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SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS ROUND 7 / FEBRUARY 17, 2018 AT&T STADIUM / ARLINGTON, TEXAS P68 1E ZACH OSBORNE 1ST 250SX EAST "I knew that everyone [a lot of the top riders] were in [the first-turn crash]," Zach Osborne said of the main event. "I was in a position to kind of work through the race and take my time, then I fell over myself and that sent my heart rate through the roof. All day was kind of strange for me, I never really gelled with the track, was putting too much pressure on myself maybe. To win and get the first race out of the way is a great feeling." 47 JIMMY DECOTIS 3RD 250SX EAST Jimmy Decotis finished out the night on the podium for the first time of his career. "I know a lot of the good guys crashed but I rode my own race, I rode smart, I nailed my marks, did everything I had to do and it just feels good to get this [first podium] off my back; I'm more relieved than I am happy," Decotis said. "The day started off super good. I was very comfortable all day long on my Suzuki RM-Z250. My expectations were to get through the first round, have fun and do my best. When I saw my times up on the board in practice I knew that I had the speed. I haven't felt that comfortable on a racetrack in a long time. With the work I had done through the offseason, and after struggling with Lyme disease, it made me stoked. The main was insane! I've never been that happy to get a bad start. I struggled to get off the gate and missed my shift. Then I saw everyone flying, and I started working through the pack. All of a sudden, I was in fifth place. I kept my lap times down and scored my first career podium. I went back to the rig and got a round of applause. It was unreal!" 36 RJ HAMPSHIRE 4TH 250SX EAST Despite leading the race and finishing just off the podium, RJ Hampshire wasn't happy with his riding. "I was riding so bad all day; I shouldn't have been leading," he said. "Even the second lap, I almost endoed off a dragon's back, had to roll the whole section. It was just sloppy. To be leading with three minutes and 30 seconds to go, I was just like 'Dude, what is going on?' I kind of got comfortable in the middle a little bit and was kind of clicking them off. By the time Zach [Osborne] got into second I should have had a 10-second lead. But I had a two-second lead. I should have held it together and shouldn't have made those mistakes. But I've never led laps before and I've never gotten a holeshot in the main event, so that's something." 35 AUSTIN FORKNER 7TH 250SX EAST Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki), who spent a part of the off- season recovering from an injury, got off to a good start in the championship after winning his heat race. He avoided the first-turn pileup in the main but a crash with another rider a few turns later put him out of winning contention. "The first lap was very chaotic with the riders going down in the first turn and everyone trying to settle in," said Forkner. "I made a mistake and went down, costing me some time. I was able to get in a groove and start picking off riders, but the front group was already pretty far ahead. I almost got the next two guys who connected on the final lap, but just missed out." 76 KYLE PETERS 15TH 250SX EAST Kyle Peters made his debut on the Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki Team but crashes ruined his night. "I never felt like I got going all day long," he said. "For some reason I was hesitant, which was probably due to the first-race jitters. Practice went okay, but things fell apart. In the heat race I rode cautiously and wasn't aggressive enough. After the first-turn crash in the main event, I was pushing to get through the pack. I had a big crash while trying to pass [Cameron] McAdoo. I got going again, but crashed again all by myself. After that it was survival mode."

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