By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
PHILADELPHIA — FirePower Honda Racing Supercross rider Max Anstie is the first-ever 250SX winner in the City of Brotherly Love. When Supercross first came to Philadelphia in 1980, there was no 250SX event.
The 43-year gap was the most in Supercross history. Anstie picked up his first win of the season in the East Regional on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia.
Anstie was fifth going into the first turn then eventually took the lead.
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“Man, I know you Philly crowd were cheering for Seth [Hammaker, who led early in his hometown race]… It was so loud,” Anstie said. “It was crazy. I heard the crowd going wild and then I looked back and he wasn’t there, and I don’t know what happened. But man, obviously it was an exciting race. We needed this, my whole crew: Firepower, Yarrive my boss is over [from Australia], Marty [Davalos]; we’ve had a great couple of years, and we needed this this week.
“They’ve had a bit of (a) rough week so [I’m] proud to give it to ‘em. I’m happy to get this done and looking forward to the final round in Salt Lake in a couple of weeks.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Tom Vialle finished second. He is the points leader by 15 points with one race left for the East Region.
“I had a bad start and I was like, ‘Alright, this is going to be tough,’” Vialle said. “And I actually saw Haiden was just in front of me, so I was like, ‘Okay, we are together in that.’ And we actually had a really good race. We came back from almost dead last to right behind Max. And no, I kept Haiden [for] the whole race behind me [after passing him on the opening lap]; that was my goal. And we did it. It was hard, but we pushed ‘till the end and I’m really proud of my ride tonight, and I really want to thank the team for the hard work, and everyone here.
“Philadelphia the city is awesome, actually, and thanks to everyone here.”
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Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider Haiden Deegan finished third. Despite the third-place finish, Deegan is in second place in the championship race.
“If this race right here didn’t make you a fan of Supercross, I don’t know what will,” Deegan said. “That was literally heart from every rider out there ‘till the end. That was gnarly. A lot of the good guys had a bad start, man, and we came through. Dudes were taking each other out over there [gestures to sand section]. I hope Pierce [Brown] is alright; that was exactly what I did at Daytona, just a gnarly cross rut [mistake] and it throws you off… I did go out there to win and it sucks obviously [not winning], but it was a good race, coming from the back. [We showed] good speed out of me and Tom; we had fun out there. I gave him a wheel every here and there but he’s a tough opponent and I respect [him], and I respect Max, too…
“To go out here and win in this supercross field is a gnarly deal. But going to the last round we’re going to try our best. It’s not over ‘till it’s over. But I’m still young, I have a big career ahead of me, but you know we’re going to fight ‘til the end. I got to give glory to God, man he’s by my side all the time watching over me and pushing me every day, and also my whole team… thank you, guys.”
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