MAX ANSTIE

The former MXGP standout was destined to flourish while racing in Daytona, Florida on Saturday. There was little that he hadn’t experienced, in regard to track layout or conditions on a specific raceway...and amongst the braking bumps and acceleration edges that were beginning to be etched into the racing surface in qualification, Honda’s Max Anstie unquestionably garnered attention from race fans and competition alike. This translated into heat two, where the accomplished British racer established a forward body position aboard the chassis of the Honda 250F, allotting as much attention and weight to the front of the machine as possible as the rear wheel gripped the mesh grate beneath him. Upon barreling into turn number one, he emerged contending for the lead, while exhibiting a series of sprints in the sections thereafter. Flying past the mechanic’s area with his vision fixed on the multitude of ruts ahead, Anstie was aware of Yamaha’s Daxton Bennick...and the two would battle before Anstie’s run through the whoops seemingly solidified his argument for victorious contention. They were an advantage and detriment to the Honda rider as the moto progressed though...where he would go off course while attempting to blitz on the outside, but remained in control of the five-lap contest while eventually leading every lap. Taking the race win in style, Anstie exited the raceway with confidence before embarking on the main event. For the finalé, the stage for the third round of this East Coast Supercross Championship couldn’t have been higher...but Anstie demonstrated composure while navigating through the first forty-five seconds of action — solidified near the top-ten while taking aim for prolific circuits before the five-minute mark was enacted. Powering into the area of beach-sand per se, Max’s motor was fighting amongst the highest of revs, but there were countless mistakes being made by the MXGP standout as he appeared to be riding aggressively. Slight wash-outs or errors in regard to weight distribution on the sandy but muddy surface would cause he and his Honda machine to pause momentum per se when nearing the six lap mark. Residing in ninth, after once moving into the eighth-place standing. He eventually found his way to the rear wheel of Jalek Swoll, and he pressured the Triumph rider for a substantial amount of time as the conclusion of the moto appeared in the distance...but in the end, the line of defense for the native Floridian was too much for Anstie to try and overtake — nearly colliding with the number thirty-three when departing from the final takeoff, but garnering an eighth-place finish while remaining the red-plate holder for the following round of the championship.