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WESTON PEICK
450 SX / A2
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Weston Peick has gotten off to a much better start this sea- son than a year ago. No punches have been unleashed and he seems to be in a nice rhythm on the track. He is two for two so far in finishing in the top ten after having just five such races all of last season. His JGR AutoTrader squad made the switch to Suzuki in the offseason and that seems to be the difference thus far. He is gelling well on the bike and it is clearly translating to his results. Peick struggled in qualifying practice this weekend at A2 only boasting the seventeenth fastest time. He had his work cut out for him if he wanted to keep that Suzuki in the top ten. He would just miss out on the transfer out of the heat race by one spot but he responded by riding away with an easy semi win. The California native was ready to show out in the main event. Peick not known for his holeshots got a decent one to begin the race starting in sixth. He would quickly succumb to a charging Ken Roczen drop- ping him to seventh but he tried his best to follow the points leader through the pack. He worked up to Josh Grant and shadowed him all race long. He picked up sixth back from Roczen when he went down so now Peick saw a top five within his grasp. He watched Grant battle with Webb for several laps just out of range of mak- ing his presence known but he kept attacking until finally Grant wavered with a few laps left and Peick took over fifth. He would hold on to finish there after being unable to catch up to Webb. It marked his first top five finish since Santa Clara in 2015. Peick is looking very efficient in the early stages of 2017.
16 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 22, 2017