Page 62 - Issue_64

JOSH GRANT
250 SX / 10TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> The calm breeze of the Pacific Coast, provides a tad bit of peace to many in the area. The confines of bitter cold, and topped stadiums are nowhere insight, and it’s only blue skies with crisp radiation beaming down on the floor. All in attendance, basking in this sun-filled early event, feel as though a genuine good time was in store for the events to come; the shades and sunscreen were in full effect. You couldn’t wipe the smile off off Josh Grant’s face. Stretched from ear to ear, this weather and overall vibe of the event was something that he flourished in. It was replicated in practice, as he blitzed by the mechanics area, and launched over the single going into the first triple. Waving to his respective fans, it was he and the crowd on the same page, his energy rising as they stood out of their seats. Taking notes from his predecessors, he knew that if he could come into the event with a positive mindset, that it would translate to solid results. Throughout the heat races, he was found trying new lines, using both inside and outside of the option lanes, after the first hefty triple. Knowing he was on track to make the main event, there was no stopping his smiles as he crossed the finish line, just behind Ken Roczen. This track was getting nasty, and the main event’s duration was doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire. The dragon’s back, to on-off, was as though it had almost been completely demolished; the ruts were seemingly cleaning the lips completely. Landing in these ruts, as scary as it may seem, appeared to be of little risk to him. He’d practice thousands of laps on surfaces just like these, and it was as though this was another walk in the park. The locomotive underneath him would at times, start to get out of control. You could seem him weighing the left and right sides as though they were a balance scale. The tearoff stack was completely wiped through, each laminate sheet now laying on mother earth. Teeter tottering with every pass- ing, it was all he could do to keep Dean Wilson at bay. He would prevail, and at tim- ing and scoring for the final circuit, the transponder communication would register him in tenth. A hefty some of points, and an injury-free day, would propel him to the next round, looking forward to what was to come.
62 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018