Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle reclaimed the 250SX East red plate following a third-place finish in the 250SX East/West Showdown at Nashville, putting him in control of the points lead with two rounds remaining in the eastern region.
A convincing third-place result on the podium in the opening Showdown of the year saw Frenchman Vialle take charge of the series in class at Nissan Stadium, building a 13-point advantage. The double MX2 World Champion was fastest in 250SX East qualifying this afternoon and then posted a Heat race victory, before putting in a consistent performance on his way to P3 in the Main Event riding the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION.
Tom Vialle: "To finish third overall and first on my coast, it was a really good race for me. I tried to stay focused on my own race and had a good pace. The track was pretty sketchy, so you really had to concentrate, and I actually liked it a lot today – I felt like my riding was good all day. Two races to go and we're getting closer to the end! I really look forward to the next two races."
For teammate Julien Beaumer, the 250SX West rookie was a promising fifth-fastest in qualifying, but had to transfer through to the Main Event via P1 in the LCQ, and then he overcame further adversity to claim ninth tonight. It was a result that saw him maintain sixth in the point standings while continuing to gain important race mileage in his first-career Showdown appearance.
Julien Beaumer: "It was a pretty good night here in Nashville. I made it hard on myself by going through the LCQ and then the Main Event was tough, obviously not having the best gate pick. I got off to a decent start, but then got pushed really far out and was a long way back. I made a good charge up to ninth, and I am happy with my riding tonight, so I'm going to go back to work and get ready for Denver."
Unfortunately for defending 450SX Champion Chase Sexton, after qualifying fourth and finishing third in Heat 1 equipped with his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was ruled of contention with a heavy crash on lap five of the Main Event. He has since been cleared of any major injury after being evaluated and intends to race-on at the Philadelphia round next Saturday.
Chase Sexton: "Crashed out tonight. A stone cracked my throttle body and the throttle got stuck off of that single-single, which ended my night. Bummer, but nothing's broken, and we'll bounce back in Philadelphia."
Next Race: April 27 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Results 450SX Class – Nashville
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda
2. Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha
3. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha
5. Justin Barcia (USA), GASGAS
9. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna
DNF. Chase Sexton (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Standings 450SX Class 2024 after 14 of 17 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 286 points
2. Cooper Webb, 281
3. Eli Tomac, 253
4. Chase Sexton, 246
7. Aaron Plessinger, 198
9. Justin Barcia, 166
11. Malcolm Stewart, 155
Results 250SX East/West Showdown Class – Nashville
1. RJ Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna
2. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
3. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9. Julien Beaumer (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
11. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS
15. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna
19. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS
Standings 250SX East Class 2024 after 7 of 9 rounds
1. Tom Vialle, 136 points
2. Haiden Deegan, 123
3. Cameron McAdoo, 120
4. Pierce Brown, 116
24. Casey Cochran, 14
Standings 250SX West Class 2024 after 8 of 10 rounds
1. RJ Hampshire, 166 points
2. Levi Kitchen, 164
3. Jordon Smith, 148
6. Julien Beaumer, 106
12. Ryder DiFrancesco, 68