SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (February 10, 2018) – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Shane McElrath raced to a top-five finish in front of a packed house inside Petco Park as the Western Regional 250SX class raced its final round before an eight-week break. With six rounds of the championship in the books, McElrath sits third in the overall standings. Teammate Alex Martin finished sixth in his heat race, but sat out the main event due to a sore wrist suffered during that heat.
McElrath started the day qualifying sixth during timed practice and was looking to make improvements as the lights came on inside Petco Park. The one-time winner this season had to come through the pack in his heat race to finish fourth. Learning from his heat-race start, McElrath was able to avoid getting pinched off in the main event and was with the front runners on the opening lap. He settled into fifth where he would end up finishing the night.
“The track was very tough as the night went on and I feel happy to be able to leave here with a solid result and healthy,” said McElrath. “It would have been nice to capitalize on the points leader having a bad night, but that’s how it went. We have some time now to regroup and come back to showcase a great final four races.”
Fresh off a solid return from injury last weekend, Martin qualified fifth but suffered a crash during his heat that left his wrist sore. He went on to earn sixth in that heat race, but after riding the parade lap decided it was best to sit out the night to avoid further injury.
“After last weekend being so positive, it was tough to have to bow out tonight but it was the best decision I could make for me,” said Martin. “The track bit a lot of people today so I had to make sure I wasn’t putting myself in a spot where I could have gotten hurt worse.”
The San Diego fans were treated to a special race by the youngsters of the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge, repping in Troy Lee Designs racewear. Gage Costello took charge of the lead and never looked back. Carson Adams finished as the runner-up, while Aidan Zingg came from fourth to make a last-lap pass for the final podium position in third.
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The next time the Western Regional riders will hit the track is on March 24 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the first of two East/West Shootouts. McElrath and Martin showed their patriotism for the local military by wearing the GP Star Navy Jersey and GP Star Navy Pant, along with the all-new Metric Helmet - available soon. See all of the 2018 gear sets and the 2018 Moto Helmets online and at your local TLD retailer. 250SX Class Main Event Results - San Diego, California
250SX Class Western Region Points Standings
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