Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider, Joey Savatgy notched the first moto win of his career en route to a clean 1-1 sweep at Hangtown and his second career overall victory.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider, Joey Savatgy notched the first moto win of his career en route to a clean 1-1 sweep at Hangtown and his second career overall victory.
The day well for Savatgy, turning the fastest lap in practice, and he proceeded to carry that speed over into the first moto of the season when he powered to the front of the field to grab the holeshot. Close behind were Jordon Smith and Jeremy Martin, with Cooper Webb and RJ Hampshire rounding out the top five.
Savatgy began to open up a lead and steadily pull away from Smith. He took the checkered flag, finishing more than three seconds ahead of second-place Smith.
The moto win was the first of Savatgy’s career and put the rest of the field on notice.
Martin successfully made the pass on Webb for third with under seven minutes left on the countdown clock and held the position until the checkered flag.
In the second moto, it was Jessy Nelson storming to the front of the pack for a holeshot with brothers Jeremy and Alex Martin in tow. A first-turn pileup ensued, then a a downed rider caused the red flag to come out though, and the race needed to be restarted.
On the restart, Nelson did it again and took the holeshot. This time it was Moto 1 winner Savatgy right behind him. Savatgy spent the next 24 minutes of the race keeping pace with Nelson up front before finally closing in and making a move to take over the lead.
After giving up the top spot, Nelson began to fade back. He finished in sixth place after dropping spots to Alex Martin, Aaron Plessinger, Zach Osborne and Cooper Webb in the closing laps. Alex Martin began to close in on Savatgy but never got close enough to attempt a pass. Savatgy won the moto by a final margin of victory of less than 1.5 seconds.
The 1-1 sweep gave Savatgy the overall victory and a significant 15-point lead in the 250MX standings heading into Glen Helen, where he will run the red plate on his bike.
“It’s a good way to start a season,” Savatgy said afterwards when interviewed on the broadcast. “We’ve been working for a long time and finished the supercross season strong. We came out swinging today, it felt good all day. First moto win this morning, now two in the same day. We’ll take it and now keep working, keep improving.”
Behind Savatgy, the overall results featured a quartet of Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha teammates. The group was led by Alex Martin, who posted 8-2 moto finishes. Webb (4-5) joined him on the overall podium despite riding with a broken wrist that he described as “brutal” after the race. Plessinger (9-3) and Jeremy Martin (3-9) rounded out the top five.
After his incredible effort in Moto 1, Jordon Smith appeared to be on the brink of another podium finish in the second moto. He was running in the top three for the first five laps of the race before dropping a spot to Forker. On Lap 8, he tipped over and then began to fade, ultimately finishing 16th in the moto. His 2-16 moto finshes slotted him seventh overall for the day.
250 Class Overall
1. Joey Savatgy (1-1)
2. Alex Martin (8-2)
3. Cooper Webb (4-5)
4. Aaron Plessinger (9-3)
5. Jeremy Martin (3-9)
6. Jessy Nelson (7-6)
7. Jordon Smith 2-16)
8. Austin Forkner (13-7)
9. Tristan Charboneau (6-14)
10. Mitchell Oldenburg (11-10)
11. Zach Osborne (20-4)
12. Christian Craig (15-8)
13. Adam Cianciarulo (12-11)
14. Colt Nichols (14-12)
15. RJ Hampshire (5-38)
16. Alex Frye (10-17)
17. Justin Hill (21-13)
18. Arnaud Tonus (22-15)
19. Mitchell Harrison (16-20)
20. Luke Renzland (19-19)