Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/949962
SUPERCROSS ROUND 9 / MARCH 3, 2018 MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM / ATLANTA, GEORGIA P56 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS iii My Own Race: 10 JUSTIN BRAYTON 4TH (1-6-6) 450SX Justin Brayton has been on it all year, and finally in Atlanta he got his first main-event win. It's just too bad it was the first of three main events, which means technically his 1-6-6 score was only good enough for fourth overall. But in the first main event of the night, he controlled it. "I was so close at Anaheim II with the Triple Crown format," Brayton said after the first-moto win. "I got off to a great start, made a pass, and just set sail. I don't know what was going on behind me. There was a lot of crowd noise. I didn't know what was going on, but I'll take it. This feels good." 6 JEREMY MARTIN 5TH (6-10-1) 250SX EAST Like Brayton, Jeremy Martin has had good speed all year, but hasn't managed to put it all together. In the final main event in Atlanta, Martin was able to do it, taking the win. His 6-10-1 score was good enough for fifth overall. "Honestly, it was all in the start," Martin said. "I mean, that's the biggest thing. There's no doubt that I've got the speed to run with these guys who have been winning and battling for podium finishes, but you've got to get out front and get clean. I had a big, big crash today in practice, and I wasn't feeling very good, but we were able to get through it. I look forward to Daytona next weekend and hammering it out." Martin finished second in the 450SX class at Daytona last year. 35 AUSTIN FORKNER 1ST (4-2-3) 250SX EAST Austin Forkner may not have won any of the main events, but he was always there, and his last-lap pass on RJ Hampshire, with the overall victory on the line, landed him his second win in a row. "It's awesome," Forkner said. "That was one of the most hectic nights of racing that I've had in a while. With the first one, I just kind of got shuffled back and couldn't make moves, and the second moto, I clipped some Tuff Blocks and ripped my brake off, and me and Zach [Osborne] ended up getting together. Then [the final] moto, just not the greatest start, kind of got shut down, and shuffled around, and had to push super-hard. There was a bunch of carnage going around, but I knew I had to have somebody be- tween me and Zach to get the overall, and I knew that I had to get RJ [Hampshire] on that last lap, and I pushed as hard as I could that whole time and made it happen." 45 JORDON SMITH 3RD (3-4-6) 250SX EAST Jordon Smith had a decent night in Atlanta. "The Triple Crown is a fun format," Smith said. "It's a lot of really intense racing. My night went pretty good. I got really good starts tonight, which is an improvement from the first two races, and I was riding a little bit tight out there. The track was really tough, and I didn't feel very comfortable. It's always good to get on the podium, espe- cially with a sixth, but I've got to start getting on the top step and not letting these guys run away on points. It's tough giving them points every weekend. It's going to be tough to come back. But we're just trying to keep building." Smith is fourth in points, only 15 behind leader Osborne.