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IMAGE/JACKEDWARDS
Benny Bloss didn’t have the best start to the day, landing the 31st gate pick after qualifying practice. Although he was able to improve on his qualifying position with his start to the first moto, he still left himself a lot of work after coming around the first couple of turns fighting to stay inside the top 20. Bloss made a quick move around Japanese rider, Toshiki Tomita, to put himself in 19th place early
in the race. On lap 3, he found his way around Jesse Wentland into 18th position, tucked in behind
Darryn Durham as the two of them moved forward through the pack. The pair of them began to catch Andrew Short, running approximately one second per lap faster than the veteran rider out of Texas, but Durham ended up making a mistake which would promote Bloss to 16th. Peick crashed out late in the moto which gifted Bloss another position and allowed him to move into the top 15, still stalking his teammate, Andrew Short. The BTO Sports KTM duo found their way past Justin Bogle, who was struggling with a hand injury sustained while slicing an avocado. Bloss turned up the intensity late in the moto and put in his fastest lap of the race to work his way around his teammate, eventually crossing the finish line in 13th place. The start of the second moto was much better for the Missourian, he was just on the verge of the top 10, but he soon learned how intense the pace can be on the opening lap at the front of the field. He quickly lost places to Seely, Musquin, and Tickle over the course of the opening laps which would relegate him to 14th place. A flashback to the first moto put him in a battle with Andrew Short and Darryn Durham, the two of them were able to pass Bloss midway through the race to demote him to 16th. He was able to work his way back around Durham as the race progressed, but Bloss wasn’t able to hold off a late charge from Fast Freddie Noren. Noren made up an exorbitant amount of time through the supercross rhythm section and used the momentum to slingshot around Bloss through Talladega corner; therefore, setting up the inside line for the 2nd corner and putting Bloss back into 16th place. He rode the rest of the race by himself and brought the BTO Sports KTM home for a 16th place overall.
words/LAKEKILPATRICK
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