Race report ... JDR /J-Star / KTM Team.
Tuesday 18 January: Ryan Marmont shines in the Heats, but struggled in main. Tye Simmonds very close to Qualifying for the 20 rider Main Event.
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Copy and image courtesy of KTM Racing.
JDR/J-Star/KTM rider Ryan Marmont showed flashes of brilliance in his heat race finishing an impressive 3rd overall to earn a good qualifying position into the main. In the main event, Marmont struggled after a crash and eventually finished in 17th overall. |
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The Australian rider, known for his good starts, didn't disappoint in his Lites heat. Marmont nearly pulled the holeshot in his heat race before rounding the first turn in 2nd place. He eventually finished the race in 3rd place after holding off a large pack of riders for his qualifying position.
"I felt strong in my heat race and am looking forward to carrying the momentum to the main event. I have been racing my race bike from the Australian Super X Series and it has been performing very well here,” remarked Marmont after the heat.
Marmont didn't get the great start he had hoped for in the main event, but still managed to muscle his way up through the pack and into the top ten in the first few laps. On lap three he tried to get around a rider but ran out of room to make the pass and washed out his front end.
"The crash set me back quite a ways and when I recovered I was a little disoriented,” stated Marmont. "Everyone had passed me and I didn't know what position I was in. I found it hard to get back into a rhythm so I just focused on finishing the race.”
Marmont eventually finished 17th overall for the evening. "The plan is to go back to Murrieta and train three days this week before heading to the third round in Los Angeles,” said Marmont.
The second rider for the JDR/J-Star/KTM Team, Tye Simmonds, improved upon his performance this weekend but came up a few spots short of the main event gate. "I need to qualify from my heat races, but I have made small mistakes that have kept me from qualifying the past two weekends. This weekend I grabbed the holeshot in the LCQ but rode too tight and lost positions each lap and did not qualify. I know the areas that I need to work on and I will continue to train with the team each week until we get where we need to be,” stated Simmonds.
