Round 6 of the AMA Supercross series, in Arlington, Texas, saw Team Honda HRC's Cole Seely secure his best finish of the season with a second-place podium result.
In the main event, Seely launched his CRF450R off the line to a good start, sneaking around the inside of the first turn to come out in second. On the following lap, the race was red flagged, forcing the riders to return to the gate for a restart. When the gate dropped for the second time, Seely was unable to replicate his initial start but still managed to come around the first turn in seventh. He continued his charge forward, moving into fourth on the opening lap. By lap eight, the Californian had made his way into second, which is where he would finish.
NOTES
- On Friday prior to the race, Team Honda HRC's Cole Seely and Andrew Short, as well as GEICO Honda's Jimmy Decotis, spent time signing autographs and visiting with fans at DFW Honda.
- For the second consecutive week it was an early morning for Team Honda HRC, as the Arlington Supercross marked the second daytime schedule of the season. With track walk at 7:30 a.m., instead of 10:30 a.m., many riders and crew arrived at the stadium before the sun had risen. To help kick off the day, hospitality driver Donnie Keys made the team breakfast before the day's activates got underway.
- The Arlington track showcased the fastest lap times seen this season with some riders dropping down into the 47-second mark. During qualifying practice, Seely notched the eighth-quickest lap time with a 48.061.
- The evening started on a positive note with Seely transferring directly into the main event with a fourth in heat 1. Despite getting a bad jump out of the gate, Seely snuck to the inside, coming out of the first turn in seventh. He made his way into fifth, then with one lap remaining was able to close the gap and make the pass into fourth, scoring the final transfer spot.
- It was another solid weekend for GEICO Honda's Jimmy Decotis as he matched his career-best result of fourth, for the second consecutive week. After being sidelined for two weeks due to a concussion, Decotis' teammate Jeremy Martin returned to action in Texas, finishing sixth for the night.
- On February 18, Team Honda HRC will campaign round seven of the AMA Supercross championship, at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the evening before the race, Cole Seely and Andrew Short, along with GEICO Honda's East Cost riders will head to Cities Edge Motorsports for an autograph session beginning at 6pm.
THE FOCUS: With Ken Roczen sidelined after his injury at Anaheim 2, mechanic Oscar Wirdeman has spent the past few weekends at home with his family. However, this weekend he rejoined his team in Texas to provide some extra support throughout the day.
"It's hard not being at the races. We had such a great start to the season so for it to end the way it did is a huge bummer," explained Wirdeman. "It's going to be a long road but Ken is young, strong and going to come back better than ever. Right now he is just stoked to be home for a little bit and able to sleep in his own bed. It's been a long time for him. He'll have to go back to Colorado for another surgery but from there hopefully it will just be going through the recovery process."
"My main role today was to help Rich [Simmons] with anything he needed. I just tried to be his right-hand man when it came to getting the bike ready for the night show, prepping any parts he needed, carrying the cart back and forth between the stadium and pits. I'll also help him rebuild his bike on Sunday."
QUOTES
Cole Seely
Tonight was really about managing mistakes. I think we were all making small mistakes here and there but by managing them, I mean trying to make less each lap or to have them not affect you so much. The track was really sketchy and incredibly icy during the main so there was carnage everywhere out there. It was basically all about trying to stay calm and collected. Not only did the track break down a lot making it really tough but also lap times were short so in 20 minutes it really felt like we did so many laps. I'm happy with second and definitely don't take these podiums for granted. So I am going to enjoy it, but really want to work towards that top spot.
Dan Betley: Team Manager
I'm really happy with second tonight. Cole rode well all day but I felt he did especially awesome in the main event. He got a really good jump out of the gate during the first start and was second, unfortunately, it was red flagged so I was a little stressed out about how he was going to fare the second time around. He didn't get off the line as well the second start but by the third turn he came out in fourth. How he pulled that off, I am not sure so I'm going to have to look at the video for that one. What I really liked about him tonight was how aggressive he was throughout the first lap and specifically the first rhythm sections after the start. He was able to gain a position or two. He needs to continue to ride like that because points are tightening up as we go and it's still really early in a championship.
Rich Simmons: Mechanic (Cole Seely)
It was a great day and I'm really excited to have Cole back up on the podium. We made some bike changes almost every time Cole went out on the track, specifically to the fork and shock. We just kept going in a certain direction and it worked out well. I think the bike looked really good tonight and Cole was happy. Unfortunate red flag in the first start because he was second but he did a good job regrouping for the second one and was still able to make his way up to the front quickly. He made a couple mistakes when he got into the lappers towards the end and at one point didn't jump the triple, which allowed [Jason] Anderson to close up but instead of getting flustered and caving in he stayed focused and charged to the end. Cole is more than capable of being on the podium each week, he just needs to fight for it.
Press contact:
Mandie Fonteyn // Dispatch Communications // mandie@dispatchco.com // +1 (951) 537-0454
450SX Results
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
2. Cole Seely (Honda)
3. Jason Anderson (Husqvarna)
4. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
5. Dean Wilson (Husqvarna)
6. Broc Tickle (Suzuki)
7. Jake Weimer (Suzuki)
8. Davi Millsaps (KTM)
9. Justin Bogle (Suzuki)
10. Malcolm Stewart (Suzuki)
450SX Championship Points (after 6 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey 129
2. Marvin Musquin 111
3. Cole Seely 107
4. Eli Tomac 100
5. Jason Anderson 85
6. Davi Millsaps 83
7. Cooper Webb 71
8. Chad Reed 64
9. Dean Wilson 64
10. Broc Tickle 55
