Page 22 - ISSUE49

COLE SEELY
450 MX / 6TH
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> Cole Seely can often be found in the pits, a solemn, stoic expression written across his face, as you don’t ever know what type of mood the Honda pilot is in. It works to his advantage, as his competitors don’t necessarily know how to interpret what the number 14 is thinking, and can’t ever capitalize on his downfalls. It was the same when fans were walking through the pits of Glen Helen, a slight smile for the cameras, and an-oh-so-ever calm demeanor. He looked ready. Coming into moto number one, he packed his gate with his usual pre-race ritual, gazed out onto the start straight ahead, and was ready to rip. The TLD clothing star dug into mother earth, ziplining down the beam of dirt heading into turn number one. Pushing the back of Marvin Musquin, the Newbury Park resident really wanted a piece of the freshman. He would fight, his suspension hitting the plushest of strokes down Mt. Saint Helen. Skying over the backside double, he would kiss the front fender, and land with his right leg out; it was little steps like these, just one step of the game, that could further him into a solid result. Battling the likes of Christian Craig, and another member of the 909, Josh Grant, it was just as though they were in a lapse of time travel, to a Perris night race, fifteen years ago. Fighting through the field, skying under the Red Bull arch for the downhill double, he would hold strong until around lap seven, when the elements began to wear. He would fall to both of his aforementioned counterparts, with Eli Tomac in tow. ET would slip by on lap nine, and he would fade ever so slightly, finishing up the moto in seventh place. Moto number two, he had to work from a horrendous opening lap, pushing his way
into 13th by lap one. The battle was on, he dug his stake into the ground, lunging forward with every corner. Bonzaing off the huge single into the sand section, his classic elbows down style was allowing him to hop through the moguls with a bit
of precision that wasn’t too familiar. Taking off past riders such as Dean Wilson, Cooper Webb, Martin Davalos, and eyeing Justin Bogle for the longest of times, he as working his way up, just not at a fast enough pace. Fighting the rear end down Mt. St Helen’s one last time, he knew he felt strong, it was just his result could be better. He would come across the line in eighth, for sixth overall.
22 GRITMOTO • MAY 28, 2017