Page 110 - Issue_39

NICK SCHMIDT
450 SX / 20TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> A Washington native yet California resident, Nick Schmidt and his #75 Suzuki have had an impressive run through the 2017 Supercross season. Rocking a completely privateer setup, Schmidt has managed to qualify for six of the eight main events, so far, and looked to make his 7th this past weekend in Toronto for round nine. The night started out slowly for Schmidt, though, as he got on the brakes early out of the gate in heat one, earning a 13th. The privateer veteran kept the eyes forward, making his way into the top ten by the start of lap two. Residing in 9th as the race wore on, a mistake just past the halfway point forced Schmidt to be victimized by Cole Seely, who charged hard through the middle portion of the heat race. Now back to 10th, Schmidt’s heat race hopes were dashed. In Semi #1, Gilmore got a slightly better jump off the line but still found himself outside the top ten in 11th as the first lap got underway. Understanding the severity of starting position, Schmidt “did work” on lap one to find 7th on lap two and 6th by the end of lap three. Sitting just outside of a transfer position, Schmidt looked smooth and consistent, reaching the mental zone every rider hopes for. The speed came a tad too late for Nick, and as a result, he looked to the LCQ for his last chance. With only three minutes - plus one lap - between him and the main, Schmidt put the rubber down and finished 3rd in LCQ, after earning the spot from Adam Enticknap on the opening lap.
Starting the main in 17th at the holeshot line, Schmidt’s movement forward was halted quickly as he was passed by Dungey and pushed to 18th. Rather unevent- fully, Schmidt held 18th for nearly the entire first half of the race before giving up the position to Vince Friese, pushing the #75 to 19th with 12 minutes to go. Hold- ing on to 19th like a baby grips their blanky, Schmidt rode out the next 10 minutes without interruption. As the race’s end grew near, only two minutes to go before the white flag, the grit of Jason Anderson proved to be too much as the #21 got by for the 19th spot, pushing Schmidt to 20th for the final moments leading up to the checkers. Although not his best finish of the season, a 7-for-9 record for 2017 is something to be proud of and Schmidt looks to Daytona Beach for some more of the same.
110 GRITMOTO • MARCH 5, 2017