Page 44 - Issue 79

BENNY BLOSS
450 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Benny Bloss has arguably been the biggest surprise here in the early stages of the 2018 outdoor motocross series. The young gun 450 rider has produced impressive results and
has challenged for top ves in nearly all of the four motos we have raced thus far. He kicked off the season strong with 10-5 moto scores at Hangtown and looked to have another strong result on deck at Glen Helen but a rough crash in the nal laps of the rst moto sent him
back to twenty-second. After being advised he probably shouldn’t race the second moto, Bloss showed true grit by racing it and nished a very impressive sixth place. He has shown ashes of his speed and outdoor potential in the past but now he looks to have mastered his consistency. Bloss impressed bright and early in the morning in Colorado. He had an impres- sive showing in the two timed qualifying practice sessions and ended up putting forth the fourth quickest lap time of the class. His times were ahead of some heavy hitters including championship contenders, Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin. If he could keep that same speed up in the motos, he would be in for a career afternoon. Bloss got an okay start to get things going in the rst moto. He slotted into eighth place behind his teammate, Baggett, and started logging consistent laps. He was riding well but not moving anywhere in those open- ing laps when he got granted a second chance. A red ag waved meaning there would be a restart. Bloss did not take advantage of the restart on the start but he did not lose an advan- tage either. He slotted right back into eighth place. However, this time, he would make some moves. He passed Phil Nicoletti on lap six and then pass Nicoletti’s teammate, Weston Peick, on lap seven to move himself up to sixth. Once he got there, the top ve was pretty far gone so he would just continue to put in smooth, fast laps until the end. It was a good strong sixth place ride and he would look for more of the same in moto two. Bloss got a similar start in
the second moto rounding lap one in seventh position. Like in moto one, he passed Nicoletti quickly and then on lap three he’d pass a downed Justin Barcia to take over fth place. This would be a true test for Bloss because Barcia remounted from his crash right behind him. Barcia looked like he could have won moto one if not for the restart so if Bloss could keep him at bay, that would be very impressive. And Bloss would do just that, he thwarted Barcia for the entire length of the moto to secure fth place not only in the moto, but for the overall besting Barcia’s 5-6 with a 6-5. It’s Bloss’ best nish of the year and he keeps proving that he is a top ve threat every weekend.
44 GRITMOTO • JUNE 3, 2018