Page 22 - Issue_64

COLE SEELY
450 SX / 6TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Cole Seely has solidified himself as a weekly threat for the win here in the 2018 season. He has been racing with a competitive edge that he has been lacking in years past. He appears to have that extra little aggression and burst of speed and that has allowed him to fight for wins every Saturday night. He was almost able to get his first overall win of the year two rounds ago at Anaheim 2 but after going 1-2 in the first two main events, he could not seal the deal in the third and ended up second overall. Then last week at Glendale he suffered from a variety of mistakes and crashes en route to a twelfth-place finish. He was sick of the struggles and he was hoping Oakland would be the catalyst to get him back on the right track.
Seely came out swinging in the first qualifying practice session of the day as he threw down
the fastest lap time of the session. After both sessions were complete, he held onto the fourth quickest lap time and was just tenths of a second off the top time from Justin Barcia. The tech- nical, jumpy track suited Seely and he was excited to get the races started.
Seely fired out of the gate in his heat race and got out of the first turn first. He nailed a triple before the whoop section that no one else could do because it was so congested on the open- ing lap and that gave him a sizable cushion almost immediately into the race. He would never look back as he pulled away from the rest of his competitors to take home the heat race win. He seemed fired up and full of confidence as he went back and geared up for the main event.
It appeared to be Seely’s night as he replicated his holeshot from his heat race to the main event. He got out front first and quickly gave himself a little cushion between him and his team- mate Ken Roczen. He led the first half of the race with ease and without challenge from any- one. The only thing challenging him was the track and it would claim him as its victim halfway through the race. Seely crossrutted in a rhythm lane and crashed gifting Roczen the lead. Luck- ily, he managed to keep the bike running and he remounted back in fourth. He only lost a few spots, but he got back going again right in front of the feisty duo of Marvin Musquin and Justin Barcia. Seely had his hands full with Musquin and the two riders engaged in an all-out battle. They squared each other up as tight as they could in the corners and traded positons several times in just two laps, but Musquin would eventually make a pass stick. Seely then immediately had to fend off Barcia and would soon fall victim to him as well despite his best efforts. After dropping those two spots, Seely finally locked back in and remained on the rear fender of Bar- cia until the end but never got close enough to challenge him. He’d finish in sixth. He was to be so upset with himself after leading so effortlessly during the first half of the race. That’s two of the last three rounds that Seely has let a win slip away so he will surely be entering San Diego angry and ready to finally get that win.
22 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018