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SETH HAMMAKER STRETCHES PODIUM STREAK IN ST LOUIS
Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Seth Hammaker put on another podium performance at the second East/West Showdown of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in St. Louis to take third place. Teammate Levi Kitchen continued to battle through a lingering back injury to secure seventh place, while Nick Romano showed podium-worthy speed and placed ninth in the main event. Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Garrett Marchbanks put in an impressive performance all day to secure ninth on the night, while Chase Sexton was forced to retire early from the main event after a crash in the rhythm section.
In 250SX Qualifying, Hammaker consistently recorded the top time in both Eastern Divisional sessions to give him second overall. Meanwhile, Romano focused on adapting to the challenging track, finishing 24th overall. Kitchen was knocking on the door of the top qualifying spot in the Western Division, posting second-place in both sessions before ultimately placing sixth overall.
As the gate dropped in the 250 West Heat Race, Kitchen got off to a midpack start, fighting his way towards the front. Kitchen clicked off consistent laps and made strategic passes to advance through the field. In the final two laps of the race, Kitchen found himself in a tight battle. The No. 47 Kawasaki was able to make the pass for fourth in the turn exiting the switchback section and continued to push for third but came up just shy across the line, settling for fourth in the heat race.
In the 250 East Heat Race, Hammaker pulled a strong start, placing himself towards the front of the field with his teammate Romano close behind. On the opening lap, another rider went down, causing a red flag and a full restart for the field. On the following gate drop, Hammaker pulled a commanding holeshot aboard his KX™250, while Romano came through just inside the Top 10. Halfway through the race, the second-place rider began pressuring Hammaker for the lead. The No. 10 Kawasaki closed the door on an attempted pass and pushed to hold onto first but slipped back to second in the treacherous whoops section and held his position through the checkered flag. Romano made strategic passes throughout the race to move himself into fifth place, where he ultimately finished.
In the 250 Main Event, Hammaker and Romano got impressive jumps off the gate, running nearly side by side inside the Top 5. Kitchen had a less-than-ideal start as he came out midpack through the first turn but made quick work of the field as he moved into sixth by Lap 2. Romano ran in second place through the opening laps, with Hammaker right behind in third. Romano eventually began slipping back as he continues to work on his race pace after a year away from racing, ultimately finishing ninth. Hammaker held onto third place throughout the race, earning his spot on the box once again. Teammate Kitchen put in his best effort on the night as he continues recovering from a back injury, moving up as high as fourth at the midway point before slipping back and ultimately crossing the line in seventh.
In 450SX Qualifying, both Monster Energy Kawasaki riders posted consistent times. Sexton took second overall, just half a second off the top time, while Marchbanks secured eighth overall.
In 450 Heat 1, both Sexton and Marchbanks got off to midpack starts. Contact from other riders caused Sexton to lose his balance and ultimately go down in the first turn. Marchbanks successfully navigated the tight first turn and settled into the race. After remounting in last place, Sexton put his head down and began charging through the field. The No. 4 Kawasaki picked off riders one by one, and by the midway point had already passed 15 riders to move into fifth while setting the fastest lap time. With one lap left, Sexton engaged in a tight battle to finish the race in third place. Marchbanks clicked off consistent laps as he moved into sixth early on and held his position through the checkered flag.
In the 450 Main Event, both riders came out mid-pack off the start, with Sexton running in seventh and Marchbanks close behind in 11th. Marchbanks maintained a steady pace while methodically working past his competitors, while Sexton was focused on moving towards the front, he suffered a crash in the rhythm section, forcing him to retire early from the race. Marchbanks pushed as high as seventh toward the end of the race, but a few minor mistakes in the final laps disrupted his rhythm, dropping him to ninth place at the checkered flag. This marks Marchbanks' fourth Top 10 of the season, as he continues to grow and gain momentum as the year goes on.
“Tonight’s race was tough with how the track shaped up throughout the day. I tried to stay consistent and be smart because of the challenging conditions. I just tried to hit my marks every lap to put myself in a good position. Cole [Davies] has been riding well, so I need to bring more speed the next couple of weekends and start taking some more risks as the season gets closer to an end. I am still happy with my performance tonight and the fact that I’ve been able to continue to stand on the box the last several races.”
- Seth Hammaker
"Overall, not a bad day. I had a pretty rough go in qualifying, but I wasn’t worried going into the night show. I ended up fifth in the heat race, which I was pretty happy about since it was essentially a shorter East Coast Main Event. The main event went well. I got off to a really good start and was pretty close to getting the holeshot. Cole [Davies] and I were up there off the jump. I went as long as I could with the front of the field. I needed a little more stamina at the end, but from where we were three weeks ago, it's a big step forward. I had the third fastest time of the race, which tells me I have podium speed clearly, and I think that's a great possibility for the end of the year. I’ll just keep trying to be better, go back to work this week with the team, and see where we end up next week in Nashville.”
- Nick Romano
“It wasn’t a bad night, but it’s not where I want to be at this point in the season. I didn’t get the starts I needed, which made it tough right away. I’ve been trying different treatments for my back and had it worked on throughout the day, but it was still holding me back from being able to push how I wanted to in the race. I felt like the speed was there in spots, but I just wasn’t able to ride to my full potential and felt like I just had to manage the race. There are some positives to take, but I know I’ve got to be better. We’ll use this break from now until Denver to take some time to rest in order to finish off the season strong.”
- Levi Kitchen
“The day was really solid. I would say this has been one of my best days yet in the 450 Class. I qualified eighth in the first session and eighth in the second session. The heat race was pretty hectic, but I was able to stay on two wheels through the first turn and came out in sixth place at the end of it. Going into the main event, I felt really good. I put in some good laps in the beginning and was running seventh for quite a while, when I hit around 15 minutes in, I kind of lost my flow, had some mistakes, and missed my rhythm through the rhythm section after the start turn quite a few times. That really hurt me with Joey [Savatgy] and Malcom [Stewart] catching me. Once they got around me, I kind of put my head down and just pushed through until the end. Once we were about two laps to go, I made a little push, but didn't quite have it, and ended the night in ninth."
- Garrett Marchbanks
“I had a bit of an up and down day here in St. Louis. My speed was good in qualifying. I was pushing for fastest qualifier, but just wasn’t able to get there. In the heat race, I had some issues off the start. I got run in on by a few guys, which caused me to go down. I just pushed until the race was over to get up to third for a better gate pick in the main event. I still didn’t get the start I was looking for in the main event and had some mistakes that set me back. I ultimately had to pull off the track early because I was pretty banged up after my crash and was unable to finish the race."
- Chase Sexton