Page 130 - ISSUE42

DAKOTA ALIX
250 SX / 22ND
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / LANNAN DESIGN / WILSON
>> Dakota Alix is a popular name in Supercross mainly due to his fantas- tic starting abilities. Dakota almost always manages to put his #70 KTM near the front during the first lap of the races he is in. Not only does he start well, but Dakota also has the speed to hold the positions as his fast and fluid style match perfectly with technical Supercross tracks. When practice began in Detroit, Dakota looked comfortable early on as the track was slick and technical. He managed to put in a very quick time that was good enough for 13th fastest overall going into the races. When 250 Heat 2 began, Dakota launched his KTM off the gate as he led the field down the start straight. Impressively, he was able to get his bike turned despite drifting further outside than expected, and nabbed the holeshot. He was now doing his best to hold off the riders behind him. Dakota lost a position quickly to a hard charging Adam Cianciarulo but was able to hold on to 2nd place most of the first lap. A small mistake in the corner before the whoops would let another rider by, and a face full of sand in the sand corner forced him to pull multiple tear offs going into the follow- ing straightaway. Dakota held on to 3rd place for the next few laps, but was eventually caught and passed by Kyle Cunningham. With two laps
to go, Dakota would lose two positions, but soon after would make them back up as a rider in fourth had a crash. Dakota would end up with an im- pressive 4th in the Heat. In the Main Event, Dakota lined up on the inside and got a fantastic jump when the gate dropped. Just as he started to shut down to hug the inside, he was side swiped by Zach Osborne. This created a new trajectory for Dakota, as he headed straight for the Detroit soil. As he got up, he immediately grasped his right leg and it looked like he would not be getting back on the bike. Sadly, his night in Detroit was over. Hopefully his injury is not serious and he will be back next week- end.
130 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017