Geico Honda - Hangtown 2018 Race Report

Courtesy of Geico Honda

Rancho Cordova, CA (May 19, 2018) – The GEICO Honda team logged consistent finishes at the season opener for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, the 50th Red Bull Hangtown Classic. All three riders finished in the top ten, leading with Jeremy Martin’s bid for the overall win and second place overall finish. Chase Sexton took sixth and RJ Hampshire ninth.

 

“It was solid,” said Martin. “It was good. I got a good start in the first moto and then Zach [Osborne] got around me. Ripped a good start in moto two, Aaron Plessinger and I were battling [for the lead]. We bumped a little bit in the half pipe and I got the lead. Then Zacho, I heard him coming. That Husky sounds like one of a kind. We kind of yo-yo’d for the rest of the race and he got away just enough and put it on cruise control.”

 

Martin ended up with 2-2 scores in the two motos for second overall. Sexton, in his first visit to Hangtown, overcame some adversity in moto one and then rode a strong second moto.

 

“I’d say it was a decent day,” Sexton said. “Wasn’t great, wasn’t bad. Qualified fourth but got eleventh in the first moto. I got a pretty good start but fell over twice and went off the track. It wasn’t a very good first moto. But the second moto I got a good start, fifth or sixth, and passed Aaron [Plessinger] and was trying to pass Alex [Martin] and kind of got caught up and Aaron got by me again and I got fifth. It wasn’t too bad, sixth overall, and we’re going to Glen Helen healthy and ready to go.”

 

Hangtown marked Hampshire’s return to racing after getting injured at the Daytona Supercross in March. He stayed clear of the drama, kept it on two wheels, and brought it home ninth overall.

 

“Happy to be back at the races!,” said Hampshire. “10-7 on the day, not terrible but really struggled to get going. My starts were poor and I kind of just ran the pace the guys around me were running. Hoping this was an off weekend for us and we can build off of it for next weekend! I’m spending these next couple weeks in California so we can do some work with the bike and get me a little bit more comfortable.”

 

Team rider Christian Craig will spend the summer racing with the Honda HRC factory 450MX effort as a fill-in for the injured Cole Seely. He grabbed the holeshot in the first moto of the season and led a bit before a crash. He held on for eighth and matched it with another eighth in the second moto. His 8-8 scores put him in eighth overall for the day.

 

The team heads to Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California this Saturday.

 

GEICO Honda Results

Hangtown Motocross Classic

 

250MX

2. Jeremy Martin

6. Chase Sexton

9. RJ Hampshire

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