Kit Palmer | May 21, 2016
If the Hangtown results are any indication of things to come in the 250MX class, then Joey Savatgy might be the rider who everyone will be chasing this year, but the one thing that is for certain, though, is that he will be wearing the red plate, which signifies the current points leader, next week at Glen Helen.
Savatgy, on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, was superb at Hangtown. He was the number-one qualifier and he topped both motos in dominant fashion.
Savatgy got out in front early in the first moto and never looked back, taking the win well ahead of GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith. In the second moto, he had to work a little harder. Lucas Oil/TLD/Red Bull KTM’s Jessy Nelson nabbed the holeshot and was adamant about staying there—in the lead—but Savatgy wore him down and eventually got around the KTM rider and went on to take the win.
But Savatgy could never really relax, because Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Alex Martin (Jeremy Martin’s older brother) made a push towards the end that earned him a close second to Savatgy.
“I hate the first round so much because there’s so many unknowns,” Savatgy said. “You feel good, but you don’t know where you’re going to be until the gate drops. We started good in practice and then got the holeshot and led every lap of the first moto. We got another good start in the second moto and waited until the right opportunity to get by Jessy [Nelson]. My goal this year is to be on the podium [each week] and not throw it away [with a bad race]. There are a lot of good dudes in this class and you don’t want to be behind the eight ball. There’s not really anything to complain about. It was a perfect day.”
Martin ended up second overall (tying a career best) despite finishing eighth in the first moto.
“We started with a smooth, fast track in practice, so it wasn’t a good indication of the day,” said Alex Martin. “I finished about eighth in the first moto, but that wasn’t what I was expecting. I got a great start in the second moto, but then they red flagged it. I still got a decent start the second time around about sixth or so and just kept charging. I eventually got up to the lead group of guys and battled with them. I’m really happy with how everything went.”
Third overall went to Cooper Webb despite riding with a broken wrist that he suffered about four weeks ago. Webb went 4-5 for third, while his teammates Aaron Plessinger (9-3) and Jeremy Martin (3-9) took fourth and fifth overall, respectively. The Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha Team took second through fifth—not a bad start to the season for the riders in blue.
Nelson was sixth overall with a 7-6.
Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) and Tristan Charboneau (GEICO Honda) made their pro debuts at Hangtown and both riders cracked the top 10 overall, with Forkner taking eighth and Charboneau ninth.
Mitchell Oldenburg rounded out the top 10 overall.
Smith, who took second in the first moto, fell in the second moto and ended up 16th for seventh overall.
RESULTS
GoPro Hangtown Classic National
Rancho Cordova, California
May 21, 2016