Garrett Marchbanks’ 250SX Podiums

Like mentioned above, Marchbanks did what he has been doing and charged forward. His 3-4 finishes were good enough for third overall, although it seemed like he might even go get Haiden Deegan, who was charging forward right ahead of him. With Seth Hammaker ahead of him but the podium in hand, Marchbanks knew not to force it.

“I definitely tried to fight for it at the end,” Marchbanks said. “I think it was two or three laps to go. I tried to make a move. I had a pretty close one in the back. After that, I was like, you know what, I have the podium, it's my first one. I don't want to be an idiot and try to, you know, send it for third [place]. I know it sounds kind of bad, but for me, I haven't been this close in a long time, so for me it was kind of just, take the small wins like today and, yeah, build from it. So, yeah, I just kind of mellowed out the last lap and a half and let him have it, kind of. I wouldn't say I let him have it, he was riding great. So, for me, I just, yeah, backed it off a little bit.”

He was also asked about all of his passes this summer.

“I mean, I've been like that sadly through my whole career,” he said. “I've been a terrible starter. I've always just been a super big kid, no matter what bike I've been on. I was known for that as an amateur all the way to the pros. Supercross has only been the only one I could kind of start somewhat well on because everything's not, you know, ripped super deep. So, hopefully one day I can figure it out and just start up front so I'm not passing guys all the time.”

For Marchbanks, this one meant a lot. He was close with amateur Kawasaki rider Aidan Zingg, who died in June while racing at the Mammoth Motocross event in California in late June. He was asked to share some thoughts on his friendship with Zingg in the post-race press conference.

“No, I definitely think of the kid all the time,” Marchbanks said. “I mean, Aidan was such a great kid. Nicest human being I've ever met in my life. Especially when I'm out there motoing down, if I'm having a bad day or getting tired, I think if the guy knew, he would always push harder. He always had a smile on his face, and if I was having a bad day, he helped me out and vice versa. I mean, I’ll train with them from day one. Definitely shy. I think he struck the train with me and Broc [Tickle] and for me, I always knew I never really had a lot of people around me growing up to help me out through my career. I definitely struggled with that and wish I had a little bit more guidance in my life and I definitely wanted to just help him with that, you know. With dad stuff, amateur dads, all that. No, he definitely was a great kid to work with. Amazing human being. It was fun times to cycle with him, moto down, and even though he would get pretty mad half the time, it was pretty cool to watch the progress he made from day one to his last days with me. And it was very amazing and I'm very thankful to have trained with him. And to get to know his family so well, I still go visit them and such an amazing family and I'm very sorry for their loss.. Yeah, it hurts me a lot.”

This one was special for many reasons, and one Garrett Marchbanks will remember forever.