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ZACH OSBORNE
250 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Zach Osborne has had a strong grip on the series points lead almost the entire season.
The seasoned veteran has been in total control of the 250SX East Coast Championship. Each round he continues to prove that he is the alpha of the class and everyone else is scrambling
to try and dethrone him. Challengers have risen, Austin Forkner and Jeremy Martin, but neither have been able to remain consistent enough to fully challenge Osborne. Osborne has had such a consistent, successful season that it may surprise some that he only has two wins on the year. His results for the season have been Dungey-esque. He is done a fantastic job at damage control and always nishes near the front of the pack. All of that has contributed to him holding a twelve-point lead heading into Foxboro.
Osborne looked pretty solid in the early morning practice sessions. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider quali ed with the second fastest lap time but certainly had adjustments to make heading into the day of racing. Jeremy Martin, who has been catching re lately, threw down the fastest lap time and it was 1.3 seconds faster than Osborne. Osborne knew he was going to have to ght and grit it out if he wanted to collect his third win on the year.
Early in the day, Osborne proclaimed that he enjoyed the day races because he is a morning person; He backed up that statement immediately after the rst gate drop. He rocketed into the rst turn in his heat race and nailed the early start. He led the pack to the green ag and the rest is history. He calmly built a little cushion and took the easy victory. Thomas Ramette was able to keep him somewhat honest in second, but it was no challenge for Osborne.
Osborne experienced déjà vu at the beginning of the main event. He red into the rst turn rst and got out to the early lead. The rider second place in the points standings, Jordon Smith, started right behind Osborne but Osborne was able to sprint the rst couple laps to establish
a comfortable lead. The rest of the race went smoothly for the points leader. He put together mistake-free laps and made it dif cult for Smith to challenge him. There were occasions when Smith would irt with getting close enough to make things interesting, but Osborne countered every punch. Osborne would ride it home and take the victory. He extended his points lead to a sustainable fteen points as there is only one race left to go.
28 GRITMOTO • APRIL 22, 2018