There was almost the taste of champagne for Triumph Racing at the fourth round of the Monster Energy AMA 250SX East championship held in Birmingham, Alabama as Jalek Swoll demonstrated his strong pace aboard the TF 250-X, ultimately finishing in sixth position.
With Triumph Racing’s rookie racer Evan Ferry still sidelined, it was down to Swoll to fly the flag on the Triumph TF 250-X under the lights of the Protective Stadium. A new venue and a new city for the series, the event was even more of a challenge for the riders as they only were able to make their first laps of the circuit in qualifying. With extremely heavy rain on the previous day, the track managers had a big challenge to keep the dirt in the best condition for the Main Event.
Placing 11th after Overall Qualifying, Jalek would take part in Heat #2 in order to earn a good start position for the Main Event. Fast out of the gates once again and almost grabbing the holeshot, Swoll held second for the majority of the Heat. Ultimately an aggressive block pass from Chance Hymas would see Jalek lose three positions and take the flag in fifth.
In the Main Event, another strong start saw the #33 Triumph TF 250-X fire into third out of the gate. Riding fast and smooth, Jalek maintained the position around the rutty track for over half of the race. With less than seven minutes to go and under pressure from Seth Hammaker, Swoll lost the front on the exit on one of the tight hairpins. Dropping down to seventh, the Florida rider quickly remounted and dug deep to regain positions. Returning a strong pass on Hymas for sixth and hunting down the rider ahead, it was an excellent recovery ride that almost saw Swoll grabbing fifth at the finish.
With that performance, Jalek and Triumph jumped two positions in the standings to now sit 10th overall in the 2024 250SX East championship.
Evan Ferry will get back on his Triumph TF 250-X next week to prepare for his return to racing with the target to be on the gate for Round 6 at Foxborough.
Jalek Swoll (#33): “Tonight could have been a whole lot better if I didn’t tuck the front! I had two good starts to put myself in the mix and I also showed tonight that I’m not getting pushed around anymore. I recovered well after the crash and I just need to keep putting myself up there. The Triumph TF 250-X is working well, we will just keep pushing and that podium will happen.”
Bobby Hewitt – Triumph Racing Team Principal (US): “I’m really happy with the night. To be honest – and as funny as it sounds – it almost felt like a win! Obviously we hoped to finish third, but considering that Jalek has ridden one day in two weeks other than being at the events, he did really well.
“Jalek had two good starts and it really shows the Triumph TF 250-X is competitive and can run at the front. We make improvements each week and, after Indianapolis, we have a long break to continue making those steps forwards.”
Results 250 Supercross East Main Event – Round 4, Alabama
1st Tom Vialle (KTM)
2nd Cameron Mcadoo (Kawasaki)
3rd Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki)
6th Jalek Swoll (Triumph)
250 Supercross East Championship after Round 4 of 9
1st Tom Vialle (KTM) – 74
2nd Cameron Mcadoo (Kawasaki) – 73
3rd Pierce Brown (GasGas) – 69
10th Jalek Swoll (Triumph) – 47
The 250 East Supercross championship returns to action for Round 5 of the series in Indianapolis at the Lucas Oil Stadium on March 16, 2024.
Words and Images by Triumph Racing
