Page 98 - ISSUE32

JUSTIN STARLING
250 SX / SD
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> Finishing 16th last week, Justin Starling was looking for redemption
in San Diego and seemed to find some traction early on. Luckily jumping out to a 6th place spot on lap one of heat number two, Starling started strong. A little bobble a few laps into the heat allowed Dan Reardon and Jimmy Decotis to get by, though, pushing Starling to 8th in front of Chase Marquier. With two to go, Marquier was able to pull alongside Justin and as the two came into the same line, Starling drew the short stick and hit the ground after the two made contact. Falling out of a transfer posi-
tion, Starling was forced to line up for the 250 Last Chance Qualifier and seemed to be up to the task. The orange #71 lead four of the five laps and took home the checkers, solidifying his spot in the main event.
Taking his win into the main, Starling didn’t get off the gate as he hoped, starting near the back of the pack as the race got underway. Once the first few laps were out of the way, though, Starling found that LCQ rhythm again and began moving forward. Jumping from 21st to 17th in the first four minutes, the San Diego track suited Starling well. Hitting the tough rhythms without much resistance, Starling capitalized on a mistake by Dan Reardon and found himself in 16th with less than 10 minutes to go. Over the next five minutes, Starling would get around the green #203 of Zach Commans and moved into 15th behind Marquier, his arch-nemesis from the heat race early in the night. The gap between Marquier and himself was a bit too large, as the #71 couldn’t show a wheel but a last lap mistake by Scott Champion gave way for Starling to move into 14th where he would cross the checkers and complete round two. The finish was two better than round one and proves that Starling did his mid-week homework. It will be interesting to see what Justin can do in the weeks to come as the season moves onwards next Saturday.
98 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 15, 2017