Team Ohlins/Langston Motorsports/KTM Kick-off East Coast Lites Season With Solid Results
OutdoorHub 02.22.12
With both participating riders making it to the night show, it was a commendable first race for Team Ohlins/Langston Motorsports/KTM for the opening round of the AMA Supercross East Coast Lites Championship Series held at Cowboy Stadium Saturday.
Les Smith had a 13th place overall qualifying time and made it to the main event with a 9th place finish in his heat race. Smith avoided the carnage in the first turn of the main event getting into 11th place. He rode well for several laps but encountered some bad luck when another rider collided with him damaging his bike. Refusing to give up, Les nursed the ill-running bike to a 16th place finish giving the team a solid foundation to build upon.
“I felt really good in the main. I had an outside gate pick so I checked up in the first turn when I saw everyone pushing out,” Smith said. “That allowed me not to get tangled up. I was riding pretty well but did make contact with another rider which somehow damaged my ignition. The bike was bogging out pretty bad but there was no way I was going to pull off.”
A.J. Catanzaro clinched a spot in the night show with an 11th place overall qualifying time. In both his heat race and the LCQ he got tangled up with other riders off the start pushing him to the back. He rode hard trying to get up to qualifying position but there was too much ground to make up. “I am obviously disappointed not making the main but I felt like I was riding very well. I will now put in the work to be ready for Atlanta,” commented Catanzaro.
Team manager Grant Langston is overall very pleased with where they are as a team. “Obviously the results could be better but everyone gelled together as a team this weekend and we really got some things sorted out”, said Langston. “I am especially proud of Les’s performance. He rode smart and showed a lot of grit and determination when he encountered mechanical issues. We are all excited for the next event in Atlanta.”
