Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders Austin Forkner and Martin Davalos came into Tampa, Florida looking to rebound after last weekend’s results.
As the Florida sun set Raymond James Stadium came alive. When the gate dropped on the opening 250SX heat races, Davalos captured his second heat race win of the season with Forkner qualifying third. At the start of the main event, Forkner came around the first turn in third place and wasted no time jumping into the lead by the end of the opening lap.
The pressure on Forkner was relentless for 20 laps, but the young 19-year-old professional held a strong pace and led every lap to his very first career supercross victory. After starting in sixth place, team-mate Davalos rode strong to a fifth-place finish.
“I’m really happy to get my first supercross win,” said Forkner. “I came into this season coming off a wrist injury and I’m feeling really good right now. The team has a good setup for my KX250F. Going after my first win was a challenge, but I was up front early and I tried to sprint to build a lead. I managed the pace to try and keep a good gap. I have to give it up to my team for staying behind me.”
“Today started off really well, with qualifying third overall in practice and winning my second heat race of the season,” said Davalos. “Although, when the gate dropped on for the main, I banged bars with another rider and nearly went down. Luckily, I was able to sneak around the inside of the first corner and pass a lot of riders back.”
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