NEW BERLIN, N.Y. (Aug. 8) -- The GEICO Honda 250cc team made some impressive strides during the Red Bull Unadilla National on Saturday at Unadilla Motocross, with three riders gaining spots in the points standings.
Matt Bisceglia finished 10th overall to move up two spots to ninth in points, and rookie R.J. Hampshire joined him in the top 10 in points with a 10th-place overall finish. Christian Craig led the 250 team with a seventh-place overall, and he leapt three spots to 11th in points.
Justin Bogle had a mixed day in his debut on a GEICO Honda 450 bike, finishing 10th in the first moto before coming home 36th in the second for an 18th-place overall finish.
Bogle, riding the bike Eli Tomac took to two wins earlier this season, rode well in the first moto. He battled with the best of the elite 450 class, racing in the top three and heading for a podium finish, but he faded in the closing laps.
Bogle got the holeshot in the second moto but went down and had to pull off the track.
"That was a rough day at the office, but it was a lot of fun to race up there with those guys," said Bogle, who will finish the season on a 450. "I appreciate the opportunity, and the bike was awesome today. I look forward to getting another chance on it in Utah."
Craig, on the cusp of the top 10 in points despite missing the first two races of the season, rode well in the first moto.
"I came out second in the first moto," Craig said of his start. "I rode around there for a little bit but couldn't quite find a flow out there. I was fighting myself. The bike was great, but I went backwards to fifth, stayed there, and just rode it out. A lot of people were crashing and the track was getting really rough and brutal.
"Going into the second moto I wanted to do the same thing but stay up front more. I actually got a worse start. I was around top 10; I think I was seventh for a while. I was trying to make some passes and ended up tipping over all by myself. The front end washed out, so I had to climb my way back up and finished 10th.
"Seventh overall and climbing up in the standings; I can't be mad but I can't be happy about this run."
Bisceglia bounced back from a 15th-place finish at Washougal to post his first overall top-10 in the last four races.
"Today was an OK day," Bisceglia said. "I had a really rough start in the first moto but made my way back up to 12th. In the second moto I got a better start but I made as many passes as I could. I finished off strong in the second moto, and I just need to go work on the first halves of my motos.
"I finished out strong, so that's a positive, but I'll work on that and work on my negatives."
Hampshire got the holeshot in the second moto and raced up front before a minor error moved him back to seventh at the checkered flag. He was 15th in the first moto.
"In the second moto I pulled a pretty sick holeshot, then (Joey) Savatgy passed me, but I was running second quite a while," Hampshire said "I felt pretty good but just made a small mistake and went down. So a little rebound, but we want more."
Fellow rookie Jordon Smith endured a tough day, finishing 11-18 for a 16th-place overall. Smith raced in the top three in the second moto, chasing Hampshire, but a fall dropped him back.
"This weekend I rode a lot better than I have in the past," Smith said. "It's probably the best I've ridden, but I just couldn't stay off the ground today. I felt like I let one get away. I felt like I could win the second moto but ended up falling. I feel a lot better on the bike and I'll get ready for next weekend."
8/10/2015 12:35pm
0 comments
To post, please join, log in or connect to Vital using your Facebook profile Login with Facebook.