Blountville, TN (June 23, 2018) – The GEICO Honda team was dealt a big blow over the weekend at round five of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Former series’ points leader Jeremy Martin won the first moto of the 2018 Tennessee National, but then collided with Justin Cooper on the first lap of the second moto, which led to a massive crash and a severe back injury. The injury will end Martin’s bid for a third AMA 250 National Motocross Championship, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Martin suffered a burst fracture of his L1 vertebrae, and is being attended to at Bristol hospital near the track. He will undergo back surgery on Monday, June 25th. Recovery time is expected to be around two months, and Martin should be able to begin therapy almost immediately after surgery.
A bright spot for the team was Chase Sexton’s 8-4 finishes for third overall, marking the first pro motocross podium of his career.
“I actually had really bad starts today,” said Sexton. “I started outside the top ten both motos, so I was pretty bummed on that. But I was excited with my first lap. I made a lot of passes. I think I was in third for most of the second moto. I actually saw Dylan [Ferrandis] and Alex [Martin] in front of me. I started catching them a little bit. I had no idea Shane [McElrath, overall race winner] was behind me. He came out of nowhere and blew by me, and then from there on it was pretty much it. These guys rode good. The track was pretty good. It was a little tough to pass, but it was fun. I’m happy to get my first podium. It wasn’t the moto scores that I like to have, but third is third. So, it’s been good.”
RJ Hampshire crashed out of moto two in a similar situation as Martin, and it cost him a potential overall podium for the day. He was fortunate to escape without a major injury.
“Practice didn’t go so well but I got a good start in that first moto and found the pace early,” said Hampshire, who ended up with 4-19 scores and 12th overall. “Felt strong all moto and had good speed. Second moto had a decent start but when Jeremy and Cooper went down I hit someone and went way off the track. Was able to come through the pack pretty well and had a good battle going with Jordon Smith for about the last six or seven laps. Had a pass on him on the last lap and he jumped across the track where he hadn’t gone the entire race and we hit in the air. I hit the ground hard and I’m pretty beat up! Even if I hadn’t passed him, I would have had an overall podium spot, so the crash situation really bummed me out. We will do all we can this week to be on the gate next weekend.”
Cameron McAdoo, in his second race back from injury, logged a solid day with 13-8 scores and 11th overall.
“Muddy Creek was a big step in the right direction for me,” said McAdoo. “The first moto I didn’t come out with the start I was looking for but did my best and came back to 13th. Moto 2 I got a lot better start and was running in sixth for the first 20 minutes and ended up with eighth. It felt good to gain the experience running with the front group, and I look forward to doing a lot more of it as the season continues!”
The team next heads to the sand track known as The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, this Saturday.
GEICO Honda Results
Tennessee National
Blountville, TN
3. Chase Sexton (8-4)
9. Jeremy Martin (1-40)
11. Cameron McAdoo (13-8)
12. RJ Hampshire (4-19)
Was this post helpful? Add yours to our service or subscribe to our feed above.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.