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ZACH OSBORNE
250 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / LANNAN DESIGN / WILSON
>> Zach Osborne is a man possessed as of late. The Virginia native has con- tinued to prove that he wants it most ever since his controversial championship- winning move in Vegas. Zach went 1-1 last weekend at the opener in Hangtown, and with that bright red plate behind the #16, he was ready to do it again in So- Cal. With blistering fast lap times on the rough Glen Helen ground, Zach was the man with the target on his back going into the motos. When the racing began, Zach got an uncharacteristically bad jump when the gate dropped for 250 moto 1. He avoided the chaos through the windy first sections and was running near 15th position going up the massive hill. He knew he had to work hard to salvage this moto and he began his charge. By lap four, Zach had made it up to 8th place and was looking for a way around 7th place rider, Alex Martin. The two mus- tered up enough speed to get around another rider and the battle was now for 6th place. Zach would eventually go to the inside and steal the spot away from Alex. He continued his push and eventually caught up to Plessinger. He would make the pass and was now sitting in 4th place. As he continued to challenge
for 3rd place, the track continued to get chewed up. With two laps to go, Zach made another effort to get passed and as he went up the first hill with the throttle turned to the max position, tragedy nearly struck. His front end took a turn for the worst and luckily Zach was able to chop the throttle and recover, avoiding a trip off the edge of the hill. He would regain his composure and cruise to a 4th place finish. In the next moto, Zach got a much better start and was running 2nd place through the first few sections. The lead was then handed to him quickly but it was only temporary. Ferrandis then stole the lead from Zach and he was forced to settle for 2nd. After many laps, it was clear that no one was going to catch Fer- randis and even more clearly that Zach was not going to be caught. He cruised to a 2nd place finish, good enough to clench the Overall at Glen Helen.
30 GRITMOTO • MAY 28, 2017