Page 28 - ISSUE 40

BLAKE BAGGETT
450 SX / 7TH
IMAGE /MPG WORDS /HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Blake Baggett has been on fire the past few weeks notching two top fives including a podium finish which was the first for the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM team. After years of injuries and crashes, Baggett finally seems to have conquered Supercross and is enjoying himself in the stadiums for the first time. He has been one of the quicker guys in practice as of late and that was no different in Daytona. Baggett, an exceptional outdoor rider, has always excelled on the track at Daytona and he qualified well with the fourth fastest time this time around. He was excited to show what he’s got come race time. He got off to a solid start in his heat race snagging the green flag in third place. From there he enjoyed a quiet race as the top four riders stayed right where they started all the way to the checkered flag. It was an easy transfer and he headed back to the pits to gear up for the rough and grueling main event.
Baggett could not match the start he nailed in the heat race in the main. In fact, he got the worst possible start imaginable. Twenty-second place, dead last, is where he would begin the race. What made matters even worse was that the track was hard to pass on so he really had his work cut out for him if he wanted a decent finish. Baggett put his head down and tried to have fun out there on the outdoor style track. Railing berms and hopping from rut to rut, jump to jump, he found himself all the way up to twelfth at the halfway point. But he was nowhere near done with his charge. He was one of the quickest riders on the track all race long and it helped him in the latter stages when other racers began to wear out. He made the pass for seventh place with two laps to go and that would complete his charge. A twenty-second to seventh performance on the chewed up and rough Daytona was astonish- ing and should not go unnoticed. We will be left wondering what could have been if Baggett got a good start and had a cleaner track in front of him.
28 GRITMOTO • MARCH 12, 2017