Seely Sixth at Atlanta Supercross

Round 8 of the AMA Supercross series proved a challenge for Team Honda HRC as Cole Seely lost ground in the main event, ultimately recording a sixth-place finish. After getting off the line to a decent start, the Californian showed notable speed early in the race, working his way from sixth to third by lap 4. He maintained that position until nearly the halfway point when mistakes slowed Seely’s momentum, causing him to ultimately take the checkered in sixth.

NOTES

• The evening before the race, Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely and Brand Ambassador Andrew Short, along with GEICO Honda riders RJ Hampshire, Christian Craig and Chase Sexton took part in the MotoFest pit party, where fans were able to come down on the start straight of the track and get autographs from their favorite riders.
• During the daytime qualifying, Seely notched the eighth-quickest lap time at 51.688 seconds, which was secured in the day’s first session.
• Positioned in heat 1, Seely got off the line to a top 10 start and had moved into sixth on the opening lap. Throughout the remainder of the five-minute plus one-lap race, Seely capitalized on the mistakes of two riders in front of him to make his move into fourth, securing the final transfer position into the main event.
• During the night program, the track had deteriorated so much that it was down to the concrete in certain areas, posing an additional challenge to riders. “There were mainly two places on the track where it was down to the concrete; the first turn and the right-hander before the sand section,” stated Seely. “They were both in the main line, but I don’t know why it seemed like there was such little dirt in the first turn. The track overall was really tough and more about survival”
• On a weekend that saw Team Honda HRC nearing the halfway point in the 2017 AMA Supercross season, the team’s MXGP counterparts kicked off their season at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit. The entire Team Honda HRC crew congratulates Team HRC on a successful start to the year with reigning champion Tim Gajser finishing second overall with 3-2 scores and teammate Evgeny Bobryshev for finishing fourth with 4-7 marks.
• On March 5, the series heads north of the border to Toronto, Canada for the one and only international stop on the circuit.

THE FOCUS: The End of an Era

Following 25 seasons of action-packed racing, this weekend’s race marked AMA Supercross’ final appearance in the beloved Georgia Dome. Honda has a successful history in the Atlanta area, scoring a total of 10 victories in the 450SX class and eight in the 250SX class, the second most of any other manufacturer. In 2008, Honda not only swept the entire 450SX podium with Davi Millsaps, Kevin Windham and Andrew Short, but Trey Canard also topped the 250SX podium.

“I think my favorite memory from the Georgia Dome is when [Kevin] Windham, [Davi] Millsaps and myself were all on the podium,” explained brand ambassador Andrew Short. “It wasn’t the best race for me but for Honda to sweep the podium was really special. Other than that, Atlanta just is a special place in general. The Georgia clay is iconic, making for some great racing and the pits are always packed with great fans. Hopefully the new stadium can garner just as great experiences as the Dome has.”