Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne has quickly put a death grip on the Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series and when round five of the series made its stop at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Saturday night, Osborne added to his series points lead by rolling to his third win in the past four races.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy was desperate to get back in the win column at Indianapolis after winning the series opener at Minneapolis, and he landed the holeshjot with Osborne and RMATV/MC-WPS-KTM’s Dakota Alix in tow when the 22-rider field left the starting gate for the main event.
While Osborne dogged Savatgy, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM duo of Alex Martin and Jordon Smith and Yamalube/Thor/Rockstar/Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis all made their way around Alix to establish the top five in the early going. Savatgy and Osborne were separated by just a few bike lengths while Martin and Smith battled for third place. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo, fresh off a win at the previous round in Daytona, passed Ferrandis for fifth place before the five-minute mark in the race.
Osborne began to try and stick a wheel in on Savatgy early, but Savatgy was able to fend him off until lap nine. Osborne was showing more speed than the Kawasaki through the whoop section, and with Martin and Smith threatening to strike, Osborne charged through the whoops and dove inside Savtagy on lap 10. The two riders banged wheels, with Osborne getting the better of it from his inside position in the left-hander, and he took over the race lead. Osborne was then able to work lapped traffic effectively, opening up a gap that would build to 2.2 seconds at the finish.
“I felt like half the track Joey [Savatgy] was way better than me, and on the other half I had a little advantage. We were tit for tat,” said Osborne, who has now earned three main event wins by passing for the lead rather than holding it from the start. “Even after I passed [Savatgy] he was right there the whole time. It was a great race. I wasn’t able to hit [all the obstacles] in the fastest way, so I had to bide my time [before making the pass].”
Savatgy held on to finish second, not the position he had hoped for but one that mitigated his points loss to Osborne in the series standings with the nine-round series having eclipsed the halfway point at Indianapolis.
“Forward progress,” Savatgy called it. “The last three weeks a little rough. You know we had those two rounds where we were off the podium, and that wasn’t very good. But last weekend at Daytona we had a good race, and this weekend we still made some good progress. Obviously I’m very frustrated. I tightened up a lot, didn’t flow, didn’t let the track come to me. That adds a little bit more fuel to the fire. I’m a hard worker, and we’ve got a good thing going at The Farm [training facility], so we’ll be back next weekend for a little bit of redemption.”
Behind the top two Martin and Smith continued their battle for third until Martin crashed in a corner. Smith had to stop to avoid Martin’s downed bike, but he was able to advance and finish third ahead of the remounted Martin and Cianciarulo.
“I felt really good today, and I felt like I had he speed to win,” Smith said. “Alex and I both got off to a good start there with Joey and Zach. I really felt like if I could get around Alex, I could make a run for those guys, but we got tangled up. The track was really tough out there, so I’m glad to be up on the podium.”
Osborne now holds a nine-point lead over Savatgy, while Cianciarulo sits third, 18 points out of the lead. The now moves to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, March 25.
2017 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana
Results: March 18, 2017 (Round 5 of 9)
1. Zach Osborne-Hus
2. Joey Savatgy-Kaw
3. Jordon Smith-KTM
4. Alex Martin-KTM
5. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
6. Christian Craig-Hon
7. Dylan Ferrandis-Yam
8. Mitchell Harrison-Yam
9. Anthony Rodriguez-Yam
10. Kyle Cunningham-Suz
11. Kevin Miller-Yam
12. Dakota Alix-KTM
13. John Short-Suz
14. Luke Renzland-Yam
15. Dylan Merriam-Yam
16. Eric Grondahl-KTM
17. Joshua Cartwright-Yam
18. Gradie Featherstone-Yam
19. Cole Thompson-KTM
20. Jesse Wentland-Hon
21. Fredrik Noren-Hon
22. Jerry Robin-Yam
2017 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 5 of 9 rounds)
1. Zach Osborne-111/3 wins
2. Joey Savatgy-102/1 win
3. Adam Cianciarulo-93/1 win
4. Jordon Smith-90
5. Dylan Ferrandis-68
6. Alex Martin-60
7. Christian Craig-51
8. Luke Renzland-50
9. Colt Nichols-49
10. Anthony Rodriguez-46
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