ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING’S ZACH OSBORNE BREAKS THROUGH FOR A 450SX CAREER-BEST OF SIXTH AT DAYTONA.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne had a break-out ride on Saturday, earning his best-career 450SX class finish with sixth-place at Round 10 of the 2019 AMA Supercross World Championship at Daytona International Speedway.
450SX
Known for his relentless riding style and never-give-up mentality, Osborne excelled in Daytona’s rough and sandy conditions. After capturing a top-10 qualifying position, Osborne put himself into a top-five position off the start of the 450SX heat race. As he was setting up a pass for fourth, his front-end tucked into the deep sand and caused him to go down. Despite the set-back, Osborne was able to secure a direct transfer to the Main Event with a top-five finish. In the Main Event, Osborne got a sixth-place start and he settled into seventh early on. He eventually worked his way back up to sixth, where he made a last-minute charge to fight for a top-five position. With a strong performance late in the race, Osborne finished just outside the top-five with sixth overall on the night.
“Daytona was good to me this year,”Osborne said. „Sixth-place, that’s my best finish so far. I had some good times in qualifying and I’m starting to find my feet in this class and starting to kind of flow and know my place a little bit. This is something that I can definitely build from and move forward from. It’s been a rough, tough start to the season with an injury before the season and obviously trying to get back at it has been a tough deal but I’m still here, still plugging away, and I know the work that I’m doing during the week will pay off soon and it’s going to be good.”
For Wilson, Daytona got off to a great start with 450SX Heat 1, where he captured a top-three start and held his position through the checkers to claim a third-place transfer into the Main Event. Wilson powered his FC 450 to a sixth-place position off the start in the Main Event. However, due to poor visibility through the deep sand, Wilson lost sight of where he was going and hit a tuf block, causing him to go down early on the opening lap. As a result, Wilson was forced to claw his way back from last place on the opening lap. By the halfway point, he had made his way into 11th and he continued to battle all the way through the checkers with a hard-fought performance in Daytona.
“This weekend was okay,” Wilson said. “I feel like my riding was really good in the heat race and then the Main Event was looking like it would be off to a great start but then I got roosted in the sand section, I couldn’t see and I went right into a tuf block and fell. After that, I was in dead last and was able to come back to 11th. It’s obviously a huge disappointment on the result but onto next weekend.”
250SX
East Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jordan Bailey had a great start to the night as he rocketed his FC 250 into the early lead in the heat race. Bailey held onto the lead for the first lap before settling into second on lap two. Bailey maintained a solid pace up front to finish a close second and transfer into the Main Event. In the Main, Bailey got off to a decent start but he got tangled with another rider on the opening lap and was forced to begin at the back of the pack. Bailey rounded lap one in 21st position and he climbed his way all the way up to 11th, finishing just outside the top-10 in front of a hometown crowd in Florida.
“The Heat race was an amazing experience for me!” Bailey said. “I got off to a good start and a couple guys made mistakes and I got into the lead. I led for a lap or so and ended up finishing second in front of my hometown crowd, so that was a really good feeling. In the Main, my start was decent but unfortunately, I got tangled up with a rider and fell on the first lap. I came back and salvaged 11th. Overall, we made a big step in the right direction, I feel like we’re getting faster each week and I look forward to Indianapolis for sure.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington returned to racing after missing the last three rounds due to a knee injury. In his 250SX heat, Covington began just outside the top-10 before climbing his way up to finish sixth. In the Main Event, Covington didn’t get a favorable start as he began just inside the top-20 on the opening lap. He climbed through the pack and reached the 14th-place position by lap five as he trailed his teammate Bailey at the halfway point. He shifted around the top-15 for the remainder of the Main Event, ultimately finishing 15th for the night.
“This weekend was a step in the right direction for me,”Covington said. “I had a solid heat race and got into a decent rhythm. In the Main, I just messed up my start a bit and nearly went down in the second corner in the sand and lost a lot of positions. All-in-all, it was another good building weekend for me coming back off my knee injury.”
Next Event: March 16 – Indianapolis SX – Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana
Daytona SX Results
450SX Main Event
1. Eli Tomac
2. Cooper Webb
3. Marvin Musquin
…
6. Zach Osborne – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
11. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
250SX East Main Event
1. Austin Forkner
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
…
11. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
12. Thomas Covington – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
450SX Rider Point Standings
1. Cooper Webb – 222 points
2. Eli Tomac – 203 points
3. Marvin Musquin – 203 points
…
6. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – points
250SX East Rider Point Standings
1. Austin Forkner – 125 points
2. Justin Cooper – 102 points
3. Chase Sexton – 102 points
…
11. Jordan Bailey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 51 points
17. Thomas Covington – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 20 points
Text/Bild: Husqvarna