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ZACH OSBORNE
250 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Looming off into the distance, all in attendance have crept from various residences of lodging, eagerly making their way into the pit area inside the gates. Riding along the pavement to enter the facility, they’ve accumulated these butter ies, and shots of adrenaline. It’s the unknown; what is to come as hours pass? Who will emerge victorious? Who will fall in defeat? As an individual, one can only account for themselves, and Zach Osborne knew what he had in store. A ball of emotion, fury, determination, and drive, coupled into a wrath waiting to be unleashed on the eld. He walked to the line to begin the initial practice session, with an ever so con dent swagger. As the competition turned around to see who’s bike was revving, he would stare at each of them; a stoic expression would remain on his face, and it was though they all would be overcome with fear. That expression would then be reiterated with astonishing times throughout qualifying. As the mechanics huddled around the television screen beneath the canopy, they all noticed his name as a mainstay at the top; hovering here for the session’s entirety, he crossed the nal ag with a subtle st pump, sali- vating at the thought of race-time. After meticulous packing, he would crank the kick-starter with all of his might, and re the engine to its highest brink. A few moments later, the surge of excitement would dump; and he would blitz into the rst turn. Sprinting towards the green ag, he would round the opening lap in fourth. The soothing loam would begin to be diced, bumps beginning to litter
the raceway. Navigating these treacherous downhills, you could clearly tell how much harder he was charging, in comparison to those around him. Attempting to manual through the uphill rollers, the chassis would begin to slow down his momentum, as he would roll into the left-hander shortly thereafter. He would be battling with Jeremy Martin, making the move, and looking ahead to Justin Cooper. Stalking the rookie, the Husqvarna let his presence be known, as he inched eerily closer to the Yamaha up the roller section; fender to fender, he surged over the last three, leaping to the outside, and storming around the right side of the number sixty-two; the rookie didn’t know what hit him. Osborne, the sleek vet, would then begin to scurry away, his small stature accelerating out of these jagged, cavernous off cambered turns. Lap after lap, he would punch the time card for rst, eventually going on to take the moto win. It was now time to cap off his moto one performance, by solidifying an overall in the highest regard. The eld dove into the opening bend, and he emerged right in the thick of victory. Pushing past the nish line in fourth yet again, it was a bit of shuf e between the three riders, consisting of Alex Martin, Osborne, and Aaron Plessinger. The number one quickly made his way around, and into second, eyeing familiar foe Jeremy Martin. Nearly side-by-side with each other, the two would zig-zag, with Osborne looking through the crosshairs
of his scope. He would pull the trigger, making his way around on lap four, never looking back. For the next eleven laps, Osborne would single handily put a stamp on the Hangtown Classic; a perfect score of two rst place nishes.
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GRITMOTO • MAY 21, 2018