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JOSH HANSEN
250 SX / SD
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> The style and swag of Josh Hansen quickly moved into 2nd place in his heat race after a Davalos Mistake allowed the #100 into the position. Battling for the Main Event gate pick, Hansen seemed to be a little hun- gry after a disappointing season opener last weekend in Anaheim. Dicing through the busy San Diego circuit, Hansen stayed in 2nd for the first few minutes before giving up the position to Davalos midway through. As the intensity in the Heat picked up, Hansen now in third, Josh found himself in the middle of a battle with Hayden Mellross. As the heat turned up, Josh swept inside and forced Mellross to the outside and eventually onto the dirt with an aggressive pass. The move slowed Hansen down, too, which let Aaron Plessinger by and pushed Hansen back to fourth for the finish. It may not have been the prettiest race but Hansen had qualified for his first main of his 2017 season.
Unfortunately, that first main wouldn’t start the way Hansen had envi- sioned. Lined up second from the inside, Hansen jumped his privateer Husqvarna into the gate too early. Having to take the time to push himself back as the gate dropped, Hansen reached the first turn dead last and had his work cut out for him. Putting his head down, Hansen made quick work of the back of the pack and rode into 12th with ten minutes to go
in the race. Once there, time seemed to slow down for Hansen as team 100 was unable to make his away around the riders in front of him. He picked up a spot near the five-minute mark and held 11th into the closing stages. With a last lap mistake from Bowers, Hansen picked up another spot for 10th and rode to the checkers with a solid showing. It was a sign of improvement from round one, and hopefully an indication of what’s to come from the white #100 in the near future.
88 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 15, 2017