Meanwhile, in 250SX, things are beginning to heat up. Behind his first win of 2018, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Jordon Smith has made this a three-rider run to the 250 title. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki youngster Austin Forkner is coming off a third consecutive podium and is tied atop the standings with defending champion Zach Osborne.

We’re back to a more traditional supercross layout, following the outdoor-style Daytona last weekend. The over/under bridge is back and it splits the start reminiscent of 2005. Check out the entire layout below, and read Jason Thomas’ excellent breakdown of the track from earlier this week.

With both Dylan Ferrandis and Colt Nichols sidelined for the remainder of Monster Energy Supercross, French rider Thomas Ramette got the surprise call to fill in. The 250 Class, though, continues to lose star power, as RJ Hampshire and Jimmy Decotis are both out for the remainder of the East Region due to crashes last weekend. For a full injury report, go here.

Qualifying kicks off at 1:50 p.m. EST right here on Racer X Online. FS1 has live coverage beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

FIRST TIMED QUALIFYING

(250 CLASS)

The game of back and forth continues in terms of who’s fastest in practice.  Austin Forkner and Zach Osborne not only come into today tied in points, but after this first qualifying session, only 0.047 seconds separated the two riders times.  Jordon Smith laid down the third fastest time of the session, not far off Forkner and Osborne’s times. With the top 3 riders all within the 48 second range, Davalos and Martin looked good as well. A minor mishap for Davalos as he washed the front end in the turn before the over/under bridge, but no foul as the Ecuadorian currently sits 5^th in times. 

(450 CLASS)

Malcolm Stewart is part of opening ceremonies tonight. Malcolm Stewart also came out on fire in this first 450 qualifying session.  Tyler Bowers is also riding fast today as he and Stewart had a little back and forth on who would be on top of times. Tomac and Anderson stayed on the board for most of this first round as well. PS look for a huge 3-3-3 line in the rhythm before the finish. Bowers, Mookie, and Tomac were able to hit that line clean. Oh and Marvin Musquin was using a cool line, jumping around the corner after the dragon’s back in free practice, but we didn’t see him use it in qualifying…yet.

 We’ve also learned that Cooper Webb is out for tonight due to a crash in free practice.

SECOND QUALIFYING SESSION

(250 CLASS)

#QuadLife: 250 Qualifying session two saw a number of riders go for the quad at the end of the first rhythm lane.  The first 250 rider we saw attempt it, was Josh Osby in 250 Group B—he didn’t make it, but did stick the landing on a solid 360 in the corner after.  In Group A, Zach Osborne uncorked the quad line to land himself as today’s top 250 qualifier. Forkner and Davalos were the other two riders who we saw attempt it. Forkner came up short and missed landing in the Steve Matthes Memorial Nets by just a few feet. The stage is set in the 250 class. Buckle up folks, this will get good.

(450 CLASS)

The second 450 qualifying session just wrapped up, and while Tyler Bowers and Malcolm Stewart once again dabbled at the top of the leader board, it was Eli Tomac who logged today’s top 450 qualifying time.  Today’s track is proving to be a fast one, with a big quad line, as well as a 3-3-3 before the finish.   The fans tonight inside the Dome at America’s Center are in for a treat, as Tomac, Bowers, Stewart, Musquin, Anderson, and more all seem to be in “send it” mode here in the Show Me State.

250 HEAT RACES

HEAT 1

250 Heat 1 was all Austin Forkner. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. Teammate, Martin Davalos hung there in 2^nd the entire moto as well. Most impressive was the 373 of Jacob Williamson who found himself in 3^rd place on lap one, and stayed there for the duration of the Heat. Not a lot of separation in this one, but the mains are shaping up to be exciting.

Heat 2

250 Heat 2 produced a little more excitement as Kyle Peters came out of turn one with the holeshot, followed by by Thomas Ramette in 2^nd. Jeremy Martin found himself in the 3^rd place spot with Jordan Smith going down on the first lap and Zach Osborne with about a 6^th place start.  Osborne used his whoop speed to gain ground and eventually make enough passes to take the win.  If the main comes down to whoop speed, pay attention to the far left side, as it looks to be the fast line through them. Peters and Martin held on to finish 2nd and 3rd, with Ramette and Gaines rounding out the top 5.

