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/956070
SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD ROUND 11 / MARCH 17, 2018 THE DOME AT AMERICA'S CENTER / ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI P72 250SX EAST Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) came out swinging at round one of the 2018 250SX Eastern Regional Supercross Series in Arlington, Texas, a month ago, but in the time since, he's found himself coming from behind in every main event, while Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) took his first two supercross wins and tied Osborne atop the leaderboard with a podium finish in Daytona a week ago. But, in St. Louis, Osborne finally retaliated. Forkner started out front in the main event, but Osborne was hot on his heels, and just as he started putting some extra pressure on Forkner around the halfway point, Forkner made which means he has his first Triple Crown event (which is also an East/ West combined event) coming up this weekend in Indianapolis. TOMAC'S DOMINANCE Despite some inconsistent results at the end of the night at some of the races, Eli Tomac has now led 114 laps so far in 2018 on his way to winning his five main events. The next-closest lap-leader is points leader Jason An- derson, who has 51 as of the check- ered flag in St. Louis. LUCKY 14? Martin Davalos (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki) has, once again, found himself in a unique position regarding his 250cc eligibility. Backing up a little bit, Davalos is only racing the 250cc class this year because he couldn't find a 450cc ride for 2018, despite multiple podium finishes in the 450cc class during the 2017 450cc MX Nationals. There are a very limited number of 450cc rides available. But Davalos returned to the PC team and hoped to finally come away with a 250cc title in his 13th 250cc season. A lot of people have a problem with how long he's been in the class, but the truth is that he has not prevented anybody else from moving on from the class, and he is consistently—over 13 years—one of the fastest 250cc racers on the planet. Davalos entered the 2018 250cc East with a head of steam, and he was fast right away, but it all went south when he was taken out in the first turn at the opener, and ever since, he's been scrambling to make up points. That scramble has led to more mistakes, more crashes, and has left Davalos beat up. The latest episode occurred in St. Louis, where Briefly... Zach Osborne had things go smoothly for him since his first win in Texas. He took the win and, once again, owns the 250SX East Championship lead.