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MITCHELL OLDENBURG
250 SX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> It has been a long seven weeks since we last saw the 250 West Coast series in action but it has been even longer since we’ve saw Mitchell Oldenburg at the races. The Troy Lee, GoPro, Red Bull KTM rider was sidelined with a broken col- larbone after only competing at the first race of the season way back at Anaheim. He as well as the fans were disappointed because he had a lot of buzz surround- ing him in the offseason saying this could be a breakout year. So with the series resuming this weekend in Seattle, we waited to see if Oldenburg could better his career high fourth place finish he earned at Anaheim.
Oldenburg looked quick and aggressive in qualifying practice en route to throw- ing down the fourth fastest lap time. He looked like he hadn’t missed a beat so he was ready for the heat races. The gate dropped for his heat but he did not get the best of starts. He emerged from lap one in seventh place but he made sure not
to stay there too long. He maneuvered through the rough and chewed up course all the way up to third place by the end of the short race. He was headed right on through to the main.
Oldenburg nailed a similar start to his heat in the main event by rounding the opening lap in seventh position. He got off to a bit of a slow start, not making many moves but around the midway point he started dropping the hammer. The rust came off as he got more comfortable on the completely deteriorated Seattle track. Near the end of the race, he saw his biggest opportunity yet. A podium. He set his sights on Decotis who held the final podium position in third. He handled the course like a seasoned vet and made the pass with just three laps to go. He would hold on strong to the end to finish a season and career best third place. His first ever podium. It was nice to see Oldenburg up there and contending but such a bummer knowing he could have been doing that earlier in the year if it was not for that broken collarbone.
38 GRITMOTO • APRIL 9, 2017