Cole Davies (Yamaha): Double victory at High Point, crash for Seth Hammaker

Round 4 of the US Nationals at High Point: New Zealand-born Yamaha works rider Cole Davies was already the fastest in qualifying and started the race from pole position.

Combined 250cc Qualifying

1. Cole Davies (NZ), Yamaha, 2:04.283

2. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki, +0.177

3. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Husqvarna, +0.729

4. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM, +1.010

5. Seth Hammaker (USA), Kawasaki, +1.123

6. Michael Mosiman (USA), Yamaha, +1.130

First race, crash by Julien Beaumer

Casey Cochran (Husqvarna) took the holeshot in the first race, but Red Bull KTM factory rider Julien Beaumer took the early lead. Cole Davies and Jo Shimoda followed and also set their sights on the front straight away. Beaumer had built up a lead of around five seconds, but he went down after the finish jump, allowing Davies to inherit the lead. Although Beaumer remained within striking distance of Davies for the rest of the race, he was ultimately unable to get past him. Levi Kitchen crashed and dropped back to 6th place. Cole Davies won by a margin of 1.5 seconds ahead of Beaumer, Shimoda, Cochran and Seth Hammaker.

Kayden Minear: The next Aussie super-talent

Cole Davies took the holeshot in the second race and didn’t put a foot wrong after that. Behind him, however, things were chaotic: Seth Hammaker, who started the race at High Point as championship leader, lost control after a jump just before the pit lane and crashed. As he landed, he accelerated and his bike slipped out of his control, sending him into an uncontrolled wheelie. Hammaker’s crash was reminiscent of Ryan Villopoto’s spectacular crash in Trentino in 2015. The Kawasaki works rider sustained a shoulder injury and was forced to retire from the race.

Kayden Minear: The next Aussie super-talent

The second race was dominated by the duel between the talented Australian Kayden Minear and Jo Shimoda (HRC). The 17-year-old Minear secured his first podium at High Point after finishing 10th in the first race and ended the day with a 10-3 result, placing 5th overall.

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The situation at the top of the standings

Following Hammaker’s retirement in the second race, Levi Kitchen is now the sole leader in the standings, but Jo Shimoda is hot on his heels, trailing by just one point. Julien Beaumer, who finished the day in second place, also managed to reduce his deficit from 13 to 2 points. The race at the top of the standings has now become even tighter. The fifth round of the US Nationals takes place in two weeks’ time (4 July) at RedBud.

High Point 250 results:

1. Cole Davies (NZ), Yamaha, 1–1

2. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM, 2–2

3. Jo Shimoda (J), Honda, 3–4

4. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki, 6–5

5. Kayden Minear (AUS), Yamaha, 10–3

6. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Husqvarna, 7–6

7. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna, 4–11

8. Michael Mosiman (USA), Yamaha, 9–9

9. Chance Hymas (USA), Honda, 13–8

10. Dilan Schwartz (USA), Yamaha, 12–10

Standings after 4 of 11 rounds:

1. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki, 150

2. Jo Shimoda (J), Honda, 149 (-1)

3. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM, 148 (-2)

4. Cole Davies (NZ), Yamaha, 143 (-7)

5. Seth Hammaker (USA), Kawasaki, 134 (-16)

6. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Husqvarna, 111 (-39)

7. Kayden Minear (AUS), Yamaha, 101 (-49)

8. Nick Romano (USA), Yamaha, 101 (-49)

9. Chance Hymas (USA), Honda, 90 (-60)

10. Caden Dudney (USA), Yamaha, 73 (-77)