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HAYDEN MELLROSS
250 SX / SD
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> A great heat one start allowed Mellross to battle for a podium spot with Aaron Plessinger and Martin Davalos early on. Davalos’ pursuit was relentless, though, trading spots and pushing the #64 back to fourth. Mellross wasn’t settling there as with two minutes left in the race before the final lap, Hayden pushed forward and grabbed on to the #100 of Josh Hansen for a little two-bike tango. The dance led Hansen to take an aggressive inside line and force Mellross down, clipping a tuff block and hitting the deck with nearly zero time left. Fortunately for the Australian, he was able to re- mount in 6th, and got a ticket straight to the main. Getting out of the gate with a bad jump, Mellross found himself outside the top fifteen for the first few laps of the race. Crossing lap one in 18th, Mellross didn’t let his misfortune get the better of him as he be- gan his assault forward in the first couple minutes moving to 17th and eventually 16th around Jeremy Martin. Continuing the at- tack, Hayden picked off 15th and made his way into 14th with ten minutes left before the white flag. A couple hiccups from the riders in front of him and Mellross found himself in 10th, picking up four spots with a snap of his fingers. There, Hayden faced some thicker competition and shuffled with Cole Martinez; both riders teasing themselves with a potential top-ten finish. Before long, Mellross separated from Martinez and focused on the #52 of Tyler Bowers in front of him. Luckily enough, Bowers made it easy on Hayden and gave up his 9th place spot on the last lap of the race and al- lowed the Australian to take advantage right before the finish line.
86 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 15, 2017