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JESSE WENTLAND
250 SX / 13TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / LANNAN DESIGN / WILSON
>> Jesse Wentland has been improving drastically in the last couple years. Jesse is getting faster and faster and it is only a matter of time before he impresses the right person to land a spot on a team. He was close to a top ten at the opener a few weeks ago and was eager to get a good finish when the program began in Toronto. The brisk Canadian air seemed to be what Jesse was looking for as he was laying down some impressive laps in practice. When 250 Heat 1 began, Jesse did not get the start he was looking for and had his work cut out for him
if he wanted to go straight to the Main. Things did not exactly get any better for Jesse as he was unable to make it into qualifying position by the end of the race. Unfortunately, when the LCQ began for Jesse, he again did not get the start he needed. Jesse began to claw his way through the pack and was sitting 7th with 2 laps to go. As the white flag waved, Jesse was now in 5th place and was closing in on 4th place, Williams. Jesse was taking different lines and doing everything he could to make the move. It came down to the last section where he was able to out jump the other rider, putting himself into the spot. When the Main started, Jesse didn’t have the best gate pick but was still able to come out with a top 15 position. He was putting down smooth and consistent laps and doing his best to avoid the Toronto ruts. As the race neared the halfway point, Jesse was still running around 14th place and was looking solid. Then, on the last lap, a mistake from another rider handed another position over to Jesse. He was able to take 13th place in Canada.
88 GRITMOTO • MARCH 5, 2017