Page 44 - ISSUE 40

ZACH OSBORNE
250 SX / 5TH
IMAGE /MPG WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> Giancarlo Stanton, Tracy McGrady, Tim Tebow, all names that are prominent at one point or another in the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Although a land known for in-depth motorsports coverage, Florida has been known for its sports landscape in all varieties, providing proving grounds for stick and ball, as well as unorthodox sports such as ours. Florida is home to some of the best high school talent in the nation; as well as the train- ing grounds to our top stars, such as Dungey, Stewart, and Reed. It’s only right for the elements to elevate when the series rolls into the Southern stop on the tour, and that’s exactly what Zach Osborne and the field planned on doing for this round in the series. From the get go, the field demolished the track; the dozers, acting as rolling pins across a sheet of dough, were in full force, trying their best to limit the damage of the havoc driven to the turf each lap. The laptimes were drooping to the 1:12 minute mark, everyone push- ing the absolute lactate threshold to achieve the top spot. They knew if they could get out to a solid start, the nightshow would be so much easier, not taxing the mind or cardio- vascular system near as much. The time had arrived; it was time for the nonsense and prerace chatter to stop, and the beast to unleash within, and with a heat race win, he knew the moment had come. Rocketing off the launch pad, the pack blistered into the sleek left- hander with utter urgency, knowing that a good position hear would reap dividends. The sand, spraying feverishly, was getting gristly in his teeth, seeping through the foam of his goggles, creating a nice rim of grit; although appearing disgusting to many, it was the face of the champion, one that generated immense integrity. Battling with the top names in the sport, he was slicing and dicing with names that had been prominent for years and years. He was choosing to go outside in a few of the bowl turns, although unusual, it would only work if he chose to shift up, and rail around the outer brim; there would be no room for
a hesitant-choppy throttle, but after his mistakes early on, he knew he had no other way
to the front. Putting in consistent times, he had enough cushion once in the fifth place, to leverage if need be. All over Jordon Smith, he was showing the TLD KTM a wheel at all costs, through the rollers, breathing down his neck through the sand section. As the final flag waved, It was all but over, and he would hold on to an elite finish on the sports biggest scale; looking forward to next week.
44 GRITMOTO • MARCH 12, 2017