Page 18 - Issue34

DAVI MILLSAPS
450 SX / AZ
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Davi Millsaps has been improving more and more with each and every pass- ing round of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season. The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM rider came into Anaheim 1 at the beginning of January with a nagging injury accompanied by a sickness that left him feeling well below one hundred percent. His speed and talent was still there, as it always has been, and he has really come into his own in the last couple of races. The Florida native has had his starts dialed on the KTM and he put his undeniable speed on display last weekend in his heat race as he went on to take the victory. Millsaps kept
that momentum rolling in timed qualifying at The University of Phoenix stadium as he clocked the third fastest time -- one of four riders to put in a lap time under the one minute mark. He was able to carry that momentum directly into his heat race where shot his KTM out to a top three start. Millsaps battled tooth and nail with his teammate, Blake Baggett, throughout the opening laps. His long, lanky form gave him a distinct advantage in the whoops over his teammate, as well
as the section leading up to the whoops. On the other sections of the track, he was riding with an unrivaled aggression and intensity that he’s yet to show at any other time throughout the season. Millsaps dug deep and tracked down Justin Brayton in the lead, replicating his heat race win from the weekend prior and making it two in a row for the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC team, setting him up with a prime gate pick heading into the main event. Millsaps set out to a blinder of
a start in the main event, but he checked up a little too much in the first corner which dropped him back outside the top five. He rode with an immense level of aggression and energy to make up for his mistake, eventually putting Malcolm Stewart into the tuff blocks in an attempt to move forward. The incident with the Suzuki rider would eventually result in Millsaps settling into sixth position where he would spend most of the race. It wasn’t until the waning laps of the moto that he reeled in the Smartop MotoConcepts Honda of Justin Brayton to put himself at the back end of the top five, his best finish of the 2017 season.
18 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 29, 2017