Page 24 - ISSUE42

JASON ANDERSON
450 SX / 6TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> With outdoors just on the horizon, it can be easy for some to get sidetracked and wish for a new beginning. A time where points can be wiped away, all the regrets and mistakes of the past can be forgotten; as we all know, unfortunately in this sport, you’re only as good as your last race. However, for the professional aspect of this game, you must be willing to act here and now, because all though contracts are written with clauses and legalities, unfortunately things can be taken away in an instant; so you must truly push your limits while you absolutely can. Jason Anderson knows this all too well. A man that’s been at the top of the sport, battling for championships; and on the other end of the spectrum, been in the offseason, unsure of how he’s going to put food on the table. But no matter what, he pushes on, making no excuses, and keeps moving forward. It was the same circumstance throughout practice today, the track was slick and treacherous; re- sembling that of a freshly waxed gym floor, and the 450 was fighting for traction at all times. However he would click a gear tall, back off on the acute throttle snap, and compromise. He knew for the main event that his qualifying and practice struggles would pay dividends for results, and he would use the trials to defeat the odds placed against him. The field was utterly chaotic dancing through the first rhythm section, as he would have to glance over in order to not clip the riders that surrounded him. A fourth place start left him amongst the best in the sport, but he seemed to be setting up at a pace he wasn’t used to. Scrubbing through the rhythm section coming off the stadium flooring, he was trying to inch his way through the front of the field. His classic, shirt tail dangling, elbow tucked in stlye was prominent as he was banging through the gearbox. He would feel immense pressure from riders such as Blake Baggett, an amateur rival that would just not seem to leave him alone. He would undertake a beating, and unfortunately fall a few places, all the way to 6th by race end. We know the New Mexico Lobo has the speed, but he has to put it all together to keep gaining steam.
24 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017