Page 56 - ISSUE49

JOSHUA GRANT
450 MX / 10TH
IMAGE / CAVAZOS WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Josh Grant lined up at his hometown track, Glen Helen, beaming with confidence after an overall podium finish at Hang- town last weekend. If anyone could handle the brutally ever-changing Southern California terrain, it was the number 33. Right off the start, Josh Grant was already feeling the pace and truly reigning in his control over the tough track conditions as he found himself in an intense battle with Cole Seely for second place. After a pass on Seely, Grant was flowing with twenty minutes remaining in the first moto. With Musquin in a comfortable lead, Josh Grant was staying focused on riding his own race, but little did he know, a determined Eli Tomac was aggressively making his way through the pack and had his sights set on second place with only a few laps remaining. Josh Grant was not able to keep second place from Tomac when the checkered flag flew and he finished the first moto in third place. It was now time for moto two and Grant needed to capitalize on his moto one finish if he wanted to end his day with another over- all podium. Nervous mechanics filed off the starting gate as the 30-second card went up and the gates went down. The riders were off to an incredible start: throttles were twisted and bars were banging as they funneled into an exciting second moto. Unfortunately, the excitement ended earlier than expected for Josh Grant when he literally “hit the hay”, and found himself down and tangled with a hay bail. Josh Grant only put in eleven laps for the second moto at Glen Helen, resulting in a twenty-eighth place finish for the Kawasaki and a tenth place overall finish for the day.
56 GRITMOTO • MAY 28, 2017