Page 40 - Issue 79

BLAKE BAGGETT
450 MX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Blake Baggett has begun the 2018 outdoor motocross series quite similarly to the way he started last year’s season. He has been good but not great at the rst two rounds logging fth and seventh overalls respectively. That seventh overall from Glen Helen should come with an asterisk though as he crashed on the rst hill of the opening lap in moto two and rode the entire rest of the race without a left grip! He somehow willed himself and his Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM up to ninth place in that moto. A truly spectacular feat considering how brutal and rugged the track was that late in the day. He was happy to have that race over with because he was looking forward to heading back to Thunder Valley where he re- ally kicked off his title pursuit a season ago with a convincing victory. He was hoping for a similar perfor- mance and result as the series shifted there for round three. Baggett did not have his morning qualifying practice sessions in Colorado go as he would have liked. He quali ed a respectable sixth but was off the quickest time, set by Eli Tomac, by two and a half seconds. On a motocross track, that is a large de cit so heading into the motos, Baggett knew he was going to have to make some adjustments if he wanted to challenge for the victory. Baggett got a decent start to kick off the opening 450 moto. He grabbed the green ag in seventh place and settled in behind Weston Peick. Baggett rode Peick’s rear wheel for quite some time but just could not make a move but he would get a second chance when the race got red agged a handful of laps in. Not wanting to get stuck deep behind the leaders again, Baggett took full advantage of the restart by ripping the holeshot. He was in perfect position to regain his mojo from a year ago, but he only held the lead for a few turns as Ken Roczen would hammer by him up one of the hills. One lap later, Tomac would also work his way around Baggett so he got shifted from rst to third in about one lap. Baggett did not let this deter him and he kept the top two riders within sight for the entire moto. He remained relentless, logging fast, strong laps and this allowed him to pressure Roczen for second late in the race. He applied serious pressure to Roczen during the last three laps of the race but could not
nd a move that could stick. He’d settle with third place for the moto. Baggett grabbed a nice start at the beginning of the second moto. He locked into fourth place just behind the lead trio of Barcia, Roczen and Tomac. He wasn’t close enough to be considered in the battle, but he was right there if a mistake was made and that would pay off. Barcia and Tomac tangled and that allowed Baggett to pass both of them to take over second. He held the spot for a few laps before Tomac was able to regroup and get around him on lap ve. Baggett stayed close to Tomac and Roczen initially, but the two up front pushed the pace hard and Baggett slowly lost touch with them. He rode it home in third place to nish 3-3 on the day for third overall. His best result of the year but he surely wishes he could have had a little more ght for Roczen and Tomac.
40 GRITMOTO • JUNE 3, 2018