Page 58 - ISSUE_62

PHIL NICOLETTI
250 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / ARMSTRONG DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> It has been steady improvement for Phil so far this season. At round 1 he was involved in a crash which left him with cracked and displaced ribs. The JGR Suzuki pilot started 13th in main event #1 at Anaheim 2 and was quickly inside the top ten in 8th where he would go on to finish. Race two didn’t start much better for Phil as he started out in 11th and was battling for a top ten position. Nicoletti was able to make a few quick moves including an impressive pass on Kyle Chisholm to get himself into 7th. The #54 of Nicoletti was just getting on to the rear wheel of Chase Sexton until he was blind sided by Old- enburg who pushed Phil back to 8th. Luckily Phil kept it close because in the final stages of the race he was able to capitalize on a fallen Sexton and regain 7th before the checkered flew. @filthyphil__ got his best start of the night in the final event of the evening coming around the first corner in 7th. Phil got pushed back to 12th place rather quickly and was unable to make it back inside of the top 10. Phil stated in pre-season videos that he expected himself to be a top 5 guy fighting for podiums. With the performances and improvements each week could it be possible to see the #54 take that next step and be battling with the best? It will be interesting to see how Phil does once he is completely healed and ready to go.
58 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 21, 2018