Page 20 - ISSUE-81

JORDON SMITH
250 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Early in his career consistency had been a big problem for Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM rider Jordon Smith. But over the past two seasons, he has started xing that and
has become a reliable threat for podiums and even wins. His starts have been solid, and his speed is right with the rest of the top riders. He nished the 2018 250SX East Coast championship on a good note, podiuming six of the last seven races and even notching
a win. He really looked to have shook that inconsistency of years past for good, but it has reemerged here in the 2018 outdoor nationals. He has nished seventh, twelfth, fth and seventh so far this season. Except for round three at Thunder Valley, he has struggled glu- ing two great moto scores together. He was hoping to x that at Muddy Creek.
Smith enjoyed a solid morning qualifying practice session. He quali ed with the eighth fastest lap time and he was excited to be back close to home. The North Carolina native raced the course as an amateur quite often, so he was comfortable and ready to do battle in the motos. Moto one started off with Smith getting out to a decent start. He came out
of the rst lap in sixth and was eager to move forward. He threw down some pressure on his teammate Shane McElrath during the opening laps and it seemed inevitable until a pass was made Smith got out of rhythm after several pass attempts. This allowed Austin Forkner to come through and pass him, sending him back to seventh. He would pick that spot back up after his teammate, Alex Martin, would go down at the halfway point. During the second half of the moto, Smith dealt with a great deal of pressure from Joey Savatgy and nally succumbed to it with just a few laps to go. Smith would nish seventh. Not the greatest ride from him but for from poor. He was looking forward to improving in moto two. This time around, Smith got out to a better start. He came out of lap one in third place and looked aggressive. He hounded Dylan Ferrandis and Alex Martin for the lead during the opening laps. He was really pushing the pace, but he just could not nd any wiggle room. He lost just a tiny bit of ground as they neared the halfway point. Then that’s when he would bobble and go down. He’d slide back two spots to fth. He continued to log some fast laps and appeared he might challenge Plessinger for fourth, but Shane McElrath stormed through and sent him back to sixth with just a few laps to go. Smith would not have anything left and nish right there. His 7-6 moto scores earned him fth overall on the day. A solid result but he must be a little frustrated he left a potential podium or even win on the table there in moto two.
20 GRITMOTO • JUNE 24, 2018