GEICO Honda Report – ARLINGTON: 2018

Courtesy of Geico Honda

Arlington, Texas (February 17, 2018) – The first round of the Monster Energy Supercross 2018 250SX East Region Championship served as a reminder of just how crazy racing in the small-bore class can be. A chaotic night led to some highs and lows for GEICO Honda’s three-man eastern group of Jeremy Martin, RJ Hampshire, and Cameron McAdoo. For certain they’re looking for better results and less drama next time.

Off the start, a massive, massive first-turn crash caught nearly half the field, including Martin. It was fortunate for Hampshire, though, who grabbed the holeshot and found himself with a sold early lead as the rest of the pack picked themselves up. Unfortunately, Hampshire wasn’t feeling it all day, and he ended getting shuffled back to fourth by the end of the main event.

“I was riding so bad all day, I shouldn’t have been leading,” he said. “Even the second lap, I almost endoed off a dragon’s back, had to roll the whole section. It was just sloppy. To be leading with three minutes and thirty seconds to go, I was just like ‘Dude, what is going on?’ I kind of got comfortable in the middle a little bit and was kind of clicking them off. By the time Zach [Osborne] into second I should have had a ten-second lead. But I had a two-second lead. I should have held it together and shouldn’t have made those mistakes. But I’ve never led laps before and I’ve never gotten a holeshot in the main event, so that’s something. We’re going home next weekend.”

Hampshire is certainly looking forward to next weekend’s Tampa, Florida event. He was born and raised about 30 minutes from the stadium.

After the first turn crash, Martin picked himself up and soldiered forward, getting into fifth on the final lap when Jordon Smith hit him hard in a last-ditch pass attempt, leaving both riders on the ground. Martin got quickly and held onto the spot. He chose to take the high-road when talking about the race.

“Really enjoyed finally being back on the gate for GEICO Honda on the 250 in Dallas,” said Martin. “Felt like things weren’t coming easy for most of the day so the team and I worked hard to get me comfy for the main event when it really mattered. The main was basically total damage control since I went down in the first turn coming back to fifth place. Looking forward to Tampa and hopefully everybody calms down a little.”

McAdoo avoided the first-turn carnage but he, too, but not soon after he got taken down by another rider. In the crash, he ended up breaking a bone in his hand. He somehow got back up and kept fighting to the end to finish 13^th.

“Dallas was a crazy one, and not how we had envisioned round one going,” said McAdoo. “I got together with another rider on lap 1 and was stuck in his bike for about a half of a lap. I ended up with a small fracture in my right hand, but did everything I could to fight forward and ended up 13^th.”

McAdoo says the bone is not displaced and the injury will not require surgery. He will be evaluated this week to determine his status for Tampa.

GEICO Honda Results

Monster Energy Supercross

Arlington, Texas

250SX East

4. RJ Hampshire

5. Jeremy Martin

13. Cameron McAdoo

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