450 HEAT RACES

HEAT 1

Justin Brayton wins! Okay, it’s just a heat race, but JB10 is no stranger to the checkered flag as of late.  This one started out with Tyler Bowers grabbing the holeshot and leading for a few laps, before going down in the corner before the finish.  After Bowers’ mishap, it was Dean Wilson who would inherit the lead.  With Wilson leading, a hard charging Justin Brayton would use the whoops (far left line is fast, bro) to catch and pass for the lead.

HEAT 2

450 Heat 2 went to series points leader, Jason Anderson.  Anderson’s heat race win did not go without pressure as Blake Baggett would grab the holeshot. Eli Tomac found himself around 7^th on lap one but would work his way to 3^rd and tighten the gap between him, Baggett, and Anderson for the majority of the race. Once lappers came into play, Anderson was able to stretch it out just a tad. Tomac kept the pressure on Baggett, but the number 4 held on to finish 2^nd.   In other news, Malcolm Stewart has been fast all day but would get together with another rider in the rhythm before the finish and go down—ending his heat race.   

LCQ'S

250 LCQ

Making your first ever main event has to feel cool. Making your first main event by winning the LCQ in front of your hometown crowd has to feel even more cool.  St Louis area native, Drayke Sizemore did just that in tonight’s 250 Last Chance Qualifier. Behind him an onslaught of position changes waged on as Alves, Basso, Jackson, Martin and more went after it to see who would transfer on. Cody Vanbuskirk, Ramyller Alves, and Tanner Basso will join Sizemore in tonight’s 250 Main Event.

450 LCQ

Who says LCQ’s aren’t exciting? The 450 LCQ was all Malcolm Stewart out front. Meanwhile, Dylan Merriam, Scott Champion, Brandon Scharer, and Ronnie Stewart went to battle for the final transfer spot.  How did this one end? With Champion and Scharer crossing the finish side by side as the checkered flag waved.

MAIN EVENTS

250 MAIN EVENT

 The 250 Main Event just concluded and it didn’t disappoint. Zach Osborne and Austin Forkner came into tonight’s racing tied in points—which meant all eyes would be on them.  When the gate dropped it was Osborne who grabbed the holeshot with Forkner right there in 2^nd place. In the first rhythm lane Forkner would jump into the lead with Osborne in tow.  The race was on. 1 on 1 Forkner and Osborne ran 1^st and 2^nd for  the first part of the race.  It’s crazy how quickly these tracks can change, as the fast line through the whoops went from skimming on the far left to now jumpers.  Approximately midway through the main Osborne began pressuring Forkner and Forkner made a mistake after the dragon’s back before the over/under bridge and went down.  The rest of the race saw 1E maintain the lead and take the win.  Not far behind, Jeremy Martin closed the gap within two seconds, but that was as close as he would get.  Jordon Smith found himself on the podium again tonight as well.  After going down, things began getting a bit worse for Forkner as he would stay around 5^th the rest of the race, and have a run in with a lapper after the whoops.  Two men entered tonight tied in point, one man leaves STL with the red plates. WE’RE ON TO INDY!

450 MAIN EVENT

27 is the number of laps that tonight’s 450 main event went. That’s also the same number of laps that Eli Tomac lead during tonight’s 450 main event.  The track in St Louis was pretty rutted—per usual here in the Gateway to the West, which played directly into the favor of the number 3 Kawasaki as he crossed the line with a 20 second lead when the checkered flag waved.  Behind Tomac current points leader, Jason Anderson would run 2^nd for the duration of the race, with Marvin Musquin following in 3^rd. Further back, Blake Baggett and Weston Peick spent basically the entire second half of the race engaged in a battle for 5^th.  Peick was able to withstand Baggett’s attacks and maintained the 5^th place position.  As we mentioned previously, Malcolm Stewart started the day out fast and looked good all day before going down in the heat race.  He would salvage a 10^th place finish, and Dean Wilson would log an 8^th place ride after putting in a solid day here in St. Louis as well. That’s all for tonight, we’ll see you in seven days in Indianapolis!