Page 50 - Issue_sixtyfive

MITCHELL HARRISON
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / LANG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> San Diego started off a little wild for Mitchell Harrison as he came together with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy in the opening lap of his heat race. The two came together on the landing of one of the jumps in the rhythm section, causing Mitchell to slam on his brakes and roll/double his way through the rest of the rhythm section. This was a close call but could have been much worse. Luckily Mitchell kept it on two wheels but un- fortunately lost a few positions. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider went from a 3rd place back to 10th within seconds. After the crazy opening lap, it seemed to take him a few laps to get his race pace back. He was hovering around the 9th place position, which is dangerous territory in a heat race as none of the riders want to be in the last chance qualifier. Harri- son would regroup and make two passes at the end of the race and finish 7th. The open- ing lap of the Main Event once again did not go as planned for Harrison. Coming around
the first turn in 5th Mitchell put himself in a great position to mix it up with the leaders and gain some “up front” experience. Those hopes ended a few moments later where he was again knocked around a bit in the same section that hurt him in the heat race. A block pass from Geico Honda’s Chase Sexton in a 90-degree corner left Harrison unable to jump the triple on the first lap. This is every rider’s nightmare and always seems to happen when a 90-degree corner is before a triple jump. If the 250 riders do not get a clean run through the corner they will not get enough speed for the triple and have to check up. This leaves ample opportunity for other riders to jump over your head and make passes. Although not a huge deal most of the time, we have also seen this go horribly wrong. Besides it being a terrifying situation, Harrison’s minor mistake allowed a couple riders past and he began his 15-min- ute main event in 7th place. He stayed here for most of the race clicking off the laps on the quickly deteriorating track. Every rider wants to move forward, but you also are taking a risk by riding out of your comfort zone. After a few close calls throughout the night it was the smart decision on Harrison’s end to ride fast but safe and keep his streak of top ten finishes alive. About halfway through the main event Harrison began to get pressure from the vet- eran Kyle Chisholm and would ultimately lose the position. Harrison would momentarily gain the position back as Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger made a mistake in the whoops, allowing a few riders to go by. Aaron quickly rebounded on his motorcycle and chased down Mitchell before the race came to an end. A 9th place finish on the night for Mitchell Harrison.
50 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 11, 2018