Page 52 - Issue_39

JORDON SMITH
250 SX / 7TH
IMAGE /MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>>Jordon Smith went through a big change in the off season as he moved from the Geico Honda team over to the Red Bull Troy Lee Designs KTM team. He’s obviously feeling very comfortable with the new setup as the North Carolina native has started his third season
in Monster Energy Supercross showing more potential than ever before. Smith has always proven to be a talented starter and things were no different as the KTM rider pulled the holeshot in the opening round of 250 East SX action in Minnesota -- he subsequently lead the first half of the main event, but was forced to concede the lead to Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy. Smith was able to jump out to an early lead yet again last weekend in Atlanta and he ran in podium contention for the majority of the race, but unfortunately came togeth- er with his teammate in the late stages of the moto, forcing him to settle for fifth place. He stayed in steady form as qualifying got underway north of the border as he clocked the fifth fastest lap time of both sessions, placing him in a decent position for the night show. Smith set off to a solid start in the very first race of the evening by putting himself within the top five on the opening lap. He rode in contention with his MTF training partner, Alex Rodriguez, throughout the opening couple of laps and the two of them eventually overtook Alex Martin after a couple of costly mistakes. Smith moved into the final podium position, tagging onto the rear fender of Craig as they chased Ferrandis in the lead. He was able to pull the pin on the quad in the long rhythm section, but he wasn’t able to advance any more positions with that tactic. Smith showed confidence in his riding with the way that he commanded his bike through the long rhythm section and showed the he possesses bundles of speed heading into the main event. Smith had one of the worst starts that he’s produced all season when the main event got underway north of the border in Ontario. The TLD KTM rider struggled
to make his way inside the top ten on the opening lap, crossing the finish line for the first time in eleventh position. He was able to make some quick moves in the early stages of the race and found himself up to ninth position by the fifth lap as he moved his way past R.J. Hampshire and Alex Martin. At approximately halfway through the race, Smith was coming up on Ferrandis for sixth position as they were both moving opposite directions through
the field. The two riders came together in a bowl corner and Smith was separated from his motorcycle, subsequently moving him back to twelfth position. The North Carolina native was forced to put his head down yet again as he was had to come back through the pack, making pass after pass throughout the latter half of the race and eventually working his way all the way back up to seventh position. Smith has displayed consistent speed so far throughout the entire season, but crashes during the past two main events have restrained him from finishing to his full potential. He’ll be looking to step back on the podium when the series heads to Daytona for the fourth round of the 250 East SX.
52 GRITMOTO • MARCH 5, 2017