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Aj Catanzaro
250 SX / 19TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KUHLHOFF DESIGN / WILSON
>> With only one ten minute practice session, Blue Buffalo / Slater Skins rider Aj Catanzaro, along with everyone else, had to have been feel-
ing a little bit nervous lining up for the already extremely rough second heat race of the evening. Ruts were getting progressively deeper with each and every passing lap in Seattle. Catanzaro finished the heat in tenth place, only one transfer position away from heading directly into the Main Event. Focused riders and hand guards filled the gates for
the Last Chance Qualifier. A determined Catanzaro rocketed down the start straightaway and with his eyes on the prize he quickly found him- self in second place behind Jon Ames in first. The battle for the top four was fierce, but Aj was able to hold onto the second place spot and was heading to, the bound to be extreme, Main Event. After a gnarly crash involving Chase Marquier and Noah McConahy, the red flag waved two laps into the Main Event, sending the riders back to the starting line for
a restart. The number 95 on the Yamaha lined back up and was ready
to go through the motions one more time: thirty-second card up, gates down, and twenty-two of the fastest riders of the evening careening into the first turn. Aj found himself in a very solid 14th place early in the race. Around the seven-minute mark, Catanzaro ran into a mishap and fell back a few spots into 19th. With a shortened schedule creating a 12-min- ute plus one lap Main, the Virginia native did not have much time left to redeem any positions and he finished the moto in 19th. We all know that Catanzaro can be within the top 15, especially after his 14th place finish in the previous West Coast round in Arlington. Seattle proved to be a tough one, hopefully in Salt Lake City Aj Catanzaro can build upon this weekend’s finish.
104 GRITMOTO • APRIL 9, 2017