AMA SX - Rider Comments
Chase Sexton: "I knew it was going to be a gnarly Main Event, but I felt really comfortable all day on my motorcycle. I didn’t change anything, and that’s when you know you’re in a good spot, but I think every week we’ve been building toward this. I feel connected with the bike at the moment and that Main Event for me was just about clicking off fast lap, after fast lap. We have three races left, we know what we have to do, and we just need to go out there and execute.”
Cooper Webb: “It’s tough, he was on it and he was killing me in those two sets of whoops. It’s something we’ve tried to fix this year, but these are gnarly. They have ruts all the way down them. I’m still pretty mind blown how he was able to do it so good. You’re trying to just stay with him and he rode awesome. He was inching away, and those whoops were really killing me. I got a little tight, and that was all she wrote. With that being said, he did what he needed to do, he rode a great race, he kicked my butt, and I didn’t put my money where my mouth was. We’ll go back, re-group. Definitely bummed on that finish, we wanted more fight tonight, but it is what it is and we’ll come back swinging… and try come win next week.”
Aaron Plessinger: "It was a barn-burner back there for the final spot on the podium! I was behind Justin [Barcia] for a long time, and just caught him on the track at the worst parts to try to make a pass. But anyway, this one was a tough one for me, it was probably the hardest track that I’ve raced all year, so I’m stoked to come out of here with a podium and happy with where my confidence levels are at this stage of the season.”
Seth Hammaker: “I got sick on Tuesday night into Wednesday. [That] just put another thing into coming into the weekend. But we have a great group of people around me, and just thought positive. It did creep into my mind a little bit but thankfully I was able to put in clean, consistent laps. It feels really good to get another win and have the red plate solo now. Back to work we go. Two more rounds, this championship’s still really tight. Looking forward to some more great battling in the future.”
R J Hampshire: This one was a step in the right direction in pretty much all areas for me. I got a good start and just did my laps, as I just didn't quite have it for Seth [Hammaker]. The track was super-tricky tonight and could catch you out if you weren't careful, so I am happy with a P2. I feel like we're peaking at the right time, so we'll go out there and look for the win in Pittsburgh."
Tom Vialle: "My start in the Main Event just wasn’t that good, I had to pass a few guys, and then I was behind RJ [Hampshire] pretty much the whole race, and both guys at the front were riding really good. I think for now the starts are really important, and I have to make it happen for these next two races as we are all pretty similar on pace.”
Austin Forkner: "I qualified well, and could see improvements in both my aggression and riding. I was third in the heat before a crash but still ended up fourth. I had a good start in the main event; I just did not have the intensity at the start of the race. I was a little pumped up around halfway and was jumping the second set of the whoops but hit a hole and ended up crashing out of fifth. I got seventh, which is still progress. We will take that and build on it!"
Justin Barcia: "Jersey was good today, I had a lot of fans and friends here – it was a lot of fun seeing people I hadn't seen in a long time! I was riding really well, I had a good qualifying session and scored P3 in the Heat Race. Main Event, AP [Aaron Plessinger] and I were battling for a while, then I think he made a mistake and I gapped him, then I hit a soft spot in the whoop section, which sent me into an endo. I'm a little tore up and bruised up, so we'll go home and try again next week. I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately, but dirt bikes are tough, so we'll come back next weekend and keep trying!"
Malcolm Stewart: "New Jersey went alright for me. The day was not too bad, it was nice to get away from the questionable weather of the last couple [rounds]! Heat Race went well with P4, and then Main Event, I just got a really bad start and was shuffled pretty far back. I made a lot of passes from there and felt like my ride was good, but we'll come back and have another swing at it next week. Ups and downs are all part of the rollercoaster of racing, but we're still on the Mookie train!"