Page 10 - ISSUE_62

COLE SEELY
450 SX / 2ND
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Several times already this year we have heard Cole Seely say that he feels better and more prepared than ever coming into this 2018 Supercross season. He has shown flashes of that at the first two rounds with some fast laps and feisty performances, but he wasn’t able to finish on the podium at either round. His starts in the main events have been his Achilles heel. He came into Anaheim 2 ready to conquer the Triple Crown format and officially show everyone that this year is the year that he officially breaks through to become a nightly contender for the win.
Seely looked solid during qualifying practice ultimately emerging with the seventh fastest lap time. But he was only a half second off the best lap so his speed was right on par and he could not wait to get the races started. The gate dropped for the first main event of the evening and Cole Seely nailed the holeshot. The Honda HRC rider grabbed the early lead and never looked back. With the first main event only being eight minutes plus one lap, he was still able to build a sizable gap on the field en route to the opening victory. He did so convincingly by setting the fastest lap times of the race proving that he had the speed and was more than capable of repeating the same performance in main event number two. The second main event started slightly different than the first one. Seely did not nail the holeshot but he started just two spots back in third. He hounded the SmartTop/Motoconcepts Racing rider of Justin Brayton and quickly made the pass on lap two. Here he set his sights on the leader Eli Tomac. The lead stayed about one and a half to two sec- onds for a majority of the race but when the race started to reach its latter stages, Seely turned
it on. He quickly chopped down the lead and got right on the rear wheel of Tomac. Seely was using all kinds of lines and basically setting Tomac up so it looked like a pass for the lead would be inevitable; But with two laps to go, Seely pushed the envelope too hard and missed a jump in a rhythm section giving Tomac enough cushion to ride home with the victory. That second place finish had to be a tough pill to swallow but Seely was still sitting in the Triple Crown overall lead heading into main event three with 1-2 scores. Seely had executed two great starts in the first two main events but the third start would see his demise. Seely secured the green flag after lap one buried in thirteenth place and that was after he had already made some passes on the opening lap. He needed to move forward and fast, but he would struggle to do so. He did end up getting
to eighth by lap six but the rest of the field was so spread out that he would have to put in some serious lap times to get any closer. On the fifteenth lap, he finally made a move, passing Josh Grant, putting himself in seventh position. He had Peick and Baggett just ahead but simply did not have the time and could not close the gap quick enough. He would finish seventh. His 1-2-7 main event scores would get him second overall on the evening. He was to be beside himself after that third main event knowing that he was so close to the overall win after a stellar two main events to start the night. The consolation for Seely is knowing that he had the speed to beat anyone tonight and that will give him some confidence for the rest of the series.
10 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 21, 2018