It’s been long believed that, in a shortened regional championship such as the 250SX classes of Monster Energy Supercross, if a rider were to win the title they could rarely afford a poor finish, since there isn’t enough time to make the points back. There’s no doubt truth to this, however, the current 250SX East class is proving that – every once in a while – this axiom is incorrect.

What on earth is going on in this championship? It’s a valid question to ask. It feels like a lifetime ago that Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie captured a convincing opening round victory in Tampa, with the rhetoric quickly becoming, ‘Who is going to stop Max Anstie for the title?’

As it turns out, Max Anstie stopped Max Anstie, with a fall during the afternoon qualifying session in Birmingham bringing a premature end to his season with a broken fibula. What also seems like a lifetime ago was when both Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders Levi Kitchen and Cameron McAdoo were in the mix, with the duo bowing out of the series with their own respective injuries.

And so this leads us to our current crop of riders. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) went three rounds with a tuff block in Tampa and ultimately claimed a P18 result to commence his season. RJ’s take on it was that it wasn’t ideal, although, to his credit, he did say that he wasn’t out of it.

Image: Octopi Media.

“It is what it is,” reflected Hampshire after Tampa. “I have dug myself a bit of a hole, although we’ve done it before, and I know I can get out of it, so we’ll just get after it in these next rounds.”

Indeed, the number 24 has, with a win at Daytona breathing new life into his campaign, and remarkably, on the weekend, he actually gained more points towards the title after a 15th-place finish in the main event, and now sits three markers out of the lead. Wild.

How about the now co-series points leader Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki)? We’re definitely seeing a new Seth this year – a more composed, calmer, and focused rider compared to years past – although a 17th-place finish in Detroit was a result that, at the time, put a serious dent in his championship hopes.

He has since rallied, with victory at the 250SX Showdown in Indianapolis being the moment that the Pennsylvania-native captured the momentum of the class, and it has looked solid for him since. However, being skittled by a flying Hampshire at the start of the Foxborough main wasn’t what he had drawn up for the round.

“RJ came from the outside [on the start], washed his front-end, and I ended up hitting his bike and went flying. It was unfortunate, but in the end, I finished P9. So overall, not a bad day. We’re tied for the points lead, and that’s really exciting – I’m stoked about it,” said Hammaker after Foxborough.

Image: Octopi Media.

Last but not least, we have defending 250SX East champion Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). To his credit, Vialle has taken a measured approach in this year’s title-chase, avoiding the chaos and drama that was unfolding in its myriad of forms around him.

He’s remained championship-focused. No race win? Not the biggest deal. The current number one wanted another number one plate, and up until the closing stages of the Foxborough main event, it seemed like he was right on track to bank a solid haul of points.

As it turns out, it was with 40 seconds and a lap left on the clock that things would unravel drastically for the Frenchman. A fall while running comfortably in fifth place resulted in dropping two positions to seventh by the time he remounted, however, the real damage was done when, while in seventh, he became tied up in the scoring tower, subsequently losing seventh place and credited with 22nd.

All in the space of minutes, Vialle experienced the wrath of whatever voodoo covers these 250SX eastern division riders, and his lead has completely evaporated as he now sits tied with Hammaker at the top. Still, remember last year he clawed his way back from 18th in Detroit’s opener to clinch the crown.

Image: Octopi Media.

“I had a bad start [in the main event] and came back to fifth, and then had a crash with two laps to go, which kept us from finishing the race. I’m now tied with Seth [Hammaker] in the championship, and it’ll be a good fight with four rounds to go until the end,” were Vialle’s words after the weekend’s race.

It feels like a rollercoaster just writing and reliving this one, and there are still four rounds to go! And you can now throw Saturday night’s winner, Chance Hymas (Honda HRC Progressive), into the conversation, as even with his DNF in Indianapolis, he’s now only eight points out of the series lead.

Talk about a wild championship fight. And with two 250SX Showdowns to go and a lot of points on the line, this one is far from over. A word of advice? Strap in and hold on.