Page 14 - Issue_64

BLAKE BAGGETT
450 SX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Blake Baggett has endured an interesting season thus far. The southern California product has displayed his speed and competitiveness numerous times but most of the time they have been in heat races. He hasn’t been able to put together a complete, strong main event yet although he did notch a third during the first main event of the Triple Crown at Anaheim 2 but when the night was all said and done he only finished seventh overall. His main events have been plagued with poor starts and little mistakes, so his results have been worse than the level of performances he has been putting in. Baggett usually excels in the rougher tracks on the circuit and Oakland fit the bill, so he was planning on it being the night he finally breaks through. Despite being known for being a great rider in the rough stuff, Baggett struggled exceedingly with the track in qualifying practice. The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM rider was only able to notch the twelfth fastest lap time of the 450 class. Heading into the night show, he had to pre- pare to do battle and conquer the track during the races. Baggett’s heat race was about as quiet as one could be. He got an average start in sixth place and stayed there for the entire race. He started right behind Ken Roczen but slowly lost touch with him and could not follow him towards the front. He was just a bit off the top five riders, so he’d go back and make the right adjust- ments to give him that extra edge needed to get up in those top battles in the main event. Baggett started his main event getting off to a nice start. He rounded the first lap in fourth posi- tion matching his number. He stayed glued to Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin in the opening laps but got interrupted on lap four by the points leader Jason Anderson. Anderson hammered right by Baggett pushing him back to fifth. However, he did not let Anderson or Musquin get too far ahead as he managed to maintain pressure on the two riders. He kept that pressure on and it would pay off because at the halfway point, he’d be close enough to pass both Musquin and Cole Seely who both went down. This jumped him up to third now and he was still right with Anderson. He even got close enough to show him a wheel but as the race reached its latter stages, Baggett began to lose touch with Anderson. Anderson mounted a charge for the lead and left Baggett alone in third. And that would be where Baggett would finish the race. He had finally put together a complete main event. It marked his first podium on the year and it easily bested his previous best finish of the year which was a seventh. This little spark of confidence could have Baggett fighting for podium finishes on a more regular basis from this point on.
14 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018