Back in March of 2018, Colton Facciotti lined up at the Daytona SX in hopes of not just making the 450SX main event but also finishing well. With the 2018 Triple Crown Series already underway in Canada, Colton was in race shape and at the time it made perfect sense to try and race the Daytona SX. Colton rode well that night on his GDR Honda but ended up missing the 450SX main event. After that race, we did a short write-up on his night in Daytona and with this famous race taking place again this coming weekend, we thought it would be cool to look back to three years ago.
Leading up to Saturday night, I had several conversations with various people about how I thought Colton Facciotti would finish. My honest opinion was that he would most likely finish between 15-18 in the 450SX main event. I knew that he would be fast and fit, and with the more laps he did on the track, the more he would excel on it. I also figured that if Colton could get his usual good starts then he would adapt quite quickly to the pace of the series 450 regulars. As it turned out, his starts weren’t quite what they needed to be and he ended up missing the main event by just one spot in the LCQ ( I know exactly what that feels like). When all was said and done, I thought that for his first SX in a long time, and his first 450 supercross ever, Colton rode amazing! Even as fast and as talented as a rider like Colton Facciotti is, just jumping in mid-season to a round of the top indoor series on the planet is not an easy task. These guys are good at what they do, and it’s not just the top riders that are fast.
All of the riders that make the 450SX main events and even a few that come just short each week are very good at supercross. They all know how the supercross game works, they know how to get a good start when it matters the most, and they know how to fight for every inch of the track when they have to. For Colton to jump right into the deep end and swim with the best SX riders was very impressive. As a rider who was in Colton’s position on Saturday, all you can ask for is that your final lap is your best lap of the day. After looking at Colton’s lap times from Saturday, his final lap in the LCQ was indeed his best of the day. Well done Colton, I hope we get to see you try again at Daytona in 2019.
