Davies on Arlington SX: “Unfortunately, with a crash in the first turn, I had my work cut out for me, but I’m proud of how we fought back to fifth”
Saturday’s Arlington Supercross 250SX East Division opener saw three of the four Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing riders down in the first turn of the main event. Cole Davies and two of his three teammates—Nate Thrasher and Caden Dudney—were involved in domino-effect crash from Davies bumping into Seth Hammaker from the far inside. Somehow, Hammaker stayed up, but Davies, Thrasher, Dudney, Marshal Weltin, Coty Schock, Luke Clout, and Bryce Shelly went down. Davies (heat one) and Hammaker (heat two) won their heat races and are two of the championship favorites.
Davies got up and charged to finish fifth, Thrasher 11th, and Dudney 13th in his first professional 250SX start. Davies was the hard charger on the night, picking up 13 positions as he put down the second-fastest lap of the main event behind only Hammaker (fourth on the night).
This ride from Davies reminded me of his ride last year at the Glendale SX, when he won the first two races in the Triple Crown event and was eyeing his first professional win before crashing early in the third race! He charged back from dead last to finish eighth, but his 1-1-8 finishes were good enough for third overall to earn his first career podium that night. He was also in all blue head to toe that night as well...Anyway, back to Saturday night.
Thrasher made up nine positions as Dudney made up six. Brown, the team’s fourth rider, earned his first 250SX main event win out front.
![Tough Start to the main event for a handful of riders, who got collected in Davies' crash.]()
Tough Start to the main event for a handful of riders, who got collected in Davies' crash. Align Media ![Cole Davies]()
Cole Davies Align Media ![Nate Thrasher]()
Nate Thrasher Align Media ![Caden Dudney]()
Caden Dudney Align Media ![Thrasher and Dudney]()
Thrasher and Dudney Align Media
The riders said the following in the post-race release from Yamaha:
Said Davies:
“The season opener is done and dusted. The day went to plan. I felt comfortable in both qualifying sessions and got the Heat Race win. Unfortunately, with a crash in the first turn, I had my work cut out for me, but I’m proud of how we fought back to fifth. The bike felt solid all day, especially through the whoops where we made most of our passes. We had the speed to win, now we just need to execute. A big thanks to the team for giving me the tools to battle up front. Now onto Daytona.”
Said Thrasher:
“Round one is done. I felt really good in the heat race, but the main was not my best. I have to get off the gate better and not put myself in that position. The bike was bent up after the crash, but we tried our best. It’s not over. We have a lot of racing to go. I have to come out next weekend with one mindset.”
Said Dudney:
“Arlington was good to me, even though the main wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I can’t put myself in that position off the start again, but it’s a big learning curve, and there were a lot of positives to take away from it. My riding was great all day long. I had fun, and I’m ready to do it again next weekend.”
Said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 Team General Manager:
“It was an awesome opener for the team. PB (Pierce Brown) getting redemption for last year, after 12 months off, was amazing. Cole rode his butt off to get back to the top five after the first-turn crash. Nate and Caden were down for a long time in the first turn and salvaged the best result they could. We’re looking forward to Daytona.”
