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MARTIN DAVALOS
450 MX / 8TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / TILLS
>> Tennessee treated Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos well. The rider out of Ecuador has been finding himself right outside of the top ten lately and was ready to seize one of the prestigious top ten overall spots as he lined up for the first 450 moto of round five in Blountville. With the track being far from the “Muddy” Muddy Creek that it was early in the morning, riders needed to prepare themselves for the change in track condi- tions by being quick with their decisions and reactions. Another crucial key
to the moto was the start, with competition this fierce, starting out front would just help make things a little bit easier. The gates fell and unfortunately for Davalos, he could not grab a start in the front of the pack and found himself sitting in the seventeenth place spot early in the race. Instead of giving up, the number 30 put his head down and capitalized on every moment of momen- tum. By the end of the first moto, Martin Davalos had gained an impressive six spots and flew by the checkered flag in the eleventh place spot. Finish-
ing moto one only a single spot outside of the top ten had to be a motivator for Martin as he lined up for the second moto. An awesome overall finish could definitely be a reality if he could grab a good start and hold onto it. The 30-second card was out of view and the gates dropped. Davalos captured
the start that he needed and found himself in the heat of battle early on in the eighth place position with Noren in front of him in seventh. Davalos quickly makes a pass on Noren and moves forward into seventh with Dean Wilson in front of him in sixth. Wilson goes down, sending Davalos into the fifth place spot: an awesome place to be. Toward the end of the moto, a determined Blake Baggett made the pass for fifth, but Martin Davalos held his own and was able to finish the second moto in a very commendable sixth place posi- tion. With an 11-6, Davalos was able to grab a fantastic eighth place overall finish at Muddy Creek. Hopefully we see another top ten finish out of this rider at Redbud next weekend.
28 GRITMOTO • JUNE 25, 2017