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BRANDON HARTRANFT
250 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Out of all the rookies making their debuts this season, Brandon Hartranft might be the most successful of them all so far. He entered the professional ranks with little to no fanfare or anticipa- tion and he has used that to his advantage. He has gone in week after week and strung together impressive performances and has mixed it up with the top guys in the championship. The Cycle- Trader/Rock River Yamaha rider ve top ten nishes this season compared to only two outside of the top ten. His raw speed has been intriguing as he has been able to start up front and ght his best to stay up there for extended amounts of time. He has nished inside the top eight at three of the last four races including a seventh place at the previous round in Minneapolis and he will look to keep the little hot streak going here in Foxboro.
Hartranft looked quick and qualifying practice and it certainly showed in the lap times. He threw down the fth fastest lap time of the class and looked to be loose and aggressive on the track. His con dence has certainly been soaring and it is translating to his riding style. He couldn’t wait for the gates to drop later in the day.
Hartranft got his heat race going with a pretty good start. He came through lap one in fth and wanted to get moving forward quickly because he had Jordon Smith hot on his tail. He moved up to third by lap three, but he did not get to enjoy it for long because Smith was still able to catch up and make the pass. He pushed Hartranft back to fourth and that is where he would remain for the rest of the race. Hartranft kept it close though as he nished up the race and got ready for the main event.
Hartranft suffered from a mediocre start in the main event. That has been his one weakness so far here in his rookie season. He rounded lap one in eighth and had to do some work to move forward. He didn’t make many moves initially although he did manage to pass Michael Mosiman during
the rst few laps. He stayed in seventh for quite some time before catching and passing Thomas Ramette for sixth on lap seven. He looked strong in that spot and slowly started to inch up on Josh Osby. However, the race was winding down and he still wasn’t close enough to make a pass. He seemed to have sixth in the bag, but Jeremy Martin stormed through to take the spot away on his quest to the front. Hartranft would ride the last few laps strong to bring home the seventh-place n- ish. Hartranft put together yet another impressive top ten nish. He has been pushing to try and get a top ve and he will only have one more chance to do it before the season is over.
46 GRITMOTO • APRIL 22, 2018