Page 36 - Issue_sixtyfive

JOEY SAVATGY
250 SX / 4TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Joey Savatgy has been the smoothest, most consistent rider in the 250SX West Championship thus far. Coming off a season that saw him finish second numerous times and be in position to take home the title at the final round, he is showing that he is still using that proven strategy. Remain consistent and on the box is still his goal and it is working for him thus far. Surely, he’d like to have more than one win on the year, especially after leading and having a chance at several races, but he is second in the points stand- ings and only sits eight points back from Aaron Plessinger who has proven to be inconsistent at times. Savatgy believes if he keeps plugging away, the title could very well be his this year.
Savatgy struggled in qualifying practice because of an incident in the first untimed session of the day. He washed out in a corner and the bike slowly tipped over him, pinning his legs underneath the bike. A flagger came to pull the bike off but, in the process,, he accidentally grabbed a handful of throttle and the rear wheel decked Savatgy right in his arm and chest. The impact was so great that It broke his wrist guard off. He’d sit out the first qualifying session but managed to return for the second one and was able to get down the eighth fastest lap time in the class. He’d suit up and give the races a go.
Savatgy began his heat race with a great start. He came out of turn one in second right behind the leader, his teammate, Adam Cianciarulo. He tried staying right with Cianciarulo for the whole heat race but would end up losing a little bit of ground by the end. Savatgy did not look to race-y and that’s what allowed Cian- ciarulo to squirt away just a bit. The solid second place finish was a good transition the main event where he would suit up and battle despite being sore from the practice incident.
Savatgy got the main event going with a bang as he rocketed out of the gate and into the early lead.
He grabbed the holeshot and tried to distance himself but Cianciarulo was more aggressive in the early stages and passed him on lap two. Justin Hill would get by as well on lap three pushing Savatgy back to third. After getting passed twice in the opening laps, Savatgy settled down and began limiting the dam- age. He stayed within range of the two leaders but did not look too comfortable. He appeared to be riding tighter than usual and this allowed Chase Sexton to apply some pressure. The rookie Geico Honda rider hounded him for a good lap before making the pass sending Savatgy back to fourth. After that, Savatgy had even more pressure to deal with. This time it came from the points leader, Aaron Plessinger. Plessing- er brought the heat but could not handle it himself and would go down in the whoops right behind Savatgy. Once Plessinger went down, it was smooth sailing for Savatgy en route to his fourth-place finish. Not the result he was necessarily looking for, but he now sits only three points behind Plessinger heading into the break.
36 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 11, 2018