"I messed up the start, but we were able to rebound well from there," said Walton. "I charged hard and was smart – the track was brutal in those early stages. We got into a groove, I kept getting faster and faster, and finding points on the track where we could make passes. I'm definitely happy with my performance, even if it was frustrating knowing that I was that close to winning, but we are satisfied and now we'll get ready for the next one."

It was a stronger start to the day for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Dalton Shirey as he was positioned second at the end of lap one, eventually picking up an eighth-place finish at race's end and logging more Pro Class points for the weekend.

Pro Class Results
1. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
2. Austin Walton – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
3. Cole Martinez (Honda)
…
8. Dalton Shirey – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Grand National Cross Country Championship (GNCC) - Round 2

The GNCC Series continued with Round 2 at the Wild Boar in Palatka, Florida, where deep, sandy conditions made for a challenging day of competition. In the end, it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Korie Steede who claimed her second WXC runner-up finish in a row.

Steede was exceptional onboard the Husqvarna Motorcycles FX 250 and led her share of the race, including the opening lap, eventually taking the checkered flag just over a minute shy of victory following almost two hours of racing. She's now only a single point outside of the championship lead.

"This is a really important race to get the start and I pulled the holeshot, so it started off for a great day," Steede said. "I was out front with Brandy [Richards], so knew it was going to be a good battle. We got into lappers and it didn't work out for me, but I know what we have to work on for next weekend. I feel really good this year and the bike was working flawlessly, so I'm excited to keep this going."

A late rain shower caused havoc in the XC1 Open Pro division, where Trevor Bollinger brought his Husqvarna Motorcycles FX 350 home in eighth position. Unfortunately for defending champion Craig DeLong, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider crashed out of contention early on, in what ended up being a fiery end to his day.

"I got off to a good start today and went in the woods about fourth or so," commented Bollinger. "Kinda got shuffled back in the first mud hole there, but I was able to regroup and made my way to fifth on the second lap. The conditions were tough and we had the rear brake go out, but the team did a fast pit stop and I was able to salvage what I could. I want to thank them for their hard work because these first two rounds have been a little rough, but I’m healthy and ready to rebound in Georgia."

"I had a bad start, put myself in the back, and then lost my goggles," DeLong reflected. "I got close to this one tree and before I knew it, I had nowhere to go and crashed. When I picked my bike up, I realized I had broken a part and wasn't able to keep moving forward. I went to go get help, and when we came back the bike was on fire from the exhaust touching some dry vegetation. It's unfortunate, the last two races have obviously not gone to plan – last year I felt like I could do no wrong and this year it's just been one thing after another. It's been tough. I'm fine though, honestly just hit the tree and it was a slow crash, so we will take a step back and figure out how to not do that again next weekend."