fresh million dollars on its way to
Musquin, he now heads to the Red Bull
Straight Rhythm as the defending cham-
pion of that event this coming Saturday in
Pomona, California.
Amateur All-Stars
Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki's
Seth Hammaker wasn't new to the Mon-
ster Energy Cup coming into the 2017
event. Hammaker won a moto in the
Supermini class at last year's event, but
crashed big-time in moto two. In his first
year in the 250cc "Amateur All-Stars"
class, he was considered an underdog,
but you wouldn't know it by how he rode,
going 1-1 and handily defeating all rivals to
land his first overall win on the big stage.
"For sure, last year I started off the
same way as tonight," Hammaker said.
"I won the first main event. Last year the
second main event, threw it away, had a
crash. But tonight I kind of approached it
a little differently. Got off to a great start
in the second moto and tried to be as pa-
tient as I could, but also had riders behind
me charging. I felt great all day. My team
was working hard and I really appreciate
all the help. It was a great night."
(Right) Former World MX champ Tim Gajser
made his supercross debut. He was impressive,
though his night didn't end so well.
Hammaker is now 17, but he's not getting
ahead of himself. The natural inclination is
to wonder when he's going to hit the pros,
having won an event like this, but he's taking
his time.
"Hopefully, thinking 2019, but it's still up
in the air yet," Hammaker said. "I don't have
any set plans yet, but hopefully sooner than
Justin Bogle
suffered a hard
crash in the
first Cup race
that forced a
red flag.
