Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Daxton Bennick overcame adversity in the thick mud at Gillette Stadium to earn a top-five finish at Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross East Championship in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Nate Thrasher continued to fight his way back from multiple tip-overs in the tricky conditions but ultimately finished 19th. Christian Craig also salvaged points on one of the most challenging tracks in recent memory, finishing 17th in the 450SX Main Event.
Rain made for a tough day at the Gillette Stadium. The schedule was abbreviated to just one session on track before the night show, with Bennick qualifying 24th. Despite the less-than-ideal gate pick for his heat race, he had a decent start and made his way to ninth on the opening lap, where he would finish. It was a chaotic start to the main event, with Bennick avoiding the chaos and slotting into sixth. Although like many other riders, he ended up on the ground, the young North Carolina rider rejoined in eighth and quickly made his way back to sixth. In the final laps, he moved into fifth, earning his second-consecutive top-five result.
Thrasher had a good start to the day despite the conditions, qualifying ninth and then getting a good start to his heat race. Unfortunately, on that opening lap, a rider ahead was stuck, and without anywhere to go, they both went down in the mud. Thrasher rejoined at the back of the field and did what he could to make his way forward, but had more tip-overs and ultimately withdrew, transferring to the main event through the LCQ. Despite the second-to-last gate pick, the Tennessee rider had a decent start around 14th and made his way to 13th on the opening lap, but more tip-overs had him salvaging points with a 19th-place finish. Thrasher heads into the East-West Showdown sixth in the Eastern Regional 250 class standings and 18 points from the top spot.
After qualifying 15th, Craig got a solid start to the 450SX Heat Race 2 and was 11th after the opening lap. He continued to ride strong amidst the chaos and made his way up to sixth, where he would finish. It was a challenging 450 main event, and he was one of the many riders with tip-overs in the tricky conditions. After the opening lap, he found himself near the back of the field in 20th. The Californian kept pushing and made his way up to 15th, but ultimately finished 17th.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 12, for the second East-West Showdown of the season and Round 13 of Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the SuperMotocross World Championship at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“It was pretty gnarly out there. With a track like that, anything could happen. We’re really proud of Dax to come through with a top-five finish in that mess. It was a tough night for both Nate and Christian, but we’ll regroup and come back swinging in Philly.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #34 YZ250F
“Wow! I’ve never really raced anything like that. I feel like it could have gone either way, but I’m happy to get out of there with fifth. You can’t really prepare for anything like that. We had fun, and we’re ready for the next one.”
Nate Thrasher – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #41 YZ250F
“Not much to say about the night. It was pretty brutal out there. We did what we could and kept fighting. We’ll put this one behind us and move on to Philly.”
Chrisitan Craig – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #28 YZ450F
“It was a crazy night in Foxborough. It was full survival mode in the mud, and unfortunately had too many mistakes and tip-overs. We’ll move on to Philadelphia.”