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JORDON SMITH
250 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> What an absolutely phenomenal night in “America’s Comeback City” for the number 44 of Jordon Smith. After a third place podium finish at the fifth round for our East Coasters in Indy, Smith con- fidently lined up beside his closest competitors for heat number 2. The Red Bull Troy Lee Designs KTM rider immediately found himself in a safe fifth place position off the start. Smith then swiftly made his way into third. Unfortunately, with a mere two laps remaining, the North Carolina native plummeted from that secure third place spot all the way back to eleventh, a position that was send- ing Smith to the LCQ. With one chance left, Smith did exactly what he needed to do by grabbing an excellent start, claiming his first LCQ win of the year. In a city built on labor, Jordon was definitely go- ing to have to put in the some hard work in the Main if we wanted to top last weekend’s performance.
As riders selected their gates, the fans of Ford Field gazed down upon a treacherous track coated in a glossy sheen of slickness. These boy’s dirt track skills were about to be truly tested. The intensity of the starting gate flames paled in comparison to the red-hot thirty second countdown. The gates fell and the riders were all hunting for the same thing going into the first turn: traction. Jordon Smith was able to hook up at first, but then cut down in front of our points leader in the process. Smith held on, but Osborne went down and found himself in the mechanics area. The excitement wasn’t ending here though, folks. A heart-racing battle between Ferrandis, Cianciarulo, and Savatgy was heating up right in front of Smith’s eyes as he sat in the fourth place spot early in the moto.
After some slippery slide outs by Cianciarulo and Savagty, Ferrandis found himself in first and Smith suddenly sat in second. With each passing second, Jordon dug deep and really started closing the gap between himself and the 108. Two men on a mission, Smith and Ferrandis come together, caus- ing a slight bobble for the number 44. Savatgy, sitting in third, quickly took advantage of Smith’s mis- take and made the pass. As soon as fans could catch their breath, Smith made a strategic pass back on Savatgy and was once again in second place. Looking to make history, Jordon Smith then made a pass on Ferrandis for the lead. Savatgy had also made quick work of Ferrandis. The number 17 was still on the tail of the KTM, and just when you think the energy in Ford Field cannot get anymore intense, lapped riders start appearing. With one lap to go, Savatgy makes contact with Smith. After
a long and hard-fought battle, Jordon flies past the checkered flag with a well deserved win. Jordan Smith: the first 250 rider since Ivan Tedesco in 2003 to win the LCQ and the Main in one night.
For the past two seasons, the winner of the 250 class in Detroit has gone on to win the title. Jordon is leaving Detroit sitting in second place in the overall points standings. Things are going to get inter- esting next weekend in St. Louie.
32 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017