Monster Energy® AMA Supercross Championship
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field
Monster Energy® Kawasaki Scores Two Podiums in the Treacherous Philadelphia Mud
Pennsylvania’s own Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Seth Hammaker displayed a gritty, determined ride to battle his way to a podium position in the treacherous mud-soaked conditions of Philadelphia for Round 15 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Teammate Nick Romano scored his first career heat race win in commanding fashion and, while fighting the elements in the main event, secured 14th place. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green™ rider, Kade Johnson, put his KX™250 on the box to score second in the SMX Next AMA National Championship, while teammate Vincent Wey missed the event due to an injury sustained while prepping for Philadelphia. Both Monster Energy Kawasaki riders battled through adversity in the main event as Chase Sexton took home seventh place and Garrett Marchbanks secured ninth.
SX Results
Seth Hammaker
250SX East
“I’m definitely a little bummed. I had big title hopes, but I was up against a tough competitor, so credit to Cole [Davies] and his team. I feel like I took a big step forward this year, even if it doesn’t always show in the results. I’ve been riding well and staying consistent, but I just didn’t have everything fall into place the way I wanted. I actually felt pretty comfortable in the conditions tonight. I was trying to be loose with the bike and not try to fight where it wanted to go too much. I got off to a great start in the main event, but went down early and had to fight from way back. I was hurting pretty bad after I went down, but I’m happy to come away with another podium, especially here at home. It means a lot. Big thanks to my whole team, my family, and everyone who supports me. We’ll go into Salt Lake looking to end this thing strong.”
Nick Romano
250SX East
“It was a good day here in Philadelphia. I qualified eighth when the track was dry, which I was happy about. Then the skies opened up, and it started raining pretty heavily. I was able to get my first career heat race win in the mud, so I was ecstatic with that. I know it's just a heat race win, but a win's a win. It's been a long time since I've won something, so I was stoked on that. I got off to a so-so start in the main event. I unfortunately hit someone and went down on the first lap, putting me in last. I made a good charge, but then they restarted it, and I went from last to ninth again. Then I went down yet again and ended up in 14th. It was a so-so day, but I’m really happy with the progress, even though it was in the mud with the win. I’ll just keep trucking along and we'll be at it for Salt Lake.”
Chase Sexton
450SX
“I qualified better here in Philadelphia, qualifying third. Then it started raining, so it was a bit chaotic after that. I had a bad start in the heat race and just tried to make it through. In the main event, I had another bad start. I made it up to around seventh, and then I fell, and I went back to around 12th, and then just worked my way back to seventh. I actually rode a decent race, just a bad start and a fall kept me from the podium. We’ll go back to work. The team is coming back to Florida this week, and we plan to make some progress and get ready for Denver.”
Garrett Marchbanks
450SX
“Philadelphia was a bit up and down, but I was happy to end it on a good note in the main event. Qualifying was OK I was just trying to do my laps and get comfortable in the first session. In the second session, I felt like I had some solid laps. I didn’t get the lap time I wanted, but I was able to feel more comfortable on the bike and felt really good going into the heat race. I went into the heat race with an OK start, just put my laps in and got into fifth, and rode my own race from there. In the main event, I had two big mistakes. I stalled the bike and got tangled up with some guys, and just charged from last to 10th. There were two guys in front of me the last two laps, and I tried to make a pass, but I couldn’t quite make it happen. I wish the night had gone a bit better, but I’m happy to be back in the Top 10 again.”
