Image: Octopi Media.

Fifth place after a challenging outing in Pittsburgh on Saturday night was enough to keep Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker in 250SX East title contention, who now declares that he’ll be ‘taking everything’ he has into Salt Lake City’s final round in two weeks’ time.

Hammaker commenced his day inside Acrisure Stadium by posting the second fastest time in 250SX qualifying, before a heat race victory signalled what appeared to be a strong round for the red-plate holder.

Adversity met the 24-year-old when the gates dropped for the main event, with heavy wheel-spin off the grate seeing him buried on the opening lap. A collision followed by a series of close calls for the number 56 created a ‘sketchy’ beginning of the race, before a clean second half saw him recover to P5.

“The day went pretty well here in Pittsburgh,” commented Hammaker. “I ended up P2 in qualifying and felt really good on the bike. In the heat race, I got the holeshot, led every lap, and felt strong the whole way through, then heading into the main event, I spun really badly off the grate at the start and put myself in a tough spot right away.

“The first few laps got a little sketchy, but I focused on climbing my way forward and was able to work up to a fifth-place finish. Now we’re only one point out heading into Salt Lake, and I’m taking everything I’ve got into that final round.”

Three points cover the top three in the 250SX East class entering the season finale in Salt Lake City, with Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) leading Hammaker by one point, followed by RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), who sits three markers behind in third place.