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ATLANTA, GA. (March 3, 2018) – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Jordon Smith and Sean Cantrell participated in their first triple crown event of the year and it awarded Smith his first podium finish of the season at supercross’ inaugural event inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. His 3-4-6 main event finishes scored Smith third place and bumped him up from seventh to fourth in the championship standings, all while his closest family and friends cheered him on. Teammate Cantrell faced some unfortunate luck in Atlanta, finishing the day 14th overall with a 14-15-13 main event score.
Smith has been showing speed, but has faced circumstances that have forced him to finish outside the top five. That changed in Atlanta with three great starts and putting himself in position to score his first podium finish. The opening main event – the shortest race of all three – had Smith start at the front of the pack, coming away with a third place finish. The second main event had him move back and forth between third and fourth, before ultimately finishing fourth. When the final main event gate dropped – the longest one of the night – Smith found himself with the front runners and with potential of a podium if he kept his KTM near the front. After getting pushed back a few spots, Smith finished sixth and his overall score was good enough for his first podium finish of the year. “It feels really good to finally break through and put the team on the podium back east,” said Smith. “I’ve had some interesting final laps the first two races and this format allowed me to show that I can run with the guys up front. It was even more special to do it at my hometown race. I’ve been getting more and more comfortable as the season moves on and would love to back this up in Daytona.”
Cantrell had been able to showcase his speed but on Saturday night, luck was not on his side. In all three mains, Cantrell ended up being caught up by the many downed riders and it didn’t allow him to display the speed he has been building over the past few races. When it was all said and done, Cantrell posted a 14-15-13 score which gave him 14th overall.
“The triple crown format is very chaotic and it seemed like whenever someone went down, I just happened to be right there and got held up,” said Cantrell. “This was a good learning experience so we know what to expect next time in Minneapolis. For now, we’ll put this one behind us and look forward to the next round in Daytona. With the more outdoor style of the track, I’m excited to change it up and experience my first Daytona.”
After a one round break, the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge was back and provided a fun experience for all 15 riders chosen to participate. When the riders had completed three tough laps, it was Ashtyn French who took the checkers with Aidan Bailey and Seven Henderson also taking home trophies.
Smith and Cantrell wore the GP Air Jersey Raceshop Navy – releasing in April – along with the GP Air Pant Mono Navy to start the day and then changed into the GP Air Jersey Raceshop Flo Yellow – also releasing in April – with the GP Air Pant Mono Flo Yellow for the triple crown night show.
See all of the 2018 gear sets and the 2018 Moto Helmets online and at your local TLD retailer.
250SX CLASS MAIN EVENT RESULTS – ATLANTA, GEORGIA
250SX CLASS EASTERN REGION POINTS STANDINGS
KTM JUNIOR SUPERCROSS CHALLENGE
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