Page 52 - Issue_sixtyfive

BRADLEY TAFT
250 SX / 10TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / LANG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> After missing the Main Event last weekend in Oakland, Cycle Trader Rock River Yamaha’s Bradley Taft comes into San Diego with some redemption on his mind. Surely trying to avoid a trip to the last chance qualifier, Taft started his night with a solid 4th place start in the heat race. His trip to the Main was not all rainbows and unicorns though. His opening lap was wild. Clipping tough blocks through the first rhythm section and dodging riders trying to pass him, it was looking like a possible crash but Taft wisely adjusted his balance and avoided hitting the ground or another rider. He was still up front and ready to keep moving forward. The next mistake was a little bit scarier, losing traction in the slick 90-degree corner and coming up quite short on the triple jump. Not only was he short but he also came very close to landing on the tough blocks. Amazingly, he did not crash or miss a beat. After the first lap chaos Bradley was in a secure 6th position and riding smoothly. Coming in on the closing laps Taft would catch up to Justin Hoeft and began to apply the pressure. The 90 degree corner would again be a deciding factor in tonight’s racing as now Hoeft would be the one to come up short, allowing Taft to go by and into 5th place. The rider just ahead of him TLD Redbull KTM’s Alex Martin soon had his issues, going down and allowing Taft to gain one more position before the end of the race. I have to imagine Taft was happy with a 4th place in heat 2 after a few scary moments. Then again these moments seem to happen every lap in the 250 class so maybe he didn’t even notice. Taft would line up next to the current points leader Aaron Plessinger in the Main Event. The two would not get good jumps of the start pad and bump elbows down the entire start straight. Both riders were buried in the pack. Taft made some quick passes on lap one salvaging a 14th position from what looked to be almost a dead last start. He quickly moved into 10th place around the 12-minute mark and looked to be on the move with plenty of time left in the race. Just as Taft seemed to be heading towards the front he settled in the 10th place for the majority of the race. He momentarily moved into 9th after Aaron Plessinger went down in the whoops, but Aaron quickly got up and passed him back. Bradley leaves San Diego with a 10th place finish making it his 3rd top ten this season.
52 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 11, 2018