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RJ
The 250SX East/West Showdown was truly an instant classic. RJ Hampshire had the moment of the race for me. If it’s the last corner of a race and RJ sees an opportunity to make something happen, then you better believe he’s going to give everything he’s got to get the job done (or crash trying). Hampshire stayed close to Jett Lawrence and on the last lap absolutely sent it on the final straightaway before the finish. He ended up having the most majestic slide into the turn, crashing way before he got to the corner and accidentally slid right into Jett. RJ told me that once he got out of the main line that he had zero control and that it was like riding on ice. When Jett moved his bike over Hampshire’s he knocked the chain off. Hampshire is my spirit animal from now on.
BamBam
This BamBam train has been chugging to the front since Indy and you knew that he’d be getting a win sooner or later (or perhaps a couple). Bam wasted no time in getting to the front and pulled away as fast as he could. It seemed like Barcia knew he had nothing to lose in this race. He could send it as hard as he could and if he crashed, well he would crash. The points situation is currently the best case scenario for Barcia. He’s in a (very) important battle for fourth in points with Ken Roczen, but neither of them probably care, so just go for wins when Webb and Tomac are worried about making up as many points as possible on one another. I’m pretty sure this is the best we’ve ever seen Barcia ride in his entire career and it’s been a very cool story to watch unfold.
Tomac
What a day for Tomac! From an uncharacteristic practice crash to not knowing how bad his injury was to a hard fought second place in the mud. Tomac had one of those rides in East Rutherford that were detrimental to the championship. He made up points on both Webb and Sexton, which now brings the gap to 11 points with only three rounds remaining. It’s hard to see this title going to Webb or Sexton, but I won’t tell them that.
Showdown
Okay, can we get the East/West regions combined into one 250 class for the entire season? I love Showdowns. We had several riders that are top ten guys on their coast not make the main! I guess that kind of goes against my theory here of a combined 250 class being great. Yet, it was truly exciting to watch qualifying and the LCQ was awesome and I didn’t have a clue what was going to happen the entire night. I was entertained and I loved every minute of it. Then to top it all off, Fire Power Honda’s Max Anstie wins, which is not what anyone expected. Usually the Showdowns have some unexpected winner and Max was not one that I had picked. Congratulations to the Englishman on his first career win.
Moranz Mafia
Among the riders in the pits currently trending up is Kevin Moranz, who just so happened to finish a career best 7th in the slop. I asked him how he felt about it and he said it was wild. “I knew I started top ten, but figured about five laps in I was around p.12-15,” Moranz said. “I finally saw my mechanic’s hands since I didn’t have a pit board and saw single digits on his hands and I was like, NO FREAKING WAY!” East Rutherford was truly a night to remember.
Main image: Yamaha
