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Josh Grant was definitely excited when he woke up Saturday morning knowing he was racing on his home track at Glen Helen. He was hoping to work some more magic and steal a win from the top two riders of Dungey and Roczen. He got things going with a great qualifying effort escaping the sessions with the fifth fastest time. The crowd on hand lined the fences before moto one
hoping to see JG33 have a shot at the win. Those fans that lined the fences would have to have some spectacular vision to even catch a glimpse of Grant early in moto one because he was buried deep in the field. He got the green flag while in fifteenth and knew he had to start charging before he completely lost ground to the leaders. He did just that and got around a handful of riders on lap two putting him into a quick tenth place. In the next few laps he would continue working and make passes on a pair of JGR riders, Barcia and Nicoletti. Now in eighth, Grant’s charge would subside a bit trying to chase down quicker riders. He kept logging in solid laps for the remainder of the race and would end up passing Peick and Musquin finishing in sixth. It was a solid ride from the hometown favorite considering his terrible start. He had one more shot to give the crowd a run at the win. He didn’t get
a great start in moto two but it was much better than the first. He came around lap one in ninth and once again wasted no time in
the opening laps. He sprinted up into seventh and set his sights on Barcia. He eventually got around him for sixth but not long after making the move, a hard charging Eli Tomac came knocking at the door. The pressure forced Grant into a mistake allowing Tomac
to get by pushing him back to seventh. From there it looked like Grant was going to have an uncontested ride to the finish but he smelled the Frenchman Christophe Pourcel not to far ahead and decided to mount one more charge. He crept up on Pourcel and made the pass with about a minute left in the race. That would put him into sixth and that is where he would end up, matching his score from moto one. The 6-6 moto finishes were great for Grant who struggles putting two consistent motos together but he also has to be a little disappointed he was never in position to challenge for the win.
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